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What Order Should You Apply Face Masks, Exfoliants, and Serums?

Here’s a clear, evidence-minded guide to what order should you apply face masks, exfoliants, and serums?. We’ll keep it practical, gentle, and easy to apply.

The order of application matters to get the most from each product. General rule: light (water-like) products go first, then heavier ones. Here’s a typical routine for using cleansers, exfoliants, masks, and serums: Cleanse First: Always start with a clean face.

Use a gentle cleanser to remove makeup, dirt, and oils. Exfoliate (If Using): If you plan to exfoliate (scrub or acid) in that session, do it right after cleansing and before your mask . Exfoliating unclogs pores and removes dead cells, so subsequent products penetrate better .

For example, scrub or AHA/BHA toner on cleansed skin for 1–2 minutes, then rinse. This preps your skin for the mask. (Note: If your mask is itself an exfoliating peel, skip a separate exfoliant that day.) Apply Face Mask: After exfoliation (if any), apply your mask. Masks can be clay, mud, cream, sheet, etc.

A clay or mud mask after exfoliating can further deep-cleanse and tighten pores. A hydrating sheet mask on slightly exfoliated skin will more effectively deliver moisture. Leave the mask on for the recommended time, then rinse off (or peel off) as directed.

Tone (Optional): After removing the mask, you can swipe on a gentle, hydrating toner (avoid acidic toners right after heavy exfoliation or strong masks) to restore pH balance and lightly refresh the skin . Serums & Treatments: Now apply serums and treatment products. These are usually potent (like hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, peptides, etc.) and should go on slightly damp or toned skin.

Because your dead cells are cleared away, serums absorb more effectively . For example, apply your favorite brightening or hydrating serum over the entire face. If you have spot treatments (like a specific hyperpigmentation cream), use them after serum.

Moisturizer: Lock in everything with a moisturizer to provide hydration and barrier . This step follows serums to seal in active ingredients. Sunscreen (Daytime): Finish with SPF 30+ if it’s your morning routine.

Special Cases:

• If you exfoliate but skip the mask , just cleanse → exfoliate → serum → moisturizer .
• If you use a sheet mask without exfoliating , just cleanse → sheet mask → serum → moisturizer .
• If exfoliating with acids, do it on clean skin, then follow immediately with a hydrating serum (like

hyaluronic acid) and moisturizer . Why this order? It’s all about function: Exfoliants should go first because dead cells block penetration.

Masks treat broadly (with ingredients sitting on the skin), so they come before serums. Finally, serums penetrate to lower skin layers and must be under the moisturizer . In practice, one source advises exfoliating1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. before a mask so the mask works more effectively .

Another routine example is: cleanse → exfoliate → mask → toner → serum → moisturizer → SPF .

Example Routine When Using Both:

• PM: Remove makeup, cleanse. Exfoliate (if it’s your exfoliation night), rinse. Apply clay mask for 10

minutes, rinse. Tone. Apply a targeted serum (e.g., anti-aging or brightening).

Finish with moisturizer . If you’re not exfoliating that day, just cleanse → mask → tone → serum → moisturizer . Always listen to your skin.

Don’t exfoliate or peel every day – even doing one acid treatment and one mask per week (on different days) can yield great results without overloading the skin.

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