Words: Dr. Michele Squire // @qr8_curate

Intro: Sarah Tarca // @tarca

How to layer your skincare has to be one of the most confusing parts about a beauty routine. Where do the actives go? Does sunscreen go first or last? And, of course the most contentious of all: when do you use your face oil in your routine?

Most of us were happily slapping it on like a serum, following with a moisturiser, but then there was this article by The Cut which said, quite definitively, that oils should most definitely go last in a routine. They say “Oil is impermeable, a.k.a. not easily penetrated. Water is repelled by it. Putting on rosehip oil before using a hyaluronic acid or water-based serum is like pulling a condom over your head before using a sheet mask.”

But then you speak to beauty companies who also say it depends on the facial oil, claiming that theirs is “thinner” than most so can be used like a serum. So, who to believe? We spoke to one of our favourite skincare experts, Dr Michele Squire, founder of science consultancy, Qr8 to find out once and for all.

Ok, so give it to us straight: does oil go on before OR AFTER moisturiser?

I hear this quesstion ALOT. It has become a major issue with the introduction of single-ingredient product layering, and complex routines combining products from multiple companies. Couple that with the enormous range of formulations in the market and beauty company marketing about how they want you to use their product... it’s easy to see why it’s so confusing. All of this makes it impossible to come up with a hard and fast rule about layering.

So let’s apply some common sense to the fate of skincare when we apply it to our skin. Oils do definitely localise to the outer epidermis (the stratum corneum), but so do most other cosmetic-grade (non-prescription) skincare. And products applied to skin don’t stay in the discrete layers you applied them in, especially if you massage them in.

In each single product you apply, the water content (which makes up the majority of most products) mostly evaporates off the skin. Some of the water and other ingredients penetrate a short distance (if they are formulated to do that) and other ingredients form a protective film on the skin. So, although it can feel overwhelming, don’t get too hung up on the order of things; well-formulated products will still be doing the job they were designed to do, no matter what order you layer in.

When it comes to oils, my simple guideline is just to apply products in order from lightest (most watery) to heaviest (most creamy/greasy), finishing up with those products that contain the most occlusive ingredients (including the occlusive oils) to seal in the water content from the earlier products, or any endogenous water that has been attracted into the outer epidermis by humectants.

“don’t get too hung up on the order of things; well-formulated products will still be doing the job they were designed to do, no matter what order you layer in.”

Beauty companies (especially those who market oil products) have often said that where oils go in your routine is dependent on the type of oil and size of the molecules. Is there any truth to that?

Oils do have different properties depending on their molecular weight (for example, oils with high molecular weight have higher melting points). But it’s way more complex than just “size” - the properties of different oils also depend on their chemical and molecular structures.

So, to some extent, the type of oil and its molecular size do matter, but this relates more to how oils mix with other ingredients in a formulation sense, including how quickly they oxidise and how lubricating or viscous they are. These are issues that concern formulators choosing the correct oil for its intended function (a lip balm vs a massage oil, for example) and stabilizing it correctly – not something consumers really need to be worried about.

This is another one of those things not to get too worked up about! Just remember that most oils are emollients - although different oils will differ in their molecular size and properties, they don’t penetrate far into the outer skin layer and their job is to make skin feel and look smooth and soft. So if you apply the ‘watery to oily/greasy’ application guideline in your own routine, you can’t go astray.

Dr. Michele Squire is the founder of Qr8 and Qr8 Mediskin , a science-based prescription skincare service that assesses your skin and tailors products based on your real life skin concerns (not those marketing will have you believe!)

Once and for all: where do you layer oil in your skincare routine?

Ok, so give it to us straight: does oil go on before OR AFTER moisturiser?

“don’t get too hung up on the order of things; well-formulated products will still be doing the job they were designed to do, no matter what order you layer in.”

Beauty companies (especially those who market oil products) have often said that where oils go in your routine is dependent on the type of oil and size of the molecules. Is there any truth to that?