Just as a well-prepared canvas can improve a painting, a well-layered skincare routine can improve your skin. Do you know which products should be added first? Or how to blend products to get the result you want? Someone asked me recently how to layer the skincare products she owned for best results. It’s a good question because how you layer will have an impact on the products’ effectiveness.
One mistake people often make in their skincare routine is not applying products in an order that makes them most effective. Another is hastily adding creams and oils before the skin has had time to absorb them. Here’s a simple skincare layering technique that works.
First, add a day cream that works on a cellular level and contains anti-oxidants. Painters often add a solid color to their white canvas to create a toned background. It helps them increase the speed in creating a painting. To avoid extra steps in your skincare routine, your day cream should be a multi-tasking solution providing moisturizing, exfoliation, brightening and firming properties that penetrate the skin’s surface layer. Jojoba and olive oils are ingredients to look for as well in a day cream to enhance elasticity and skin radiance. Wait a few moments to let the day cream absorb. Maybe pick out what clothes you will be wearing while the day cream absorbs.
If you use serums, you can apply them after the day cream. They are thin and efficient in delivering active ingredients. Wait a few moments to let the skin absorb the serum. In the time it takes to brush your teeth, the serums will have been absorbed. In painting, this may be equivalent to priming a canvas with gesso.
After applying your day cream and serums, add sunscreen. The anti-oxidants contained in your day cream, especially vitamin C, will improve the efficacy of the sunscreen. It’s like blending different paint colors to get a desired effect. Instead of a stand-alone sunscreen you may choose to apply a foundation that contains sunscreen (SPF20). You can find it at a favorite department store or apothecary. I get mine at Odalisque beauty apothecary.
At night, remove makeup and wash your face with warm water. Apply a night cream with moisturizing, vitamin rich ingredients that rejuvenate and nourish your skin. If using serums add those after the night cream.
With a palette of multi-functioning skincare products it’s easy to know where to begin and how to end. Step back and appreciate the big picture – healthy, glowing skin.