How long should you wait to apply moisturizer after serum

There is an order of operations for your skin care routine. Washing your face as the first step makes sense for practical reasons — you want to start with a clean canvas to soak up the nourishing goodness the rest of your regimen provides. But other parts are more nebulous. For example: Do serums go before or after your moisturizer?

Generally, the consensus among dermatologists is that your serum should be applied before your moisturizer. Think of it as the middle child of your beauty routine: It’s meant to be sandwiched because of factors like the molecular weight of the formula, the base of the serum, and the time of year you’re using it. Here, derms explain everything you need to know about the product category, which happens to be arguably the most important part of your skin care regimen.

What Is A Serum?

A serum is a targeted treatment within your routine that is known for doing a large chunk of the transformative work on your skin. They will feature star ingredients like vitamin C, retinol, bakuchiol, and chemical exfoliants to treat hyper-specific skin concerns — think evening out texture, fading dark spots, reducing the appearance of fine lines, and fighting breakouts. Moisturizers, meanwhile, have a more general goal: keeping your skin hydrated.

You can choose from two main serum categories: those that are oil-based and those that are water-based. “Most serums are water-based,” says Dr. Diane Madfes, M.D., FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist. She notes these formulas usually contain active ingredients like hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, and ferulic acid, and tend to be lighter in texture, which makes them better for acne-prone skin.

Oil-based serums, on the other hand, are usually used for retinols, says Madfes, though you can find other MVP actives in the formula as well. The perk of these is that the oil works as a buffer that helps slowly release the potent ingredient (like retinol) into your skin while providing moisture to combat potential irritation.

Do You Apply Serum Before Or After Moisturizer?

The complete skin care routine order calls for your cleanser, toner (if you use one), serum, moisturizer, and your SPF, respectively. The general rule of thumb is that your products should be applied in order of thinnest to thickest in their consistency, says Dr. Lian Mack, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist and rep for Catrice Cosmetics.

Serums go before your moisturizer because they’re normally lighter than a face cream, balm, oil, or lotion. “Serums are formulated with small molecular weight actives so they penetrate into deeper skin layers,” says Dr. Loretta Ciraldo, M.D., FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Dr. Loretta skin care. Moisturizers, on the other hand, are less liquid and more viscous and creamy, she explains. Madfes adds that “they’re typically denser and create a barrier to keep all the ingredients in.” So the lightness of the serum would have a hard time making it through the barrier that a good moisturizer is meant to create on the skin. Think of trying to run jelly, compared to water, through a strainer.

There’s an exception to the serum-before-moisturizer rule, however: If you’re using an oil-based serum, Madfes says you can actually skip your moisturizer altogether. “Just make sure you give your oil-based serum at least 15 minutes to be absorbed by your skin before applying anything else, like sunscreen,” she tells Bustle. Another thing to note? “Many people don’t need a moisturizer over their serum during the summer months,” Madfes adds. If your skin’s on the oily side or if you’re breaking out, just ditch the face cream and let your serum work double duty. In the winter, however, Madfes says moisturizer should always be used over your water-based serums. And there you have it.

Studies referenced:

Lin, T-K. (2018). Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. doi: 10.3390/ijms19010070

Experts:

Dr. Loretta Ciraldo, M.D., FAAD, a board certified dermatologist and founder of Dr. Loretta skin care

Dr. Lian Mack, M.D., board-certified dermatologist and rep for Catrice Cosmetics

Dr. Diane Madfes, M.D., FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist

Looks like skin care has been filled with rules lately. But when it comes to waiting between applying different skin care products, how long is enough?

We know you’ve wondered it before. After you slather on your possibly really expensive serum and then immediately cover it with your other kind of pricey moisturizer, you think, “Oh snap, did I just cancel out the effect of my serum by immediately dousing it with moisturizer? Shouldn’t I have waited for the serum to ‘sink in’ and take effect?’”

Do You Need To Wait At All?

To put it simply, the answer is nope. We spoke to two dermatologists and they all said that the whole idea of waiting for your products to “sink in” is a big old myth. “Your skin is incredibly effective at absorbing ingredients,” says Rachel Nazarian, a dermatologist in New York City. “In reality, you don’t need to wait more than a few seconds to rub in a product before you apply something on top of it.”
But what about all the acids you use? Surely, those must need some time to settle into your skin, right? The derms say it’s not completely necessary but for some acids, you might feel more comfortable waiting. For example, when you apply a BHA (beta hydroxy acid), like in Some By Mi’s AHA BHA PHA 30Days Miracle Toner, it can feel a bit abrasive, so you may want to wait a good 20 minutes to let it sink in before you use a moisturizer over it to calm your skin.
However, Vivian Bucay, a dermatologist in San Antonio, does say that it does take time for products to be fully absorbed into your skin. “It typically takes around 30 minutes for products to be absorbed, meaning, that if something is washed off before 30 minutes, it would need to be reapplied,” she says.

The Exceptions

So, that’s it? You never have to wait for any products? Not necessarily. Like everything in life, there are exceptions. And those exceptions are sunscreen, acne products, and vitamin C.
“Sunscreen and acne medications are super sensitive, delicate, and unstable,” says Nazarian. She says that when you mix sunscreen with other lotions and creams, it can actually dilute the ingredients in your sunscreen and reduce its effect. “To wear sunscreen along with other topical makeup, rub the sunscreen into your skin until it’s fully absorbed—give it about one minute—and then apply makeup or lotions after,” says Nazarian.
Another exception is acne medicine. When you have a pimple, you’ll want to wait until your spot treatment is absorbed before putting on other products.
“Prescription medications like acne creams need to be absorbed fully before secondary creams are applied, but that should take less than a minute,” says Nazarian. And if you see your products rolling up into little balls on your cheeks, that’s still not a sign that you should wait for a product to be absorbed. You just need to wait for them to dry before putting on the next product. “If your creams are peeling and rolling into little balls on the skin, you’re either applying too much product or you need to wait a minute longer for it to fully dry before layering,” says Nazarian.
Finally, when it comes to vitamin C, you’ll want to be careful when applying this one. Since it’s a pretty strong acid, we’ve found that it’s best to wait a little bit before applying anything on top of it immediately. This way, you can ensure that your vitamin C serum has fully seeped into your pores before you cover it with a moisturizer. Or better yet, you could perform one of our editor’s favorite skin care hacks: Instead of waiting around for your vitamin C serum to sink in, kill two birds with one stone and simply add in a few drops of your favorite vitamin C serum (we love the Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin C Serum) into a lightweight gel or cream moisturizer (The Then I Met You Calming Tide Gel Cream is our pick).
+How long do you wait before applying the next steps in your skin care routine? Let us know below!

How much time should I wait to apply moisturizer after serum?

Do you have to wait between serum and moisturizer?

How long should I wait before applying moisturizer?

How long does it take for serums to absorb?