At different times our skin needs different types of products. Some for anti-ageing, some for hydration, some for pigmentation, acne…you get the drift. Since no one cream has it all, layering is an effective ritual in helping our skin from all fronts. Here is how!
What is Layering:
Our skin needs care along with performance from the products that go in to make is stronger, suppler and hydrated. Layering is the art of combining skin care products in systematic method so the products deliver best results. When layered incorrectly products can cancel each other out!
How and what you layer also depends on the time of the day. Some products meant for night use when exposed to UVA radiation can reverse damage the skin causing photo ageing, premature wrinkling and even sun burn.
How to layer: Morning routine
Step 1: double cleanse
Step 2: Toner
Step 3: Antioxidants serums- concentrated, nutrition packed serums
Step 4: Eye cream
Step 5: Spot treatment
Step 6: Moisturizer
Step 7: Sunscreen
Yes, two different routines cause some products can only be used in the night! and your skin needs to recover over night before getting out in the sun.
How to layer: Evening routine
Step 1: Double cleanse
Step 2: Toners, Essences, Boosters
Step 3: Treatment serums, creams. If your skin is easily irritated use a moisturizer before serums. It helps minimize potency a tad but also likely to not irritate your skin.
Step 4: Eye cream
Step 5: Masks or face oil
Step 6: Night creams
A smart guide to layering for effective performance:
Ideal products for morning |
Ideal products for night times |
Time agnostic products |
| Vitamin C | Alpha Hydroxy Acid | Hyaluronic acid |
| Squalene | Lactic acid | Squalene |
| Zinc | Glycolic acid | Facial mists |
| Q10 | Rosehip oil/ kiwi seed oil | |
| Kaolin | Retinol/ Retin- A | |
| Hyaluronic | Sheet masks | |
| Caffeine | High performance scrub |
Yes double cleanse morning and evening. Morning cleanse helps to remove impurities like sweat and debris from all the skin actives that we deposited during the night layering!
Initially Layering can appear to be daunting and time consuming. But as with all other rituals, with time one gets proficient and it takes about 10-15 mins to get it done. Of course one still must pay attention to the products that need time to soak in like a peel that might need you to pause for a few minutes before going to the next step.
Good skin needs attention and time. There are no short cuts that can help repair damage caused by pollution or incorrect skin routine, product or acne. But a performance packed ritual can dramatically reverse time. That we promise.
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Photo by Wallace Chuck from Pexels
