Should You Use Face Oil Before or After Moisturizer?
Should You Use Face Oil Before or After Moisturizer?
One of the most important aspects of assembling the ideal skincare routine is knowing the order to apply each step. We’re the biggest proponents of a simple but effective routine, but even the most streamlined process still leaves you with the question of when to apply which product.
Understanding the proper sequence is crucial for maximizing the benefits of each product in your skincare routine. And when it comes to hydration, knowing how and why to apply products like moisturizers and face oils is key.
This guide demystifies this common question with a few helpful tips along the way.
Why Is Moisturizing So Important?
Moisturizing is truly fundamental to the well-being of your skin. The skin’s moisture barrier is a dynamic layer that retains hydration and defends against environmental aggressors such as pollutants, UV rays, and harsh weather conditions.
When this barrier is compromised, the skin becomes more vulnerable to dryness, irritation, and signs of aging. This is where the magic of moisturizers comes into play.
Moisturizers are intricately formulated to nourish the skin with essential hydration and nutrients. They typically contain a combination of humectants, emollients, and occlusives. Humectants, like glycerin and hyaluronic acid, draw water into the skin, hydrating it from within.
Emollients, such as squalane and ceramides, fill in the gaps between skin cells, smoothing the skin’s surface. Occlusives create a seal over the skin to lock in moisture and protect it from external elements. This trifecta works synergistically to ensure the skin remains hydrated, supple, and resilient.
Regularly moisturizing helps to maintain the skin’s natural balance, especially when your skin is getting a dose of all these elements. When the skin is dehydrated, it can overproduce oil to compensate, leading to an undesirable cycle of extreme dryness and excess oiliness.
By keeping the skin adequately hydrated, moisturizers can help normalize sebum production, supporting a balanced and even-looking skin texture. Additionally, well-moisturized skin is more receptive to other skincare products.
That’s because when the skin is hydrated, it’s more permeable, meaning that the active ingredients in serums, treatments, and oils can penetrate more deeply and work more effectively. Essentially, a good moisturizer nourishes the skin and amplifies the benefits of the entire skincare regimen.
Why Use Face Oil and Moisturizer?
Incorporating both face oil and moisturizer into a skincare routine creates a comprehensive approach to skin hydration and nourishment. While moisturizers bring hydration to the skin, face oils offer a unique blend of benefits that complement and enhance this hydration.
Face oils are rich in essential fatty acids, vitamins, and antioxidants, sending a concentrated dose of nutrients directly to the skin. These nutrients are vital for supporting the skin’s health, promoting a radiant-looking complexion, and addressing various skin concerns, such as dryness, dullness, and the visible signs of aging.
Essential fatty acids, for instance, help reinforce the skin's lipid barrier, supporting natural elasticity and softness. Antioxidants in face oils, such as vitamins A, C, and E, help to support the skin’s natural defense against environmental damage and can contribute to an even-looking skin tone and texture.
The diversity of face oils available also means there’s a formulation for every skin type and concern. From lightweight oils for acne-prone or oily skin to richer, more nourishing oils for dry or mature skin, the right face oil will enhance the skin's overall appearance. By selecting an oil that complements your skin type, you can address specific concerns more effectively.
But the most straightforward reason they’re so great in combination with your regular moisturizer is that they help to lock in any other products in your skincare routine to ensure maximum hydration.
So, Which Comes First?
The moisturizer is always applied before the face oil—this is essential for maximizing its benefits. Applying moisturizer before face oil is a strategy rooted in understanding how these products interact with the skin and each other.
When moisturizer is applied first, its hydrating properties are more easily absorbed by the skin. This is due to its typically lighter, water-based formulation, which allows it to penetrate the skin’s surface easily. Once absorbed, the moisturizer delivers hydration and nutrients, setting the stage for the next step in your skincare routine.
Following up with a face oil after moisturizing is like putting the finishing touch on your skin's hydration process. The oil acts as a sealant, locking in the moisture from the moisturizer.
Plus, the occlusive nature of oils prevents the evaporation of water from the skin, which is especially beneficial in dry environments or during colder months. Applying face oil after moisturizer respects the general rule of skincare application: from lightest to heaviest.
Since oils are generally heavier and denser, they are best applied after lighter, water-based products like moisturizers. This order ensures that each product is absorbed properly and can perform its intended function without being blocked or inhibited by heavier formulations.
What's the Best Routine for Optimal Hydration?
Optimal hydration begins with a well-thought-out skincare routine that addresses each aspect of skin health. The MANTLE Skin Conditioning Wash is an excellent starting point.
This cleanser is a testament to how a product can effectively cleanse while maintaining the skin’s natural balance. The transformation from oil balm to cleansing milk is a gentle process that respects the skin's integrity, leaving you feeling clean—but not dry or dehydrated. Following cleansing, apply our Resurfacing Compound. This multi-functional serum does more than just support the skin's appearance.
By replacing up to eight products, it simplifies the skincare routine while delivering concentrated benefits. The blend of antioxidants and vitamins works to support the skin’s fight against environmental stressors, while stable retinol and multi-hydroxy acids address skin texture and the visible signs of aging.
Our double-patent pending SIREN Capsule Technology exemplifies the advancement in skincare science, as it delivers active ingredients precisely where they are most needed, reducing the potential for irritation and enhancing effectiveness.
Next comes your moisturizer: The SUPER Hydrator. Our use of five unique sizes of hyaluronic acid ensures moisture penetrates various layers of the skin, delivering deep, multi-level hydration to the skin.
This moisturizer's innovative formula creates a multi-dimensional shield that locks in moisture and supports your skin. Combining nourishing botanicals like avocado oil, shea butter, organic argan oil, and advanced ingredients like peptides supports deep ingredient delivery for dry and dehydrated skin.
As we’ve already touched on, The SUPER Intensive Face Oil is the next step. This breakthrough product is poised to revolutionize the current market of face oils.
Unlike other oils, The SUPER Intensive Face Oil is more than just an occlusive layer to the top layer of the skin. Instead, it mimics the skin’s natural composition, actively replenishing the skin’s lipid barrier.
Additionally, our oil includes hyaluronic acids. Including hyaluronic acids in an oil format is a novel approach—consider it a double assurance that hydration is locked in. Acting as a powerful shield against dehydration, it treats visible signs of age, stress, and oxidative damage for unprecedented defense.
This routine embodies a holistic approach to skincare. Each product plays a pivotal role not just in providing hydration but also in supporting overall skin health.
By following this regimen, one can expect a visibly boosted improvement in the look and feel of skin texture, tone, and vitality.
Glowing Forward
Understanding the proper order of applying face oil and moisturizer is more than just a cosmetic concern—it's vital to achieving deeply nourished, radiantly vibrant skin.
The art of skincare is as much about the quality of the products you use as it is about the sequence in which you apply them. By following this carefully curated regimen, you’re offering your skin the moisture it needs to look and perform at its best, giving you that naturally luminous look we’re all after.
So embrace this routine with the confidence that you’re providing your skin with the best possible care. Explore our collection today and learn more about our tailored skincare solutions.
Your journey toward a more radiant, hydrated, and youthful complexion begins with understanding and ends with the impeccable application of these skincare essentials.
Sources:
The Hype on Hyaluronic Acid | Harvard Health Publishing
Exploring Ingredients – Occlusives & Emollients | Center for Research on Ingredient Safety
Essential Fatty Acids and Skin Health | Oregon State University
