How I layer my skincare.

 Layering your skincare is important but not important at the same time. Like for some ingredients, it does not matter when you incorporate them in your routine but some products need to be applied in a certain way for you to see results and to avoid reactions. In this post, I will share my experience with different ingredients and how I like to layer serums and some tips and tricks.

Before we start this post, this is your disclaimer that I am not a dermatologist or a skincare expert and never claim to be one. This post is meant for general review and educational purposes only. Skincare is subjective so you might not agree with something I do and that is okay. 

Layering in skincare basically means the order in which you apply your products. The most common routine step is cleanser, liquid based products which include toners, serums, essence, etc., cream based products like a moisturizer and at the end an occlusive like a facial oil or petroleum jelly which helps seal all the moisture. Some people also layer their skincare from the lightest to the thickest consistency while many say order of products doesn't really matters. In this post, I will be giving you a glimpse of the order in which I apply the products I use and which combinations I avoid in the same routine. I have written a similar post on which ingredients you can and cannot mix which you can read here.

My skincare order:

Morning routine: In the morning, I like to start with cleansing my face with my cleanser. A clean face gives you a better canvas to work with and the products you are going to use will work better. I like to keep my morning routine very simple and so the next step is my niacinamide serum and then because I have oily skin, I just go in with my sunscreen as the minimalist sunscreen is very creamy. I also use the sebamed lip balm which has an spf of 30 and I have been using it daily for a few months now and I still have around half of the product left. 

Now, during winters, when I was at home, I did like using a hydrating toner and I used a moisturizer too. So on such days, it was cleanser, toner (on damp face), niacinamide (once the toner had absorbed in, which takes around 2-3 minutes), moisturizer and after 10 minutes I went in with the sunscreen. I do not use more than one serum but if you use products like Alpha Arbutin you can use that first and then use the Niacinamide and then follow your routine. 

Night routine: I start my night routine with double cleansing when I have reapplied my sunscreen and spent time outside as this helps getting rid of all the dust and pollution which your skin had to go through and for me, it helps with getting rid of the excessive oil produced by my skin. After cleansing, I go in with my Hyaluronic Acid based toner and I apply it on damp face. If you use a HA serum in your routine then you should always use it after cleansing on damp skin as it is a humectant. Once the toner gets fully absorbed into my skin, I go in with my Niacinamide serum and after that has absorbed I apply the Cosrx Snail Mucin which my skin has been loving recently. I give my skin about 2-3 minutes and after that has gotten fully absorbed, I apply my moisturizer and again after that has set in, I apply two to three drops of squalene oil. 

On days, where I use BHA serum, I do not apply my toner and instead wait for my skin to dry after cleansing and then apply BHA all over my face and wait for 5-10 minutes, before going in with Niacinamide and then I follow my daily routine which I mentioned before.

On days, where I use the Minimalist Chemical peel, I double cleanse my face and wait for my face to dry COMPLETELY. YOU DO NOT USE CHEMICAL PEEL ON DAMP FACE. WAIT TILL YOUR FACE IS COMPLETELY DRY. Once it has dried, I apply a generous amount of the product on my face and exactly after 9 minutes, I wash it off. After this, I use my hydrating toner on damp face and then the snail mucin and top it off with a moisturizer.

And finally on days when I use Retinol, I follow my everyday routine and after my snail mucin has set in, I use 3-4 drops of the oil (I use an oil based retinol. If you use cream based retinol use a pea size and DO NOT GO OVERBOARD) on my face and then after giving my skin about 2-3 minutes, I apply a moisturizer. 

On days when you use an exfoliator or retinol, you do not want to apply an occlusive at the end. Also please do not use any other contradicting active on days when you use these product as that could irritate and ruin your skin's barrier. You can read about contradicting ingredients here!

Always patch test your skincare ingredients before you start using them and do not use all your actives together. I personally prefer to have my basic routine for most days and follow a different routine on days when I use an exfoliator or retinol. I use a retinol once every week and I use the chemical peel once in every two week. And I use BHA only when I get a breakout or when I feel like my skin is feeling very oily. You must also not use these consecutively as that would also irritate your skin. If I have to use a BHA serum in the same week as the other two, I wait at least 3 nights before using it. Also do not skip sunscreen. Sunscreen will be your best friend and please do not fall for the "Indian skin doesn't need sunscreen" dialogue. 

So to summarize everything- Cleanser, Hydrating products followed by other serums, essence (if you use any), moisturizer and occlusive (If you use any)

Exfoliator day: Cleanser, exfoliator (on dry skin), non-contradicting serum (if you use any), essence (if you use any), moisturizer.

Chemical Peel: Cleanser, chemical peel (dry skin), hydrating serum after washing the chemical peel (if you use any), moisturizer.

Retinol: Cleanser, hydrating products (if you use any), non-contradicting serums (if you use any), essence (if you use any), moisturizer, retinol (if you are a beginner, it is better to use retinol after your moisturizer to prevent or reduce irritation)

That is it for this post :) I hope I was able to word this post decently and was able to put my thoughts across in a simple manner. If you guys want me to write on any particular topic let me know :) Also do share this post if you found this helpful and do comment your views and suggestions.

Bye~