Kayla Young
One of the many common questions that people have when it comes to skincare routine is whether they should apply their moisturizer before or after putting on their serum, retinol, tretinoin, and the like.
This might seem straightforward, but there is a good reason why knowing the answer to this question can have a beneficial impact on your skin overall!
So, if you’ve been wondering how long after serum to apply moisturizer, then the short answer is this: wait at least five minutes for your serum to set into your skin before you moisturize.
Read on to find out what you should do to benefit from even healthier and more vibrant skin.
Contents
How Long After Serum To Apply Moisturizer?
You have a daily skincare routine that includes washing your face, and then applying your products — toner, serum, and moisturizer, which all work to help you keep your skin in tip-top shape.
You may even add in some exfoliating a couple of times a week to help slough away asuny surface dead skin cells (and If you’re not, then you should be!).
But how do you apply your serum and moisturizer? Do you apply the latter first or the other way around? Is it even important which one should be applied first?
Well, we’re here to tell you that yes, there is a very good reason why you should always apply your serum before your moisturizer. In addition, you should always wait at least five minutes for your serum to soak into your skin before adding the moisturizer on top. Read on to find out why…
You should always wait at least five minutes for your serum to soak into your skin before adding the moisturizer on top.
Why Wait To Apply Your Moisturizer After Your Serum?
Many serums and moisturizers have been designed to be used together, especially if both of your products come from the same brand range. But to get the most out of your skincare routine, you should wait at least five minutes after applying your moisturizer before you put on your serum to get the best benefits out of both.
The main reasons for adding time between the application of your serum and moisturizer include facts like:
1. Serums Are More Concentrated Than Moisturizers
The ingredients that are contained in serums have been formulated to provide a boost to your skin, just like having a concentrated juice shot instead of a larger smoothie.
This is because the active ingredients in serums are light in weight, and are composed of smaller molecules that allow for better penetration of your skin.
So, in order for these active and concentrated ingredients, which are also water-based, to fully absorb into your skin as much as possible, you should avoid adding your moisturizer on top too soon.
If you moisturize too soon, you could stop the nutrients in the serum’s active ingredients from working to their full effect.
If you moisturize too soon, you could stop the nutrients in the serum’s active ingredients from working to their full effect.
2. Your Skin Needs To Breathe
To make sure that both products do their best job for your skin, it is important to make sure that you allow your skin to breathe between the applications. This is because both products have been designed to provide your skin with the most hydration possible to keep it at its best.
However, moisturizers have much larger molecules when compared to serums. This means that they sit on the surface of your skin to provide a hydrating layer, rather than being absorbed fully into it.
This gives your skin a protective coating that stops it from being affected by pollutants like dirt and dust.
But if you apply your moisturizer too soon after your serum, then this could result in clogged pores and, therefore, unwanted breakouts — and you definitely don’t want this to happen.
Final Thoughts
If you want to get the best out of your skincare routine, then you should definitely apply your products in the right order.
You should also make sure that you apply your serum on clean skin that is dry after using toner. This will ensure that the serum will fully absorb and penetrate your pores. This will allow your serum to work as it is meant to, and prepare your skin for your moisturizing treatment.
And finally, now that you know how long after serum to apply moisturizer, you need to remember to apply a sunscreen (if your other products don’t already have one included!).
Doing this after waiting for your moisturizer to dry means that your skin will also stay protected from sun exposure. And by doing all of this as part of your daily skincare routine, you will feel confident that you’ve done the best job at keeping your skin at its healthiest.
