Step 6 of 10 · Morning and evening
Treatment
The concentrated active: brightening, barrier support or texture.
See it done
how to use serums and ampoules.
Serums and ampoules go on after essence. Put a few drops on your fingertips, dot them over your face, then smooth and pat them in. Let each one sink in before the next step.
what it does.
This is where your routine becomes yours: one concentrated step for the thing you care about most.
Skip it and: your routine cleans and hydrates, but nothing in it is chosen for what you care about most.
how to use it.
Treatments come in more than one format, and they are not used the same way. Find yours.
Serum
The concentrated active: brightening, barrier support or texture.
- Two or three drops, on damp skin, after your watery layers.
- Press it in rather than rubbing it around.
- Give it a minute before the next layer.
Ampoule
A serum with the volume turned up, for a short intensive stretch.
- Use it where a serum would go, in place of it rather than on top.
- A few drops is the dose; more sits on the surface.
Retinoid
A retinoid: retinol, retinal or a gentler stand-in like bakuchiol.
- Evenings only, on dry skin, after cleansing.
- A pea-sized amount for the whole face.
- Buffer with moisturizer above or below it while you are getting used to it.
- Sunscreen the next morning is not optional.
Spot care
A targeted treatment dabbed on one blemish, not spread over your face.
- Apply to clean, dry skin, after your watery layers.
- Cover the spot only, and leave it uncovered by anything else if the label says so.
how often.
A serum is daily. A retinoid starts at two evenings a week and builds up over a month; an ampoule runs as a course of a few weeks; spot care while the blemish is there. Follow the product's own directions.
