What Order Should You Apply Your Skincare? A Simple Step-by-Step Routine
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Your cleanser, serum and creams each have a place in your routine. Knowing what goes on first makes the lineup easier to use, whether you’re getting ready in the morning or winding down at night.
The basic skincare order is cleanser, serum or treatment, then moisturizer. In the morning, finish your skincare with sunscreen before makeup. This follows the general sequence recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Specific product directions and instructions from your dermatologist take priority.
Below, we’ll walk through that order using SolRay Beauty products as examples, including where a separate eye cream fits.
Skincare routine order at a glance
For the four products in our Fan Favorite Set, our published routine is:
- Low pH AHA Gel Cleanser
- The Collagen Serum
- 4% Niacinamide Face Brightening Cream
- 3% Niacinamide Eye Brightening Cream
Morning: Follow the routine with sunscreen. Evening: Use the skincare steps appropriate for your skin and each product’s directions; there’s no nighttime sunscreen step.
This is an application sequence, not a recommendation to use an exfoliating cleanser at every wash. Choose your frequency according to the label and how your skin responds.
1. Start with cleanser
Choose a cleanser that suits your skin. Use lukewarm water and your fingertips, avoid scrubbing, then rinse and gently pat dry. These simple techniques come from the AAD’s face-washing guidance.
In the SolRay lineup, this step is the Low pH AHA Gel Cleanser. Because it contains alpha hydroxy acids, follow its directions rather than treating it like a leave-on exfoliating treatment.
AHAs deserve particular attention to sun protection. The FDA warns that they may increase sensitivity to sunlight and advises sunscreen, protective clothing and limited sun exposure during use and for a week afterward. This is guidance about AHAs—not a blanket rule about every brightening product. Read the FDA’s AHA guidance.
2. Apply your serum or treatment
Serum comes after cleansing and before face cream in this routine. If you use a prescription skin treatment, follow your prescriber’s instructions about where it belongs instead of adding it to a generic layering order.
Our example uses The Collagen Serum, whose listed ingredients include hydrolyzed collagen and hyaluronic acid. The full-size serum in the Fall Skin Reset bundle is 30ml; the travel set contains a separate 15ml bottle.
Use the amount indicated on your product. A serum’s name or texture alone doesn’t establish the right dose or how quickly you should expect results.
3. Follow with moisturizer
Moisturizer helps retain water in the skin. It’s one of the basic steps in the AAD’s simple skincare approach, alongside cleansing and sun protection.
The moisturizer in our example is the 4% Niacinamide Face Brightening Cream. Its ingredient list includes niacinamide and squalane.
Keep this step distinct from sunscreen: the face cream in the bundle is not an SPF product.
4. Add eye cream according to its directions
SolRay’s published routine places the 3% Niacinamide Eye Brightening Cream after face cream. That’s the sequence used here; it isn’t a universal rule for every eye product.
Apply gently around the eye area without tugging, following the product’s placement instructions. The AAD advises gentle application around the eyes.
5. Finish your morning skincare with sunscreen
Apply sunscreen after your other skincare and before makeup, as described in the AAD’s routine guidance.
Choose broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher. Apply it about 15 minutes before going outdoors, and reapply about every two hours outdoors and after swimming or sweating, following the label. Shade and protective clothing also help protect your skin. See the AAD’s sunscreen recommendations.
Sunscreen is a separate purchase; it is not included in the Fall Skin Reset bundle or Fan Favorite Set.
Make the routine work for your skin
Before adding a new product, test it on a small area first. The AAD recommends testing twice daily for seven to ten days. For a cleanser or other rinse-off product, rinse it off after the usual or label-directed time. Wash off and stop using a product if a reaction develops. Follow the AAD’s product-testing instructions.
Be thoughtful about exfoliation, too. How often to exfoliate depends on your skin and the method; doing more can cause irritation. If you also use retinol, a prescription retinoid or benzoyl peroxide, review how those products fit together before adding an exfoliant. The AAD explains how to exfoliate safely.
Common skincare-order questions
Does serum go before moisturizer?
Yes, in the routine above. Apply The Collagen Serum after cleansing, then follow with face cream. Follow different directions if your particular treatment requires them.
Do you need a serum and eye cream?
They are optional additions. A basic routine can center on cleansing, moisturizing and sun protection. Choose additional products for your preferences and skin needs rather than assuming every routine needs the same number of steps. See the AAD’s guidance on keeping skincare simple.
Your skincare favorites, at home and on the go
Want the SolRay products featured in this routine in full sizes, plus a set for your travel bag? The Fall Skin Reset brings them together in one fixed bundle:
- The Collagen Serum — 30ml
- Low pH AHA Gel Cleanser — 150ml
- 4% Niacinamide Face Brightening Cream
- 3% Niacinamide Eye Brightening Cream
- A FREE travel-size Fan Favorite Set
A $172 combined individual retail value. Yours for $99—a savings of $73—with free shipping under our shipping policy.
Four full-size essentials for home, plus their travel-size companions for wherever you’re headed next.
