From face serums to moisturizers, we break down the proper skin care routine order for both morning & night to keep your skin healthy & radiant.

One of the most asked questions we get every day is “What is the best order of products for my skincare routine?” and “Where in my morning skin care routine morning and night, should I use Most Wanted Radiant Facial Oil?” We are here to explain why a proper skin care routine matters, and what skincare routine order morning and night, will make your products work best for you.  Listen, it can be confusing! It’s almost like the unanswerable question “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” Ask twenty different people  and you’ll get a plethora of varying answers. What comes first, Serum? Facial Oil? And when does moisturizer come in? Do I need moisturizer at all? Regardless of the products you’re using, you definitely want to make sure your layering process still allows each product in your morning and night skincare routine to be as effective as possible. From face serums to moisturizers, we break down the proper skin care routine order for both morning and night to keep your skin healthy & radiant. Keep in mind, the most important thing is to make sure you are using clean beauty products.

Though you do not need a seven-step routine, we will be covering the best order of products just in case you WANT the seven-step routine.  Our team here at The Feelist uses Most Wanted after toning and calls it a day, but we get it, skin care is fun!  Sometimes you want the extra steps.  

Step One, Cleanser.  

We can’t say it enough - take off your makeup!  The ingredients in your product will never absorb properly if your skin is coated in foundations, powders, oils and sweat.  A milky cleanser and a scrub one to two times a week is the best way to go.  Or if you really want to be hardcore about it, choose a cleansing oil and then follow up with a milky cleanser.  Up to you! Add a little water, and make sure you get those hard to reach spots, you know the ones - Along your hairline, the sides of your nose, around your lips, and definitely don’t forget that jawline!

Step Two, Toner. 

Fortunately, there are tons of options for toners that will not irritate your skin, and the best one for you is going to depend on your skin type.  The reason toner is an important part of your skincare routine order is that it preps your skin so it can best absorb the ingredients in the following steps.  How to choose your toner?  We have the answers below!

For most skin types, a hydrating toner will work the most efficiently. Look for something that is lightweight, and can restore your skin’s natural pH while neutralizing surface impurities.  Don’t worry about “too much moisture” as most experts say there is no such thing!  In fact, the more moisture you provide your skin with, the less it produces oils that can cause breakouts.

If you have acne prone skin, a toner with BHA (beta hydroxy acid) or AHA (alpha hydroxy acid), (or both!) Is going to work best for you.  These acids will unclog your pores, slow and prevent breakouts, and make sure your skin is ready for the next step.  

What you want to do with your toner is just put a few drops onto a cotton pad (there are plenty of reusable options if you would like to be extra eco friendly) and just dab it onto your freshly cleansed dry skin.  If you have sensitive skin, using toner once a day is totally fine, and if this is the case, we recommend using it at night.  Wait until the toner is dry on your skin to move on to the next step in your morning or night time skincare routine.

Step Three, Serum.

This is where we at The Feelist actually just go to Most Wanted Radiant Facial Oil and end things there, but if you are someone who loves and needs a serum in your routine, this is for you!  Serums are made to deliver a high concentration of active ingredients to your skin.  So this step is very customizable based on your specific skincare needs. If you really want to up your skincare routine game, find out if your skin needs a hydrating, antioxidant, brightening, resurfacing, or clarifying serum.  In the morning, a Vitamin C serum can really help brighten and lighten dark spots of hyperpigmentation, and protect your skin from inflammation.  Vitamin C serum can be quite strong, so definitely make sure you add SPF as the last step of your skincare routine order (you know you should be doing this anyways!)  In the evening, a moisturizing serum (hello hyaluronic acid!) is a good bet.  Hyaluronic acid is amazing if you are using other drying ingredients to combat acne, but also just a great skin plumping ingredient in general.  

Step Four, Moisturizer.

In your skincare routine order, it’s extremely important to use a moisturizer.  It’s going to keep your skin barrier healthy.  Moisturizer not only keeps your skin hydrated, but also really seals in the ingredients you have used previously to maximize their effectiveness.  If you don’t like a lot of products on your face in the morning, we live for a light weight hyaluronic based moisturizer, which will never leave your face feeling sticky or heavy with product.  Your morning moisturizer should be fast absorbing and full of antioxidants.  Want to really do your skin some good?  Find a moisturizer with SPF in it!  

Now onto your evening routine… Especially in your night skin care routine, using a moisturizer is super important. Night time is when your body heals itself, and this includes your skin.  You want to look for a moisturizer that has ingredients which lock in moisture, like ceramides and hyaluronic acid.  Your night time moisturizer should be nourishing, and can be much thicker and heavier than your morning moisturizer.  Look for one with anti-aging ingredients like retinols.  If you have sensitive skin and are worried about using retinoids, you can look for anti-aging night creams, which usually have a smaller dose of retinoids and will be gentler on your skin.  

Step Five, Retinol.

Retinol is a term used to describe all topical products that contain a vitamin A derivative.  Instead of just removing dead skin cells, retinol goes deep beneath the outer layer of your skin to help neutralize free radicals and boost the production of elastin and collagen.  By doing so, it improves skin texture.  This is how  the appearance of wrinkles, enlarged pores, and fine lines is reduced. If you are dealing with any form of acne scarring, adding retinol to your skincare routine order can greatly improve the appearance of your skin, while also preventing new blemishes from appearing.  Retinoids can be used daily, but if you are new to using them can cause a little bit of skin sensitivity and dryness.  To avoid this, you can begin with a small dab in your night time routine, just once a week. Every week, add one more drop per day, until you are finally able to use it seven days a week.  Keep in mind that if your other skincare routine products contain retinoids, you do not need to add it in an extra step.  

Step Six, Oils.

If you are suspicious of putting oils on your skin, let us prove you wrong!  We get it, won’t putting oil on your skin just make you oilier and equate to more breakouts? Nope! This is a common myth. In fact, adding oils to your skin will actually reduce the amount of oil your skin naturally produces to protect itself, and make you break out less.  We love Most Wanted Radiant Facial Oil both in our skincare routine order, morning and night. Before we go on, please understand that not all oils are created equal.  It is very important to do your own research to find out what oils are the best for your skin.  We did a lot of the research when we developed Most Wanted, both by crowdsourcing our ingredients, as well as asking the experts. You always want to make sure your oils are non-comedogenic, which means they will not clog your pores.  When you layer an oil on top of the other products in your skincare routine, you are basically ensuring that everything will be sealed in and absorbed by your skin.  Oils also can easily penetrate the other ingredients you’ve used, which is why they should be applied last.  We know facial oils can be tricky. That’s why we spent two years formulating our face oil serum just for you. Suitable for ALL skin types (including sensitive and acne-prone skin) Most Wanted is THE face oil for people who “can’t use face oil.”

For reference, Most Wanted Radiant Facial Oil contains all of these non-comedogenic oils and ingredients to bring you one super-powered product:  Jojoba Seed Oil, Marula Oil, Rosehip Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, and Hemp Derived Broad Spectrum CBD.

Step Seven, Sunscreen.

Sunscreen doesn’t penetrate any of the ingredients you’ve put on your face, and simply acts as sun protection, which is why it should go as the absolute last step in your routine.  Go for something with at least SPF 30, to not only reduce your risk of skin cancer, but also protect yourself against premature aging and hyperpigmentation.

We really hope this helps in making sense of your skin routine order.  We know it can be a tough space to navigate and find answers and hopefully this article can help shed some light onto why a proper skincare routine matters, both morning and night.