We want to answer your most pressing questions—or, you know, just the things that you’re curious
about. Please keep them coming to: [email protected]. Below, a q for our
beauty director, Jean Godfrey-June.
Dear Jean, I never quite understand what order to layer on the skin-care products for my face. Does it even make
a difference? And if so, what comes first, what goes last, and what goes in between? —Nicola P.
Dear Nicola, I get asked this question a lot, and the truth is it’s a pretty inexact science. In general, you want
active treatment ingredients—vitamin C, peptides, alpha hydroxy acids, and the like—on as-close-to-bare skin as
possible. And you want moisturizing, protecting ingredients layered on top.
1
The Prep: Exfoliate
Exfoliating regularly allows treatment ingredients to get into your skin better, and some exfoliants—like
AHAs—are glow-boosting treatments in and of themselves. So it’s always the first step for me. Once a week, I
do an overnight peel. Then every few days (never within at least twenty-four hours of the peel, though, as
exfoliating too much defeats the purpose), I massage my skin with GOOPGLOW Microderm while I’m in the shower;
the water softens up my skin before I even get started, so it works even better.
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goop Beauty
GOOPGLOW 15% Glycolic Acid
Overnight Glow Peel
goop, $125/$112 with subscriptionSHOP NOW
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goop Beauty
GOOPGLOW Microderm
Instant Glow Exfoliator
goop, $125/$112 with subscriptionSHOP NOW
I use the Microderm every other day or so—it depends on my skin and how it’s feeling. Some people
can do it every day—GP does, for instance. Other people need to do it less. It’s really just a personal thing.
After you’ve exfoliated, you’re ready to do your routine. The dead skin cells, dirt, and everything else have
been swept away, so the products in the routine are going to go right in and work harder, for better results.
2
Skin Tonic
I love a tonic. The G.Tox one is made with all kinds of good things for your skin—copper peptides, mild AHAs,
mineral-rich deep-sea water, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid—to get everything into the layers of your skin where
you need the treatment. Because it’s mildly exfoliating, you may not want to use it right after exfoliating
more intensely. But it’s a great starting point, morning or evening (or—so good—after working out), if you
haven’t just exfoliated. You press it into your skin, and all those peptides and everything go to
work, leaving your skin smooth and soft and fresh and your pores practically invisible.
3
Treatment Serum
In the mornings, I treat my skin with vitamin C, and in the evenings, I use a superserum packed with all
manner of active ingredients. Note: If your skin is super oily, you probably need only one of these serums—you
don’t need another moisturizer on top.
Everybody’s skin benefits from vitamin C in the mornings, first thing: It smooths and brightens your skin
tone, and there’s nothing like it for glow. Start using this one, which has hyaluronic acid in it for
weightless moisture, and it shouldn’t be more than a week before someone asks you what you’re doing with your
skin.
In evenings, I use one of our all-time cult-favorite products on goop. People look at it and think, Oh
that’s a face oil. But it’s called a treatment serum because it is a treatment. Whether you’re
breakout-prone or you’re concerned about wrinkles or whatever your concern is, the results are amazing.
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goop Beauty
GOOPGLOW 20% Vitamin C +
Hyaluronic Acid Glow Serum
goop, $125/$112 with subscriptionSHOP NOW
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Vintner’s Daughter
Active Botanical Serum
goop, $185SHOP NOW
4
More Moisture?
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Hyaluronic acid
If you need more moisture, you’ve got options. If your skin is oily or you don’t like the feel of a
richer moisturizer, hyaluronic acid is great because it hydrates your skin but sinks in on contact, almost
like a gel. You can have the oiliest skin in the world and hyaluronic won’t bum your skin out, and you can
have super dry skin and use it as an extra layer.
Dr. Barbara Sturm
Hyaluronic Serum
goop, $300SHOP NOW
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Oil
Some people love oil; some people love moisturizer. I personally layer both if I’m feeling super dry, but
I love oil. My feeling is humanity has been using oil for thousands of years, so there must be something
to it, and it just feels so good (and makes your skin look so good instantly—I love a gleam). This one
from May Lindstrom is technically a serum but so rich and soothing that I slather it on like an oil
(particularly to reawaken my skin during the 4 p.m. slump). It feels so good, it smells so good…
May Lindstrom
The Youth Dew
Hydrating Facial Serum
goop, $140SHOP NOW
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Moisturizer
Despite my love of oils, I also use moisturizer. This can be chalked up in part to my being a beauty
editor, I think. You can layer moisturizer on top of everything, or you can skip the oil step and go
straight to moisturizer. This one is from Alpyn Beauty is amazing—powerfully hydrating and sinks right in.
Alpyn Beauty
PlantGenius Melt
Moisturizer
goop, $60SHOP NOW
5
The Champion Youth
Booster: Sunscreen
Nothing—no serum, no cream, no procedure, even—preserves the fresh, firm glow of youth like mineral
sunscreen. You may have heard dermatologists recommending that sunscreen should go on as a first layer—that’s
if you’re using chemical sunscreen, which you shouldn’t use because it contains some of the more irritating
chemicals in the beauty industry, not to mention potential endocrine disruptors capable of killing coral, and it degrades in sunlight.
Chemical sunscreens work by absorbing dangerous rays, so they need to sink into your skin; mineral sunscreens
sit on top of your skin to deflect rays, so I put them on last.
