Should You Apply Face Oil Before Or After Moisturizer?

You can use all the makeup in the Caboodle and if your skin is dry and cracked, you still won’t reach your beauty goals!

The truth is, smooth, moisturized-skin is ESSENTIAL to any routine. Not only is skincare important for your makeup, but it actually helps you be healthier and more confident.

However, developing a skincare routine is super intimidating for some people like, what products do you use and where? AND WHEN? Literally so many questions . . . which is why so many women are still stuck with crappy routines and products. 

If you need THE BEST beginner skincare routine and all of our recommended products, check out this post. But, if you’ve already got a good thing going, but you’re interested in adding face oil to the mix, stick around! That’s exactly what we’re discussing today. 

Face oil has a ton of benefits for your skin and it’s getting a lot of buzz on Insta, TikTok, and pretty much everywhere else because it’s basically liquid gold when it comes to boosting hydrating and getting that perfect dewy look. 

So, let’s dive into exactly what face oil is and then how you can easily include it into your existing routine. Here’s what you need to know: 

Should You Apply Face Oil Before Or After Moisturizer?

Having a lot of great products in your skincare toolkit is a perfect first step to getting glowing, healthy skin. However, the order you apply those products is super important.

Putting products on in the wrong order can make them less effective or straight-up ineffective. That’s a waste of your time and money!

As a general rule, you should apply your skincare products from thinnest to thickest consistency for the best application.

What Is A Face Oil?

Face oils primarily do two things: moisturize and lock in hydration. This is a great combo for anyone struggling with dry skin! Plus, face oil naturally gives your skin that fresh glow we’re all striving for.

But, a lot of times, face oils are packed with even more ingredients to be an even better multitasking skincare product! For example, our very own ICE QUEEN FACE OIL also helps reduce signs of aging, protect the skin from UV damage, and promotes cell regeneration while moisturizing!

Needless to say, when you’re ready to expand your skincare routine, face oil should be top priority! Just a couple drops a day can make a HUGE difference.

Difference Between Face Oil And Moisturizer

Face oils and moisturizers are both used for skin hydration, but they go about it differently. First, face oils are made from plant-based oils (duh) and moisturizers are usually water-based. That really changes the way they work on your skin!

Oils are going to soak in and have fewer “instant” effects. They’ll give you that dewy look at first, but over time they’ll soak into your skin to give you long-term hydration and moisture barrier benefits.

Moisturizer, on the other hand, absorbs fast because of the water content. It gives you instant protection, but evaporates throughout the day. So, really it doesn’t give your skin lasting nourishment.

Because of this, face oil AND moisturizer are needed in your skincare routine. Face oil will repair and hydrate your skin for the future while moisturizer keeps everything smooth and protected in the present.

Can You Use Face Oil And Moisturizer?

YES! A million times YES! In fact, you should use face oil and moisturizer. Like we just described, face oil and moisturizer really work in-tandem. For the biggest hydration boost, you need to use both.

Plus, both face oil and moisturizer multitask so much. All the added vitamins in face oil give your skin tons of healthy boosts. And, moisturizer often also includes sunscreen and hyaluronic acid, which can give you some protection and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

So, regardless of how much time you have to get ready in the morning/night or what skin type you have, you should have both face oil in your moisturizer in your routine.

Do You Put Face Oil On Before Or After Moisturizer?

Face oil should go on first. Remember, that we should put our routine in order from thinnest to thickest. Face oil is way thinner consistency than moisturizer, so it should go first.

Here’s the starter skincare routine we recommend:

Best Starter Skincare Routine for Newbies

♡ Step One: Cleanser

Cleanser is always step one. Before you start your routine, your skin needs to be clear and free of makeup! Make sure your cleanser isn’t super harsh we’re looking to cleanse, not completely dry out the skin.

We recommend using CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser for sensitive/dry skin, Elemis for normal/oily skin, and Epionce Lytic Gel Cleanser for acne-prone skin. Whatever you choose, apply the cleanser with baby washcloths! (It’s the best hack.)

♡ Step Two: Toner

Next, is toner! Toner is even thinner than face oil. It basically has the consistency of water and its purpose is to balance your skin’s pH after cleansing to prevent your skin from getting super dry and irritated. We like Holi(Water) Pearl and Rose Hyaluronic Acid Toner, Witch Hazel, and Darphin’s Intral Facial Toner.

♡ Step Three: Face Oil

Now we can do face oil! The oil base is the next thickest consistency. Of course, our top choice is the ICE QUEEN FACE OIL and we recommend applying it with the HOT MESS ICE ROLLER for added skincare benefits! (Here’s all the reasons to use an ice roller and when to use an ice roller in your routine.)

♡ Step Four: Moisturizer

Moisturizer is next! Make sure your skin dries after the face oil, and then massage the moisturizer into your skin. A few of our favorite products are Cetaphil Moisturizer, Epicuren Colostrum Luminous Glow Cream, and Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench.

♡ Step Five: Sunscreen

The final step is SPF! If you want all your skincare efforts to pay off, you MUST protect your skin from the sun. We’re so passionate about sunscreen our founder literally wrote a book about it.

If you don’t want to add SPF as its own step and want to keep your routine ultra-simple, get moisturizer with added SPF! Try something like Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream SPF 30 as a splurge option or CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 30 as a save option.

Face oil comes before moisturizer in your skincare routine!

Your skincare routine is essential to reaching all your beauty goals. Great skin will help elevate your makeup, make you look younger, and even keep you healthy!

Face oil and moisturizer are two of the most important products in your routine. Remember to order your products from thinnest to thickest consistency for the most effective application.

To keep track of it all, write it down in your HOT MINUTE PLANNER. And, to find more ways to take your skincare to the next level, hang out with us at The Skinny Confidential Shop! We’ve got all your beauty needs covered. ♡