So you did your research, hit the sales, and now you have a boatload of skincare to (hopefully) address your skin concerns. How do you use them? When do you put on what? And how? Layering skincare is definitely a “your mileage may vary” situation, as some skin types can’t handle lots of products, and what layers and types of products your skin likes in any given routine can vary wildly even based on your day’s activities. If you have any questions after reading, please sound off in the comments!

⏳ The TL;DR — Hot Tips for Getting Started

There are a lot of categories of skincare products, and I’ll go through (most of) them below. But the most important thing is to know your skin, and what feels good. Here are some good rules of thumb:

• Cleansing should always be your first step — IF you’re cleansing. Many dry skin folks may choose to just rinse in the morning, rather than cleanse.
• Wash-off products should always go before leave-on products, otherwise you’re just immediately rinsing off prior steps. This may seem obvious, but it’s not uncommon to see people do, particularly with regards to sheet masks.
• Sheet masks are typically after toner, but I also like putting them after water-based serums. Be sure to still moisturize after!
• When it comes to leave-on products, most folks choose to go thinnest to thickest. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, but does tend to work the best for most products.
• Mists are great for keeping your skin damp during your routine, which is preferred by many skincare fanatics, but absolutely not required.
• Oils aren’t necessarily occlusive, but you may still wish to use products containing oil (including actual facial oils) towards the end of your routine.
• Eye creams are basically moisturizer for your eyes, and because of this, although many brands will recommend applying it before serums, I recommend applying eye cream after serums.
• Spot treatments are typically applied at the end of the routine, but pimple patches can also be applied at the beginning (well, after cleansing) of the routine, and high-quality patches should stick throughout all the steps without issue.
• If your skin is struggling to adjust to an ingredient (think retinol) consider buffering. Buffering is when you apply a product after other products, typically moisturizer, to protect the skin. In these buffering situations, of course, your ordering while differ from what I describe below.
• Sunscreen should always be the last step of your morning routine. This is because sunscreen (whether chemical or mineral) functions by forming a protective film over the skin within about 20 minutes of application.

🚿 First: Wash-Off Skincare

If you just have one cleanser and no wash-off masks or exfoliants, just use your cleanser (or not, if it’s the morning) and scoot on to the next section. As mentioned above, I recommend not cleansing in the morning if you’re dry, and regardless of skin type you do NOT need to double cleanse in the morning. This assumes a more elaborate PM routine, but remember all you really need is a cleanser and moisturizer in the evening.

🧼 How to Layer Cleansers

1. Cleansing balms, cleansing oils or micellar waters for your first cleanse. The important factor here is that they are oil-based. (Micellar waters are oil-based — that’s what the “micellar” is for.) These are excellent at removing makeup, sunscreen, and dirt. Many folks choose not to double cleanse (using this step and then step two), but I like it for an extra feel of luxury. If you struggle with blackheads, you may actually quite enjoy first cleanses. These are put on dry skin, massaged in, and then rinsed off. The water emulsifies the oil so it rinses relatively cleanly.
2. Water-based cleansers or powder cleansers for your second cleanse. Water-based cleansers are probably familiar with as a cleanser: gel, foaming, cream or milk cleansers. Powder cleansers are also in this category, though they come dry (in a powder) and are activated with water, and tend to be exfoliating. They are typically applied with wet hands to wet skin, and will lather (though not necessarily foam).

🎭 How to Layer Wash-Off Masks

1. Wash-off exfoliating masks should go next, on dried skin. As a rule you do not want to use these every day — usually 2-3 times a week is a good rule for exfoliation generally, but exfoliating masks are typically fairly strong.
2. Wash-off clay masks are usually also your first mask after cleansing, and I would not recommend using them on the same nights as exfoliating. Drier skin types generally may not use a clay mask ever, at all. If you do, I recommend not letting the mask dry all the way down.
3. Wash-off hydrating or moisturizing masks are relatively new to the masking scene (they weren’t around when I was growing up, that’s for sure) and I love them. These are usually more gel or cream-type masks. I love using these after exfoliating or clay masks, but there’s no reason you can’t use them on their own or do what’s known as multi-masking, where you use different masks on different parts of your face (think clay mask for oily T-zone, moisturizing mask for dry U-zone).

🥪 Then: Leave-On Skincare

Now for the bread and butter of your skincare routine. Leave-on products can do the most work for your skin because, well, they’re left on the longest. I generally follow the thinnest-to-thickest rule, with some exceptions based on ingredient or product type.

🍶How to Layer Toners and Essences

This ordering may be controversial, but it’s my preferred one.

1. Exfoliating Toners are great to do first, if that’s how you’re exfoliating. This is because it’s generally best to exfoliate dry skin to reduce product absorption and, thus, irritation. One caveat to this, I think, are products like the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow PHA+BHA Pore-Tight Toner, which despite the name is quite gentle and hydrating, and can be used on damp skin. I generally recommend applying exfoliating toners with a cotton pad, so you can ensure even application.
2. First Essences should be the first step of your routine otherwise, assuming you’re using one. These are distinct from Essences, below, because they use high concentrations of fermented ingredients (frequently galactomyces) designed to enhance the penetration of the rest of your skincare. I like to apply these with my bare hands.
3. Toners are great for a next step, and I recommend them for all skin types. I am personally a huge fan of the seven skins method, wherein I layer seven (or more) layers of toner. Personally I like layering a more hydrating toner with a more moisturizing toner to really nourish my skin. Historically toners were more astringent and considered a final step of cleansing, but this has generally fallen out of fashion.
4. Essences are the last step of the broader toning stage. Many essences and toners are indistinguishable these days beyond branding (indeed, the “essener” or “essence toner” has arrived on the scene because of this), but essences are generally a bit thicker than toners.

💧How to Layer Serums

How you may choose to layer serums is partially based on texture and partially based on ingredient. Since there’s no specified order, instead here’s a bullet list of pointers:

• You probably want to apply water-based serums before oil-based serums, since the water-based serums will typically absorb more quickly. This can also help avoid pilling.
• The closer an ingredient is to your skin, the faster and farther it will theoretically absorb. For this reason, many vitamin c users choose to put their vitamin c serum first.
• You typically don’t want too many strong actives (think vitamin c, aha, bha or retinol) in one routine, and many folks actually have a schedule for how they use these so they can rotate. If your skin is resilient enough and your routine (like mine) is long enough, you may be able to tolerate using multiple actives in the same routine.
• Acids will denature peptides, so be sure to put products with peptides in a different routine or at least a few steps after your acids. Alternately, give the acid time to dry down and your skin’s pH to return to normal (fun fact: that’s about 5.5) before applying the peptides.
• If you start to experience pilling with a serum, it may mean that you have too many products on before it, or it may be something about the serum itself. If that happens, I recommend cocktailing those troublemakers with your moisturizer — just add the same amount you would have applied into your hand with your moisturizer, mix and apply.

🛢How to Layer Creams, Oils and Sunscreen

Remember, all you really need is cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen. But if you’re dry, you may wind up doing distinctly more in this stage of your routine. If you’re oily, remember that you may not want to use anything besides sunscreen in the morning.

1. Emulsions make a good first step of your moisturization stage, if that’s a step you’re including. These are functionally lightweight lotions, so in the morning this may be all you do before sunscreen.
2. Eye cream makes a good step just before oils, in my book. This lets them seal in all of that good serum you applied earlier. My one caveat here would be that you might want to apply eye cream before a retinol serum, as a way to buffer it from drying that delicate skin.
3. Facial oils typically work well next. Make sure to only use a couple drops, or you may experience pilling. Most oils are emollient without being too occlusive, so using them before moisturizers works well, but if this doesn’t feel good, put it after your moisturizer. I generally don’t recommend oils for daytime use, due to concerns about sunscreen application.
4. Moisturizers are a must! Every routine. Feed that skin.
5. Sleeping masks or packs are used in the evening, especially those with more dry skin. Some folks use sleeping masks in lieu of moisturizers, but many are more gel types that are not conducive to the switcheroo.
6. Lip balm works well after moisturizer, because ideally you’re taking a lot of your non-active products onto your lips to keep them as hydrated and moisturized as the rest of your face.
7. Sunscreen should be the last step of your AM routine. Every day. Without fail. Find one that you will love applying and reapplying, and your skin will thank you.