Skincare layering explained

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You’re probably familiar with the layering phenomena when it comes to your clothes. For decades it’s been the advice when dressing for uncertain temperatures or on the ski slopes. And it’s been well documented as a fashion trend when it comes to combining your shirts and sweaters finished off with a gillet on top. But layering skincare products? It’s a thing and a technique you should be trying to keep your skin hydrated and protected, especially at this time of year.

Skincare layering works in the same way it does with your clothes; one product on top of the other for maximum moisturising, soothing, firming and so on. And although it’s something your face will thank you for at all times of the year, it can be especially beneficial during the winter months, when the cold, wind, lack of Vitamin D, and central heating can be damaging.

No skincare product is off limits. Although, we’d always advise you to take it easy when it comes to applying more than one product to your face for the first time in case of any reactions. Generally speaking though, your serum, moisturiser, eye cream and sun cream can all go on to provide a supercharged effective skincare regime to deliver high doses of powerful product benefits in one hit. This is the order we recommend:

  1. Cleanser

  2. Mask (can be for cleansing, softening, moisturising etc)

  3. Serum

  4. Moisturiser

  5. Eye cream

  6. See below for the final step


What you choose to use for your step six largely depends on your plans for the rest of the day. When leaving for work, the gym or anything else you would head out for in the day time, you need to apply an SPF moisturiser or sunscreen. Leaving under the cover of darkness? Then best to stick with the moisturiser. If however you’re heading to bed or planning a night of Netflix, an oil will help to lock in moisture for hours to come.

To give your skin a dose of natural, nourishing oils that hydrate and leave your face feeling softer, try our Major Hydrator. A soothing, non-shiny moisturiser for any time of day that’s packed with vital, free-radical-fighting vitamin E.

Recommended reading: Everything you need to know about the new James + Jake Face Wash

James Hood