It is also the step people get wrong in sequence more than any other, particularly alongside retinol. There is a section on that below, because the order matters more than the product.
The selection runs from lightweight gels for oily skin to a whipped tallow balm, with several plant-derived options formulated with organic ingredients.
Using Moisturizer With Retinol
Moisturizer goes on after retinol. That is the short answer, and it is the one most people get backwards.
The reasoning is absorption. Retinol needs contact with skin to convert and work. A moisturizer applied first sits between the two and blunts it. Applied afterwards, the moisturizer seals the retinol in and cushions the irritation that comes with it.
How long to wait. Give retinol ten to twenty minutes to absorb before applying moisturizer. If you are new to retinol or your skin runs reactive, you can apply moisturizer first as a buffer, accepting that it reduces the strength of the retinol. That trade is worth making while your skin adjusts.
Can you put moisturizer over retinol? Yes, and you should. Retinol without a moisturizer behind it is the single most common reason people give up on it in the first fortnight. The flaking and tightness they blame on the retinol is usually a barrier problem the moisturizer would have solved.
The sequence, in full:
- Cleanse and let skin dry completely. Retinol on damp skin penetrates faster and irritates more.
- Retinol or retinal, a pea-sized amount for the whole face.
- Wait ten to twenty minutes.
- Moisturizer.
Evening only. Retinol and retinal both increase sun sensitivity, so sunscreen the following morning is not optional.
For the retinal serums themselves, which convert faster and irritate less than retinol, see Serums.
Choose this if: You use retinol and your skin has been flaking, tight, or generally unhappy about it.
Look at this instead: If retinol has never suited you at all, the retinal options in Serums are a gentler route to the same result.
By Skin Type
Dry to very dry. The DNA Skin Super Phyto Rich Moisturizer and PCA Collagen Hydrator, both formulated for skin that drinks a cream and still feels tight an hour later.
Oily and combination. The PCA Clearskin Moisturizer, lightweight and formulated for normal to oily skin.
Do you need moisturizer if you have oily skin? Yes, and skipping it usually makes the oil worse. Skin that is stripped of moisture compensates by producing more, which is why the most aggressively degreased faces are often the shiniest by mid-afternoon. Use something light rather than nothing.
Hydration above all. Osmosis Hydrate is a plumping hydrating moisturizer, and Osmosis Quench is the nourishing version for skin that needs more.
Crepey, thinning skin. Osmosis Crepe Correct is formulated specifically for the fine, loose texture that appears on the neck and around the eyes before anywhere else.
Reactive or compromised. Osmosis Remedy MD is a soothing balm rather than a moisturizer in the usual sense. If products you normally tolerate have started to sting, use this until they do not.
Anti-Aging, Collagen and Night Care
DNA Skin Phyto Collagen Moisturizer and PCA Collagen Hydrator are the collagen moisturizers here. Neither replaces the collagen in your skin, because no topical does. What they do is support the structures that hold it while delivering the hydration that makes existing collagen look better.
DNA Skin Phyto Collagen Night Creme is the night cream. Skin loses more water overnight than at any other point, and repairs most actively while you sleep, which is why a night formula is richer than a day one and why using them interchangeably wastes both.
Day cream or night cream? A day cream is lighter, sits under makeup, and ideally carries or pairs with sun protection. A night cream is richer, more occlusive, and free to include actives that would not survive daylight. If you use only one, make it the night cream and layer something lighter in the morning.
Osmosis Enrich is a restorative face and neck cream. The neck ages faster than the face and is usually treated as an afterthought, which is why it gives people away.
DNA Skin Anti Aging Eye Repair Creme is the eye cream for wrinkles. The skin around the eye is thinner and shows change first, which is why whatever is left on your fingers is not enough.
Organic and Plant-Derived Moisturizers
The DNA Skin Phyto range is the plant-derived option here. Three products, formulated with organic ingredients and marked as such on pack: the Phyto Collagen Moisturizer, the Super Phyto Rich Moisturizer and the Phyto Collagen Night Creme.
Plant-derived formulas generally trade speed for tolerability. They work more slowly than synthesised actives and complain less, which suits skin that reacts to concentrated ingredients or anyone who would rather keep the ingredient list short.
For the full plant-derived range, see DNA Skin.
Tallow Balm
Starseed Grass-Fed Whipped Tallow Balm, with vanilla bean. The most unusual thing on this page, and the one people ask about most.
Is tallow good for your face? Tallow is rendered animal fat, and its appeal is that its fatty acid profile is close to what human skin produces. That makes it unusually compatible as an occlusive, particularly on very dry or flaking skin. It is a single-ingredient approach in a category that usually reaches for twenty.
Two honest caveats: It is heavy, so it suits dry skin far better than oily. And the category is new enough that opinion among dermatologists is genuinely divided, with some sceptical of the claims made for it.
What is not in dispute is that it seals moisture in effectively? Grass-fed sourcing and the whipped texture are what separate a good one from a greasy one, and this is both.
Choose this if: Your skin is very dry, or you want the shortest ingredient list available.
Look at this instead: If your skin runs oily or breaks out easily, this is too heavy. The PCA Clearskin Moisturizer is the better fit.
FAQ
Should you apply retinol before or after moisturizer?
Retinol first, moisturizer after. Retinol needs direct contact with skin to work, and a moisturizer applied first blunts it. Wait ten to twenty minutes between the two. If your skin is reactive, applying moisturizer first as a buffer is acceptable while you build tolerance.
How long after retinol should you apply moisturizer?
Ten to twenty minutes. That gives the retinol time to absorb before you seal it in. Applying immediately dilutes it slightly. Waiting much longer achieves nothing and leaves skin exposed while it adjusts to the active.
Can you put moisturizer over retinol?
Yes, and you should. Retinol without a moisturizer behind it is the most common reason people abandon it within a fortnight. The flaking and tightness usually blamed on retinol is a barrier problem that moisturizer would have prevented.
How do you layer moisturizer and serum?
Serum first, moisturizer second. Serums are lighter and more concentrated, designed to absorb. Moisturizer is heavier and seals what is beneath it. Apply serum to slightly damp skin, wait a minute, then moisturize. Reversing the order wastes both.
Do you need moisturizer if you have oily skin?
Yes, and skipping it usually makes oil worse. Skin stripped of moisture compensates by producing more, which is why aggressively degreased faces are often the shiniest by afternoon. Use something lightweight rather than nothing at all.
What is the difference between a day cream and a night cream?
Weight and purpose. A day cream is lighter, sits under makeup, and pairs with sun protection. A night cream is richer and more occlusive, and can include actives that would not survive daylight. If you use only one, choose the night cream.
How much moisturizer should you use?
Roughly a fingertip's worth for the whole face, more for the neck. Most people use too little in winter and too much in summer. If it has not absorbed within a minute or two, you have applied more than your skin can take.
