How I Layer My Skin Care Products – And Why It’s Important For You To Layer Yours, Too

Presented by Estée Lauder x Her Campus

We all know that having a good skincare routine is important to keep our skin happy and healthy, but did you also know that the order of applying your products matters too? 

When layering your skin care products, it’s important to remember to layer in order of consistency. So, you’ll want to layer the lightest products to the heaviest products. And, since 

I have combination/oily skin – and because being a college student sometimes makes my skin look tired and dull from the stress and sleep deprivation – I love products that are meant to make my skin look healthy and glowy.

Layer 1: Removing Your Makeup

Before I start adding products, I make sure to always take off my makeup because removing any makeup first will allow your cleanser to work to the best of its ability.

Layer 2: Cleanser

Once my makeup is off, I use the 2-in-1 Foam Cleanser from Estée Lauder’s Nutritious Collection. It’s a great daily cleanser that removes oil and dirt from the day while also minimizing the look of pores.

Layer 3: Exfoliation and Toner

After cleaning my face, the exfoliator and toner come next. These can be two separate products or a combined product. Exfoliating removes any excess skin cells or dirt and allows the following products in your skincare routine to fully penetrate your skin and toner is used to hydrate and balance the skin.

Layer 4: Masks and Creams

I always reach for the Nutritious Melting Soft Creme/Mask from Estee Lauder, which calms, hydrates, and strengthens the skin barrier. It can be used daily being left on for one minute or weekly being left on for five minutes. When you use the Melting Soft Creme/Mask, you’ll start to see refined skin texture after one use, and after 3 weeks, you’ll see any acne scars you have reduced, your pores minimized, and your oiliness reduced.

Layer 5: Serums and Skin Treatments

This part of your routine is where you really want to be aware of the consistency of the products. If you apply a light product over a heavy product, the light product will have a difficult time penetrating the heavier product and you will not see the best possible results. If you’re using any acne treatments, you’ll want to follow the instructions on the product or from your doctor. Sometimes more harsh skin treatments are better applied after moisturizer but that just depends on person to person.

Layer 6: Moisturizer

Estee Lauder’s Radiant Essence Lotion is the next layer, which is great for minimizing the looks of pores and reducing redness and oiliness. And something to remember is that this next step is very important to keeping your skin healthy. Moisturizers will make sure your skin is hydrated, which is important for all skin types. Following up with a face oil will help that moisture to be retained. It is important though to not only use a face oil as it will not hydrate the skin.

Layer 7: SPF

Finally, the last layer is SPF. This is arguably the most important step in your skincare routine and nothing should be layered over it. It protects your skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun and should be applied no matter what. I find that at least 30 SPF is perfect for daily use.

The next time you go to do your skincare routine, remember these rules for layering and see if you receive better results from your products. Try out the Nutritious Collection by Estee Lauder yourself and let us know what you think at @HerCampusSJSU!

This is a sponsored article. All opinions are 100% our own.

• estee lauder x her campus
• Nutritious Collection