November 2022 How To Layer The Ordinary Products – Beginner´s Guide To Layering Skincare Products The Ordinary Black Friday Sale is here – 23% off everything The complete beginner´s guide to layering The OrdinaryHello Deciem Addicts! So, you have probably just heard about The Ordinary, ordered a whole load of products and now wondering how to apply them and in which order. You´re not alone, and I hope this page helps you. Here´s a quick chart with all The Ordinary products in their solutions and you would add them in the order from left to right although there are a few exceptions. So make sure you continue to read the rest of the page! The Ordinary Solutions – How to layer The Ordinary ProductsLayering your products in the correct order is important to learn in order for the products to penetrate the skin and do their job. This is the general rule for layering your skincare products. On each box, it does say where to apply the product. Emulsion & Suspensions are the tricky ones as there are conflicting answers from The Ordinary. Sometimes The Ordinary say emulsions before suspensions, and sometimes they say suspensions after emulsions.
* 2 products are in powder form. Niacinamide Powder and L-Ascorbic Acid Powder and you can mix these with the recommended products. If you are a beginner at skincare, I would personally avoid using powders and stick to serums to start. Here is a longer version of layering skincare products including cleanser + SPF;
How to layer skincare tips
The Ordinary Products By SolutionsWater-Based Products = 1
Anhydrous Solutions = 2Add number 2 to all these products if you have them. These should be applied after water solutions (if used) and before oils/creams.
Oil-Based Products = 3Oils should be applied after water solutions but before creams/emulsions. Some people use these as their very last step. Deciem recommends oils before heavy creams like Natural Moisturising Factors. See which way works for you. You can always mix a couple of drops of oil into the Natural Moisturizing Factors.
Emulsions = 4This is where it gets a little more confusing, and you need to do a bit of free-thinking. Emulsions/Creams are supposed to be the last step, but this doesn’t really work exceptfor the Natural Moisturising Factors and the Sun Creams.
Suspensions = 5These products cause a bit of confusion. The Ordinary originally recommended using these products before a cream like Natural Moisturising Factors. Now The Ordinary recommends using these after. Leave out the Natural Moisturising Factors if you find it´s too much on your skin. There are numerous posts about layering The Ordinary and one says emulsions followed by suspensions and the other suspensions followed by emulsions.
PowdersMix these with the suggested products.
The Ordinary Regimen ExamplesYou can see numbers (as above) in bold, which hopefully will help you understand how to layer The Ordinary. Remember, thinnest / clearest to heaviest / opaque. This is the order, but it doesn’t mean you have to always use all 4 of them. You might just do 2+3 or 1+1 or 1+2. The Ordinary Skincare Routines – How To Build Your Skincare RoutineBelow are some examples of skincare routines. You can find lots more routines here. The Ordinary routines include rosacea, signs of ageing and lots of personalised routines.
Deciem – How To Create A Skincare Routine & How To Layer The ProductsThe Ordinary ConflictsHopefully, you are a bit clearer on how to layer The Ordinary and all the different solutions. Now to the really confusing part, the conflicts. The products you should not use in the same routine. There is also a NIOD conflicts chart too. Keep The Ordinary SimpleThe Ordinary recommends only using ONE of the following in any routine.
Some TipsIf a product has too many conflicts (e.g. Buffet + Copper Peptides), you could find it challenging to use alongside your other products. Think before buying. Create your own skincare routine online, or use one of the existing routines so you can be sure all the products can be used together. Don’t buy too many products of the same solution or category and stick to the same routine for a good few weeks for the best results. I know from experience that when you first hear about The Ordinary you will fill your basket up because the products look so cheap. But please, don’t waste your money. You will end up with lots of products that conflict and not enough time to use them all.
Why you should start slowly?If you use 3 products all at once for the first time and your skin has a reaction, how will you know which product caused it? That’s why it´s important to introduce one product at a time. Patch Testing The OrdinaryThe Ordinary recommends patch-testing all products before using. In reality, the majority of people will not patch test, but you have been warned! If you decide not to patch test, at least introduce one product at a time. Read how to patch test The Ordinary here. The Ordinary Layering Guide – photo from The OrdinaryThis is a guide from The Ordinary on how to layer products. The Ordinary recommends no more than 3 serums in a routine, and they are not saying to do all 8 steps here. You may only use Cleanser + Water-based Serum + Creams + SPF in a routine or Cleanser + Anhydrous + Creams + Suspension + SPF as an example. If you layer too many products, you may experience “pilling” where you will have lots of bits coming off your face once you apply your SPF or makeup and it is not a nice feeling. Photo from The OrdinaryRemember – this is the order of how to layer your skincare products, but you DO NOT need to use all these products.Can we use alpha arbutin and retinol together?Both alpha arbutin and retinol are safe to use together and can help to provide a greater improvement to the skin, so you get a brighter, more even tone.
Is niacinamide and retinol okay together?You can combine niacinamide with all other serums and creams. You can use it with retinol, Hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C, BHAs, or AHAs. Niacinamide and retinol work well together.
Can I layer alpha arbutin and niacinamide?Yes, using niacinamide and alpha arbutin together is a highly effective, multifaceted approach to reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation and dark spots and support a brighter-looking complexion.
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