Skin Care Layering 101: What to Apply in the Morning vs. Night
When it comes to layering skin care, order matters. Apply products in the wrong sequence, and you could be wasting your precious serums instead of helping them fully absorb.
Even worse? Using powerful actives in the morning (like exfoliating acids or retinoids) can leave your skin more vulnerable to sun damage, irritation, and even breakouts.
The golden rule of skin care layering? Go from thinnest to thickest—water-based first, oil-based last.
Mornings should be all about hydration and protection, prepping your skin with antioxidants like Vitamin C and locking everything in with moisturizer and SPF.
Evenings, on the other hand, are for repair and renewal, when your skin is primed to soak up actives like tretinoin, AHAs, and deeper hydration from richer creams.
If you’ve ever wondered about the correct skin care routine order for morning and night—or why your products don’t seem to be working—this guide will break it all down step by step, so you can get the most out of every layer.
Let’s get into it.
If you're paying attention to how you layer your skin care, congrats—you've officially graduated from the basics. While a simple cleanser, moisturizer, and SPF routine works, a well-layered morning routine takes things to the next level, ensuring every product absorbs properly and delivers maximum benefits.
The AM goal? Hydration, antioxidants, and sun protection.
Here’s the correct skin care routine order for morning to keep your complexion balanced, protected, and glowing all day long.
Step 1: Gentle Cleanse Start with a mild cleanser appropriate for your skin type. Morning cleansing removes overnight oil buildup and any residue from evening products without stripping your skin's natural moisture barrier. Lukewarm water works best—hot water can dehydrate and irritate.
Step 2: Tone (Optional) If toning is part of your routine, apply after cleansing. Look for alcohol-free formulas with hydrating ingredients like glycerin or hyaluronic acid. This preps your skin to better absorb the products that follow.
Step 3: Treatment Serums This is where your targeted treatments come in. Apply vitamin C serum first for antioxidant protection against environmental damage. Follow with hyaluronic acid or pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) serums based on your skin's needs.
Pro tip: Strut Brightly packs all 3 of these skin-loving ingredients in one fabulous cream.
Step 4: Eye Cream The delicate eye area needs special attention. Gently pat (don't rub) eye cream using your ring finger. Look for formulas with caffeine to reduce puffiness or peptides for fine lines.
Step 5: Moisturize Lock in hydration with a moisturizer suited to your skin type. Lightweight formulas work well for oily/combination skin, while richer creams benefit dry skin types. Even oily skin needs moisturizer—just choose a non-comedogenic option.
Step 6: SPF (Non-Negotiable) Finish with broad-spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen, applying generously to face, neck, and chest. If using a moisturizer with built-in SPF, ensure it's at least SPF 30 and apply enough for adequate protection. Reapply every two hours when outdoors.
Step 7: Primer & Makeup (Optional) If you wear makeup, allow SPF to set for 3-5 minutes before applying primer or foundation.
Pro Tips:
When you're asleep, your skin shifts to recovery mode. This makes your PM routine the perfect time for treatment-focused products that repair daily damage and boost cell renewal.
While a basic cleanse-and-moisturize might seem sufficient, the right layering sequence dramatically enhances overnight skin regeneration.
Here's the correct skin care routine order for evening to maximize cellular turnover and wake up to a refreshed, revitalized complexion.
Step 1: Double Cleanse Begin with an oil-based cleanser to dissolve makeup, sunscreen, and sebum, followed by a gentle water-based cleanser to remove any remaining impurities. This ensures a clean canvas for your active ingredients to properly penetrate and work overnight.
Step 2: Exfoliate (2-3 times weekly) After cleansing, apply chemical exfoliants like AHAs or BHAs to remove dead skin cells and improve product absorption. Keep this step to 2-3 times per week to prevent irritation, and never use on the same nights as tretinoin.
Step 3: Tone (Optional) Balance your skin's pH with an alcohol-free toner. Evening formulas may contain mild exfoliating ingredients or hydrating components that prepare the skin for treatment products.
Step 4: Hydrating Serums Layer your serums from thinnest to thickest consistency. Start with antioxidant serums to help repair environmental damage, followed by hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid.
Step 5: Anti-Aging Treatments Tretinoin is your power player for cellular renewal. Apply a pea-sized amount to completely dry skin (waiting 15-20 minutes after cleansing).
Traditionally, tretinoin should be applied before moisturizer but after water-based serums.
However, if you have sensitive skin, you should layer this ON TOP of moisturizer to help buffer the skin.
Step 6: Eye Cream The delicate eye area needs special attention. Apply eye cream before facial moisturizer, gently patting (never rubbing) with your ring finger to target fine lines, dark circles, and puffiness.
Step 7: Neck Care Don't stop at the jawline! The neck shows signs of aging faster than the face, yet is often neglected in skincare routines. Apply dedicated neck products or extend your facial treatments downward in upward strokes. The thin skin here benefits from the same active ingredients as your face.
Step 8: Night Cream Seal everything with a nourishing night cream. If using tretinoin or other acids, opt for a fragrance-free formula with ceramides and fatty acids to counteract potential dryness. Apply generously to lock in all your treatment layers.
Step 9: Facial Oil (Optional) For extra nourishment, especially in dry seasons or for mature skin, finish with 2-3 drops of facial oil. This creates a protective seal that prevents moisture loss throughout the night.
Pro Tips:
The golden rule of skincare layering is simple: always go from thinnest to thickest consistency. Water-based products come before oil-based ones, light serums before rich creams. This ensures each ingredient can properly penetrate and do its job without barrier interference from heavier products.
Morning routines protect (cleanser → serums → moisturizer → SPF), while evening prioritizes repair and renewal (double cleanse → treatments → retinoids → moisturizer).
Don't forget your neck—it shows aging faster than your face but receives far less attention in most routines.
Strut's prescription-strength formulas are custom-tailored to address your specific concerns with clinical-grade ingredients like tretinoin, DMAE, azelaic acid, and niacinamide.
Take our free 15-minute consultation to see if our formulas are right for you. Licensed physicians review every case, and if prescribed, your custom creams ship right to your door.
.png)
.png){kind=icon}
.png){kind=icon}
