In what order should one apply their facial skincare products?

Any skincare routine cannot commence without the cleansing stage, a key step in skin care to maintain healthy, balanced, hydrated and comfortable skin. Indeed, it is essential to remove dirt, excess sebum, environmental pollutants and other impurities that have accumulated on the skin's surface, especially in the evening after a long day. Without a cleansing process, these impurities can build up and promote pore blockage, which can lead to skin breakouts. Therefore, it is recommended to wash your face daily with a gentle cleanser, designed for your skin type.

If you have thoroughly cleansed your face the previous evening, have not excessively perspired (due to exercise) and do not have combination to oily skin prone to blemishes, it is not necessary to wash your face again in the morning, especially if you have dry and/or sensitive skin. Washing your face once a day may suffice. However, it is still recommended to rinse your face with a toner or a hydrosol to eliminate sweat or bacteria that may accumulate throughout the night, remove any residual night-time treatments, or prepare the skin for subsequent care. It is also a matter of personal preference.

However, if you wear makeup or a water-resistant sunscreen, it is recommended to use a gentle oil-based makeup remover as the first step in your evening routine for the eyes, face, and neck. This treatment is more effective in dissolving all fats (excess sebum, pollution, sun filters, makeup). After removing makeup, you can continue your facial routine with a gentle aqueous cleanser as the second step to complement the use of the makeup remover and thus perfect the skin cleansing process.

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With age or external factors (pollution, smoking, etc.), the process of skin shedding can be disrupted, giving the skin a dull and uneven appearance and leading to the emergence of small imperfections. Therefore, it is recommended to exfoliate your skin once or twice a week.

Whether it is through mechanical action (with grains), chemical (fruit acids) or enzymatic (enzymes), this treatment aims to "erase" dead skin cells. It also helps to unclog pores, aids in accelerating cell regeneration time and prepares the skin for the application of subsequent treatments.

After cleansing and exfoliating the face but before the rest of the night-time ritual, you can proceed with the application of a regular layer of a weekly facial mask for a set duration, typically between 5 to 20 minutes. This is an effective way to deliver an intensive dose of highly concentrated active ingredients to address various skin issues.

The frequency of applying a facial mask depends on its formula and your skin type.

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Facial tonics and hydrosols are skincare products that can be used for multiple purposes, such as providing additional cleansing, preparing the skin for subsequent care and enabling optimal absorption of products, or even beginning to target skin concerns according to the active ingredients they provide. Each tonic lotion or hydrosol is intended for a different problem, or even a different skin type.

Most of the new toning lotions available on the market are no longer as "harsh", drying or irritating to the skin as they used to be, when they could contain alcohol or fragrance in their formula.

As such, right after your evening (double) cleanse or directly as the first step in the morning, you can proceed with the use of a toner or a hydrosol, applied with a cotton pad or your fingers. Indeed, if the skin has been properly cleansed and make-up removed the night before, you are not required to repeat the skin cleansing step, except for those with oily skin and skin prone to imperfections who should use a cleanser during their day and night routine.

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Used in conjunction with moisturisers, serums are lightweight treatments that stand out due to their fluid texture and their combination of active ingredients at high concentrations, offering specific actions against skin issues ranging from reducing inflammatory response to slowing down the oxidation process by neutralising free radicals generated by environmental factors. These targeted products should therefore be in maximum contact with the skin so that they can penetrate the epidermis more quickly and directly deliver the active ingredients and ensure their primary function. Morning and evening, a few drops of serum can be applied daily across your entire face after cleansing and toning the skin.

Serums are available in various textures, including aqueous serums, oil-in-water emulsion serums, and oily serums. If you use several, it is recommended to apply the serums from the lightest/fluid to the richest to ensure optimal absorption of the active ingredients.

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Eye contour treatments, local imperfection care, or even prescription medications should be applied in small amounts to the affected area, after the serum to maximise their benefits. To be used as needed, these products target small areas of skin and contain various active ingredients depending on the targeted skin issue. However, they should be applied before the moisturiser to promote better absorption and thus not hinder the action of the active ingredients.

The application of a moisturiser is a crucial step in a skincare routine for all skin types, even for oily skin , contrary to popular belief, in order to maintain skin hydration and keep the skin looking healthy. Although the skin has its own natural hydration system with sebaceous glands that secrete sebum to create, along with sweat, a protective layer (hydrolipidic film) against external conditions, dryness, dehydration and microbial attacks, most skins need additional hydration after what external factors inflict on the skin.

Is there a difference between day cream and night cream? Lighter in texture, the function of a day cream is to maintain skin hydration and protect the epidermis from external elements during the day, while the night cream, being thicker, aids in skin regeneration and enhances skin hydration. Moreover, it typically contains active ingredients that may increase sensitivity to sunlight (retinol, AHA, etc.).

Moisturising products have thus been designed to increase the water content in the stratum corneum, reduce the risk of developing dry skin, contribute to supple and comfortable skin, and help maintain the integrity of the skin's protective barrier. Indeed, its texture leaves a slight hydrophobic film on the skin. It is therefore recommended to apply the moisturiser, suited to your skin type, after the serum and targeted treatment to limit transepidermal water loss, and seal in the hydration and active ingredients contained in the serums to ensure better penetration into the skin. In the evening, the moisturiser constitutes the final step of a facial routine. However, during the day, an additional step is necessary before concluding your skincare routine.

Targeted moisturising formulas with the addition of specific active ingredients (vitamin C, zinc, peptides, etc.) have been developed to help address various skin conditions you may have, thus going beyond the simple function of hydrating the skin.

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Night serum, vegetable oil, night mask: as a replacement or in addition to moisturising cream?

You could potentially substitute your traditional moisturising product with a night serum rich in lipid extracts or a vegetable oil, as the final step in your night-time routine. Much like moisturisers, they help maintain a good level of skin hydration thanks to fatty acids. However, some may feel the need to apply an additional moisturising treatment. Before or after the moisturiser? It all depends on the texture. It is also possible to apply a night mask over the entire face, on top of the serum, which can then work throughout the night.

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Sunscreen is one of the fundamental products to have in a skincare routine. Indeed, no daytime routine is complete without the daily use of a sun protection product. It always forms the final step of any daytime skincare routine, before moisturising. In addition to other sun protection measures (seeking shade, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and protective clothing, etc.), sun care products provide skin protection to minimise short and long term damage caused by the sun's UVA and UVB rays, by depositing a uniform layer on the skin to provide the desired level of protection. They should therefore have an SPF of at least 30 and be broad spectrum.

Although there are, for instance, products that combine the moisturising benefits of a traditional moisturiser with sun protection, this does not mean that you can mix a sun care product with other skin products (serum, foundation, etc.). This behaviour could disrupt the formation of a solid protective barrier and thus weaken its protective capabilities.

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