Do you put serum on before moisturiser?

Using a hydrating serum alongside a moisturising face cream is a fantastic way to leave your skin feeling smooth and looking younger and blemish free, but when applying multiple skincare products, it’s important to do so in the right order. If you get it wrong in this instance, there won’t be drastically negative consequences, but you won’t get the full benefit of each product.

Serum should always be applied before moisturiser because serum is designed to penetrate deep into the skin, allowing its active ingredients to reach deep down into the dermis. A moisturiser on the other hand, is designed to provide a protective barrier over the skin, sealing it off from environmental hazards. With that being said, if you apply your moisturiser before your serum, you’ll essentially be forming a seal over the skin with the moisturiser and preventing the serum from penetrating the skin and will therefore see less benefit from using the serum.

How long should you wait between applying serum and moisturiser?

There is no specific amount of time that you should wait between applying serum and moisturiser as each product will contain different ingredients that require different application methods. That being said, it is standard practice to wait between 30 and 60 seconds between applying serum and moisturiser. Try the following skincare routine for maximum results:

1. Wash your hands, face and neck with warm water, ensuring you wipe away any visible dirt
2. Apply several drops of hydrating serum directly to the skin and massage it into your face using your fingertips
3. Press gently on your skin from cheek to cheek, forehead to chin
4. Wait for 30 - 60 seconds for the hydrating serum to settle
5. Rub a pea-sized amount of moisturising face cream into the palm of your hand using your fingertips to warm it up
6. Gently massage the moisturiser into your skin

Is serum better than moisturiser?

It’s hard to compare serums vs. moisturisers because although they are both designed to improve the quality of your skin, they have quite different roles in doing so. Serums could be considered the better option if you had to choose one or the other, because they contain a greater concentration of skin rejuvenating ingredients designed to penetrate deep into the skin. However, if you are suffering from dry skin, then a moisturiser is going to be the better option because its main job is to hydrate the skin and prevent water loss.

If you are suffering from a skincare problem such as hyperpigmentation, it’s best to use a combination of hydrating serum and moisturising face cream to see faster results, particularly when trying to get rid of hyperpigmentation on your face. While hyperpigmentation can go away by itself, depending on the cause, it is often better to start treatment as early as possible in order to even your skin tone quicker.