Why the Order of your Skincare Routine Matters

It’s never too early to start a daily skincare routine. In fact, if you wait until you’ve developed age spots, contour creases, or wrinkles, it could be too late.

Aging is a natural process and one that you can’t control. Though you may not be able to stop the clock on aging, however, you can certainly take steps to slow it down. Following a daily skincare regimen of cleansing, toning, and moisturizing will help keep your skin smooth and supple for as long as possible. Once you’ve established this simple routine, you can start adding spot treatments, boosters, and masks to address specific skin concerns that tend to pop up over time.

There’s no rule that says a skincare routine has to be complicated. Quite the contrary – sometimes simpler is better. Though it may not matter so much which products you include or exclude from your routine, the order in which you apply them does matter.

Here’s what you need to know to put your skincare regimen in the optimal order for efficacy.

Start with the Big Three

The order in which you apply skincare products is critical. Not only does order impact efficacy but failing to follow the proper order could result in wasted time and, even worse, wasted money.

If you’re just starting a skincare routine, avoid the temptation to load up on new products. It’s important to give your skin time to adjust to new products but, more than that, if you add too many products at once you run the risk of diluting the effect or canceling out some products completely. When you’re starting a skincare routine for the first time, it’s best to focus on the big three: cleanser, toner, and moisturizer. Once you’ve got these steps down you can think about adding spot treatments and serums.

Cleanser

Before you apply anything to your face, you need to remove all traces of makeup, excess oil, and other impurities. Cleansing is absolutely essential to optimize ingredient absorption. Look for a gentle cleanser appropriate for your skin type and don’t assume makeup wipes are going to do the trick!

We recommend starting with an oil-based cleanser like Nettoyant Creme followed by a cream or gel cleanser like Gel Nettoyant. You can never go wrong with a double-cleanse.

Toner

After cleansing, it’s important to tone before moving on to serums, moisturizers, and other products. Toners help treat and rebalance the skin while giving an added boost of hydration.

Choose a hydrating, alcohol-free toner like Lotion Yon-Ka PS and apply it by spraying the skin generously, about 6 times, then gently penetrating the production into the skin. If you prefer to use a cotton pad, gently swipe it onto your skin working from the middle outward.

Moisturizer

Even if you don’t include anything else in your skincare routine after cleansing and toning, you absolutely must moisturize. Moisturizer helps protect the skin’s natural barrier that keeps hydration in and impurities out. If you’re using other skincare products, finishing with moisturizer helps seal in the products underneath to improve their efficacy.

In the morning, stick to a lightweight moisturizer that hydrates the skin without making it feel greasy. A gentle hyaluronic acid-based, anti-aging moisturizer like Time Resist Jour is a great option, or you could go with an smoothing day cream like Elastine Jour. In the evening, you can use a thicker moisturizer like Time Resist Nuit or Crème 28 to really amp up hydration while your skin regenerates overnight.

Tips for Adding Serums and Spot Treatments

No matter how many steps your skincare routine has, you always want to start with a gentle cleanse. After cleansing, apply alcohol-free toner while the skin is still damp to boost hydration and treat the skin. From there, you can add serums, spot treatments, and eye and lip contour creams before finishing with moisturizer.

The rule of thumb to follow here is to start with the lightest product and end with the heaviest.

Skin serums are typically water-based and consist of concentrated nutrients, antioxidants, or hydrating ingredients. These products can be applied in the morning or evening and generally only require a few drops of product to yield the desired benefit. A firming serum like Yon-Ka Advanced Optimizer Serum can help lift, firm, and tighten the skin while boosting collagen production to fight the visible signs of aging. Anti-aging serums like Yon-Ka Cellular Code serum help reinvigorate the skin to restore its youthful appearance.

After applying serum, it’s time for spot treatments. Products like Yon-Ka Juvenil and Crème 15 are designed to address imperfections like acne blemishes and excess oil to calm and balance the skin. These products often contain healing ingredients which work together with the active ingredients in concentrated serums to deliver clearer, healthier skin.

Finally, think about adding eye and lip contour cream to address concerns like puffiness, dark circles, and milia along with laugh lines and crow’s feet.

Yon-Ka’s Phyto-Contour is a luxurious anti-aging eye cream formulated to stimulate micro-circulation to eliminate dark circles and puffiness, firming the skin in the eye area. To gently hydrate the skin and smooth away fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes and lips, try Alpha Contour. If smile lines and dryness are a concern, Nutri-Contour lip contour cream is just what you need to smooth sensitive skin and to shield against moisture loss.

Where Do Facial Oils and Boosters Come In?

Like serums, facial oils and boosters are more liquid in texture than creams and traditional moisturizers. The purpose of facial oil is to nourish the skin by balancing out oil production, so it can sometimes be used in place of moisturizer as the last step in your nighttime skincare routine. Facial oils have a larger molecular size, so they should be applied last to avoid inhibiting the absorption of other products. They can also be mixed into your moisturizer. With Yon-Ka products, two of the boosters are facial oils.

Boosters are intended to boost the effectiveness of your moisturizer and give it a shot of active ingredients. They are generally intended to be mixed with moisturizer. If you prefer to use oil-based boosters alone, apply them after moisturizing.

Here are some of the top Yon-Ka boosters you might consider:

Hydra+ Booster – Renew and revitalize the skin with this intensely hydrating concentrate. This booster features blackcurrant, raspberry, and horse chestnut extracts to hydrate the skin while diminishing rough spots and dryness.

Defense+ Booster – Packed with antioxidants, this booster oil protects the skin against external aggressors and fights free radicals. Featuring a cocktail of organic plant oils and essential oils, it fortifies the skin’s natural protective barrier to reduce the visible signs of aging.

Lift+ Booster – Give aging skin new life with this hydrating booster. This treatment features 20 plant extracts in a non-greasy formula that moisturizers the skin with toning and tightening facial contours.

Nutri+ Booster – Boost the benefit of your usual Yon-Ka moisturizer with this nutrient-dense oil. This formula regenerates and nourishes the skin to diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while repairing the effects of sun damage.

Regardless which products you include in your skincare regimen, it’s important to use them properly. Wait at least 30 seconds between each application to give the product time to penetrate. This is the perfect time to complete other steps in your beauty routine such as brushing your teeth or flossing.

Our final recommendation for inclusion in any skincare routine is broad-spectrum sunscreen. Yon-Ka Paris SPF 50 is formulated to filter out UVA and UVB rays while helping the skin maintain hydration. Enriched with three teas and free from nanoparticles, this formula is safe for all skin types.