What is The Best Order to Apply Face Products?

I see the majority of men survive with a single facewash. I’ve seen many of my friends who just wash their faces with face wash and done for the day.

They don’t even bathe but wash their faces regularly with face wash, but the irony is that face wash alone is not enough to get a good skin. You need only four products to build a good skincare routine for better skin.

In fact, not only these 4 skincare products are absolutely important, but their order of application matters the most. It is necessary to follow this order to maximize the effects of those skincare products.

If you do not follow the order of application, they do not show any effect on your skin. This is due to every product has its own properties.

So, in this blog post let’s talk about how to use skin care products and in what order we need to apply them.

Go Pimple Free:

Before going any further, I want to make one very clear: before using any of the products I will mention in this blog post, you need to be consistent in washing your face.

Be consistent for at least 30 days straight, first, you need to make it a habit of washing your face with plain water. If you are already washing your face with a face wash then it’s very good.

But, if you feel like you can’t do it, at least wash your face with plain water after coming home from outside. This helps to remove dirt on your face to some extent.

The Main Reason for Formation of Pimples:  

The first and foremost reason for pimples on your face is not washing off the dirt on your face. Your face contains pores(tiny holes) where sebum/oil from sebaceous glands comes out. When it combines with outside dirt it gives way to bacteria formation.

This bacteria ultimately leads to clogged pores, they produce oil. When it happens the oil won’t come out of the pores and they get clogged. These clogged pores are a primary reason for acne(pimples).

This is the most common reason for acne/pimples to form. First, you need to fix this by washing your face twice daily at least, with normal water, if possible use a face wash. In this way, you can reduce pimples on your face.

Now let’s look at the products part, What products do you need to use to get clear skin?

The List of Products for Skincare Routine:

So, if you want to up your grooming and want to have a clear face then you need to follow a certain order that will definitely guarantee you clear skin.

Using a single product is not sufficient to achieve this, you need to have 3-5 products, to be exact 5 products to get good skin.

Note: Cleanser and face wash both serve the same purpose(cleaning the face dirt) so you can skip any one of them. If your skin is slightly oily then opt for face wash, if your skin is not oily opt for a cleanser as cleansers are slightly mild in nature.

So, firstly let’s talk about the must-have products for a clear face.

Cleanser.

Face wash.

Face serum.

Moisturizer.

Sunscreen.

Let’s look at what they are used for and how to apply the products.

1. Cleanser: A cleanser is a face care product that removes dirt accumulated over the day. The ingredients used in the cleanser are slightly on the milder side, hence cleanser gently removes the dirt.

How to apply cleanser properly: 

1. First, wet your face with water to make sure the cleanser spreads well on to face.
2. Take a few drops of cleanser into your hands and rub it until lathers up. There are a wide variety of cleansers in the market some give lather while some don’t.
3. Now apply to the face in a circular motion by putting more emphasis on the neck part and under the eyes.
4. Wait for 1-2 minutes and wash it off with cold or lukewarm water.

Next, we’re gonna talk about face wash and how to apply it.

• Face wash: A face wash’s primary task is similar to a cleanser but with a slight difference that is, a face wash gives more lather and is suitable for deep cleaning.

Like, if you stay outdoors, a lot of dirt accumulates on your skin, that time face wash works best because it provides deep cleaning. While a cleanser is milder(sometimes doesn’t give foam also) which does not give a deep cleaning satisfaction.

How to use facewash properly:

1. Wet your face with water evenly to let the dirt settle and be ready for washing off the face.
2. Take a pea-sized amount of face wash into your hands and rub it.
3. Apply to your face and neck by working in a circular motion until lathers up.
4. Leave for 1-2 minutes and rinse it off with water.
5. Don’t forget to be gentle while washing your face.

Next up, we talk about face serum and its application process.

Face serum: A face serum is a very powerful product of all face products available in the market, because, it directly targets the issue that you have with your skin. It does this with the help of active ingredients present in the serum.

For every skin problem, there is a specialized active ingredient that targets that specific issue. Face serum is very light (almost like water) hence after application and gets absorbed into deeper layers of skin. Hence it is more effective than other products.

You can learn how to select face serum for your skin problems here.

How to apply face serum properly: 

1. Before applying serum you need to clean your face with a cleanser or face wash.
2. After cleaning/face wash let your face dry.
3. Take a few drops of face serum into the dropper and place them directly onto the face.
4. After that, massage the serum with your hands in a circular motion until it’s completely absorbed.

Due to its lighter nature, it quickly absorbs into the skin. So, before going to apply moisturizer just wait for 5 minutes until the serum gets sink in completely.

Moisturizer: Moisturizer is the most important face product to have not only for the face but even for your entire body. It helps keep your skin not drying off, it also helps improve the elasticity and makes your skin glow.

Moisturizing helps to protect the skin barrier which gradually wears off and damages your skin if you don’t use it regularly. If the skin’s barrier is not in good condition then several skin issues occur.

You need to select a moisturizer that is best suited for your skin.

How to properly apply moisturizer to your skin:

1. Moisturizer needs to be applied after using cleanser/face wash and face serum.
2. Take a pea-sized moisturizer onto your hands and start applying it to your face in a circular motion.
3. Don’t forget to apply to your neck and the area under the ears as well, as this part is often neglected.
4. Wait for some time to sink into the skin you are ready for your next step which is sunscreen application.

Sunscreen: Sunscreen is a great product that protects you from harmful sun rays. It is designed in such a way to block the harmful UV rays coming from the sun.

In addition to this, there is a feature called SPF (sun protection factor) that indicates how much protection it gives from UV rays when applied. You can learn more about sunscreens here.

Doctors recommend using a sunscreen whose SPF factor is 30 or greater for better protection from reapplying harmful UV rays. Doctors also recommend reapplying sunscreen after every 2 hours.

There are 2 types of sunscreens chemical-based and mineral-based so let’s look at their application process.

How to apply chemical sunscreen:

Chemical sunscreen:

1. Chemical sunscreen takes 15 minutes to sink into the skin after application. So, make sure to go out only after 15 minutes.
2. You need to apply sunscreen after applying moisturizing for better results.
3. There is a medical standard for applying sunscreen for its effectiveness. Apply 1 ounce of sunscreen to cover an area of a golf ball for body parts that are being exposed to sunlight.
4. Which include the face, neck, hands, ears, etc. In this way, you need to apply chemical sunscreen.

How to apply Mineral Sunscreens properly:

Mineral Sunscreen:

1. Mineral sunscreens on the other hand are slightly thicker and do not sink into the skin.
2. It protects the skin by reflecting the UV rays from the sunlight, the chemical present in the sunscreen is responsible for this.
3. As its texture is slightly thicker, you need to apply it lightly.
4. Pour small dots onto the skin and rub it gently to spread it evenly.
5. Unlike in chemical sunscreens, you can immediately go into sunlight after mineral sunscreen application.
6. Its reflecting property allows it to effectively protect against harmful UV rays.

Until now we talked about products that we need to use for better skin, now let’s look at the most important thing in this blog post – the correct order to apply face products.

The correct order to apply the face products:

Let me give you an equation

Cleanser -> face wash -> face serum -> Moisturizer -> Sunscreen

1. First, clean your face with face wash or cleanser, and then pat dry with a clean towel.
2. Then wait for 1-2 minutes.
3.  Apply the face serum and wait for 5-10 minutes for the face serum to sink into deeper layers of skin.
4. Then apply the moisturizer, this creates a protective barrier to the skin and helps in face serum not dried off.
5. Then wait for 5 minutes again to let the moisturizer settle.
6. Finally, finish your skincare routine with sunscreen make sure to complete this routine before going out.

This is the correct order to apply face care products.  

This order is necessary during the daytime, but at night you might skip sunscreen and stick to face wash/cleanser, serum, and moisturizer. If you apply moisturizer to your body also then your skin will definitely love you.

Is it necessary to follow this order:

To be honest yes, especially if you want good skin you need to follow this order. Because every product takes some time to blend into the skin. Every product has its own benefits for example, face wash removes dirt from the and face, cleanser is also used to remove dirt.

Face serum is used to treat skin problems, suppose you apply face serum directly without cleaning your face it won’t penetrate deep enough the dirt doesn’t allow the serum to penetrate.

Similarly, moisturizer is used for locking the face serum when not applied it gets dried off quickly. And finally, sunscreen gives protection from the sun.

If you go out without sunscreen the protective barrier gets dried off and it damages the skin. This is the reason it is necessary to follow the order.

Conclusion:

So, this is about how to apply face products to our skin to maximize the effect of the products. The order of application is also important for the products to sink in perfectly.

It is also important to leave the product to sink into the skin completely. Don’t forget the order first cleanser/face wash then face serum after that moisturizer and finally end your skincare routine with sunscreen.