What does the skin need in the morning?
A good skincare routine in the morning does not need to contain many products. The goal is to cleanse if needed, give the skin hydration and care, and finish with sun protection for the day.
A simple morning routine can consist of just three steps:
Cleansing → face cream → sun protection
If you want to get more out of your skincare, you can supplement with, for example, toner, essence, and serum. This allows you to tailor the routine to your skin and add ingredients based on what you want to focus on.
Morning skincare routine in the correct order
A more complete skincare routine in the morning can look like this:
| Step | Product | What does it do? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleansing | Cleanses the skin and provides a good base for the rest of the routine |
| 2 | Toner | Prepares the skin and adds hydration and nourishing ingredients |
| 3 | Essence | Provides additional hydration and care in a light layer |
| 4 | Serum | Tailors the routine based on what you want to focus on |
| 5 | Eye cream | Hydrates and cares for the skin around the eyes |
| 6 | Face cream | Hydrates and helps the skin retain moisture |
| 7 | Sun protection | Protects the skin from UV radiation and finishes the morning routine |
You do not need to use all seven steps. Instead, see them as different parts you can combine based on what your skin needs. For many, cleansing, face cream, and sun protection are more than enough, while toner, essence, serum, and Eye cream make it possible to tailor the routine even further.
Exfoliation and Sheet mask can also be part of skincare, but are not obvious parts of the daily morning routine. Oil-based cleansing is used primarily as the first step in a double cleanse in the evening to dissolve, for example, makeup and sun protection.
If you want to learn more about a complete skincare routine, you can read about the Korean 10-step routine here.
Step 1: Cleanse the skin
The first step is face wash, but how much cleansing the skin needs in the morning varies.
During the night, sebum, sweat, and residue from the evening's skincare may remain on the skin. A gentle cleanser provides a clean base before you apply the rest of your morning products.
For some, it works well to use face wash both morning and evening. Others, especially if the skin tends to become dry easily, prefer to only rinse the face with water in the morning.
Therefore, adapt cleansing to your skin. Oily skin, for example, may appreciate a cleanser that removes excess sebum, while dry or sensitive skin often prefers a gentler and more moisturizing cleanser.
Afterward, the skin should feel clean and comfortable, not tight and dried out.
Step 2: Prepare the skin with toner
After cleansing, you can use toner to moisturize and prepare the skin for the products that follow.
Toner often has a light, water-like consistency and can contain various caring ingredients depending on the product. For example, there are toners focused on hydration, radiance, and the skin barrier, as well as exfoliating variants.
This means that toner can be chosen based on the skin's needs. Dry skin may primarily seek extra hydration, while oily or combination skin may have completely different preferences.
Toner is common in Korean skincare and is an easy way to add both moisture and caring ingredients early in the routine.
Step 3: Add hydration and care with essence
Essence is a common part of Korean skincare and is used after toner to add additional hydration and care.
The consistency is often light and makes it possible to build up skincare in thin layers. This can be especially appreciated if the skin needs more hydration without you wanting to use very heavy products.
The contents vary between different essences. Some focus primarily on hydration, while others contain ingredients aimed at, for example, radiance, the skin barrier, or a more even feel in the skin.
Toner and essence can sometimes have similar properties. Therefore, you do not need to focus too much on the product name, but can instead look at the contents and what function the product serves together with the rest of your routine.
Step 4: Customize the routine with serum
Serum is the step where you can most clearly customize your morning routine based on what you want to focus on.
Serum often contains a higher concentration of selected ingredients and can, for example, focus on:
- hydration
- radiance
- more even skin tone
- the skin barrier
- more even skin texture
If you have dry or dehydrated skin, a hydrating serum can be a good addition. If you instead want to focus on radiance and a more even skin tone, for example, vitamin C is a common ingredient in serums used in the morning.
You do not need to use several serums to have a good routine. Instead, think about what you want to get out of the serum and how it complements toner, essence, and face cream.
Step 5: Care for the skin around the eyes
The skin around the eyes is thin, and an Eye cream is specially developed to care for this area.
Depending on the product, the focus may be, for example, on hydration, dryness lines, or giving the skin around the eyes a more refreshed appearance. In the morning, a lighter Eye cream can be convenient if you also use sunscreen and makeup on top.
A separate Eye cream is not necessary for everyone, but it can be a good addition if you want to give the area around the eyes more tailored skincare.
Step 6: Moisturize with face cream
Face cream adds hydration and helps the skin retain moisture from both the cream and previous steps in the routine.
Which type of face cream is best suited depends primarily on your skin and what the rest of your routine looks like. Dry skin may appreciate a richer cream, while oily or combination skin often prefers a light lotion or gel cream.
In the morning, it is also good to consider how the cream works together with sunscreen and any makeup. If several layers feel too heavy, you can choose lighter textures, while skin that quickly feels dry may need more hydration.
So the important thing is not to choose the richest cream, but a face cream that provides just the right amount of hydration for your skin.
Step 7: Finish with sunscreen
Sunscreen finishes the skincare routine in the morning and is applied after your other skincare products, but before any makeup.
There are many different types of sunscreen for the face. Some are light and hydrating, others provide a more matte finish, and some feel more like a face cream. This means you can choose sunscreen based on both your skin type and which other products you use.
Korean sunscreens are popular, among other things, for their wide range of lightweight formulations that are easy to combine with other skincare products.
The most important thing is to find a sunscreen that works well in your routine and that you are comfortable using regularly.
Do you really need all seven steps in the morning?
No. The seven steps show how a more complete morning routine can be built, not how many products everyone has to use.
If you want to keep it simple, three steps may be enough:
- Cleanse or rinse your face
- Moisturize with face cream
- Finish with sunscreen
If you then want to develop the routine, you can, for example, add a hydrating toner or a serum based on a specific need.
It is often better for each product to have a clear function than to use many products just to have more steps.
Do you have to use face cream under sunscreen?
Not always.
Many facial sunscreens contain moisturizing ingredients and may provide enough hydration on their own for some people. This may, for example, suit oily or combination skin, or during the summer when several layers can easily feel heavy.
If you have dry skin, the combination of a face cream and sunscreen can instead make a big difference in how hydrated your skin feels throughout the day.
Start with your skin and the products you use. A light gel cream together with a moisturizing sunscreen gives a completely different feel than a rich face cream together with a richer sunscreen.
Do the routines need to be the same in the morning and evening?
No. Morning and evening routines have partly different purposes.
In the morning, the focus is on hydrating, caring for, and preparing the skin for the day, and finishing with sunscreen. In the evening, you instead need to cleanse away, among other things, sunscreen, makeup, excess sebum, and what has accumulated on the skin during the day.
A simplified comparison may look like this:
| Morning | Evening |
|---|---|
| Gentle cleansing if needed | Cleansing, double cleansing if needed |
| Toner/essence as needed | Toner/essence as needed |
| Serum adapted to the skin | Serum or other products as needed |
| Face cream | Face cream |
| Sunscreen | No sunscreen |
Some products are also better suited for the evening. Retinol, for example, is usually used in the evening, and exfoliation may also be easier to place there instead of making the morning routine too extensive.
You can therefore use several of the same products morning and evening without the routines needing to be identical.
Adapt your morning routine to your skin
The basic order does not need to change depending on skin type. It is mainly the choice of products and textures that differs.
Dry skin may, for example, appreciate a gentle cleanser, hydrating toner or essence, a hydrating serum, and a richer face cream.
Oily skin also needs hydration, but lighter textures such as toner, serum, and gel cream may feel better than several rich layers.
Combination skin can use light layers over the entire face and adjust the amount of face cream depending on where the skin needs more hydration.
Sensitive skin can benefit from keeping the routine relatively simple and focusing on gentle, moisturizing, and barrier-supporting products. Feel free to introduce new products one at a time.
The routine can also change throughout the year. During the winter, the skin may need more hydration, while fewer and lighter layers may feel better during the summer.
Common questions about a morning skincare routine
In what order should you do skincare in the morning?
A complete order is cleansing → toner → essence → serum → Eye cream → face cream → sunscreen. You do not need to use every step, but can adapt the routine to your skin and the products you use.
What should you put on your face in the morning?
A simple foundation is moisturization and sun protection after you have cleansed or rinsed your face. If you want a more complete routine, you can add, for example, toner, essence, and serum based on what your skin needs.
Do you have to wash your face every morning?
It depends on your skin. Some do well with a gentle face wash every morning, while others, especially if their skin tends to become dry easily, prefer to just rinse their face with water.
What is the difference between toner, essence, and serum?
Toner is used early in the routine and can moisturize, care for, and prepare the skin. Essence often provides an additional light layer of hydration and care, while serum usually has a more concentrated focus on a specific need. However, the products may overlap depending on the formulation.
Should serum or face cream be used first?
Serum is used before face cream. The serum provides selected ingredients based on the skin's needs, while the face cream moisturizes and helps the skin retain moisture.
Should sunscreen be used before or after face cream?
Sunscreen is used after face cream and as the last step in the morning skincare routine. After that, you can apply any makeup.
Do you need both face cream and sunscreen?
Not always. A moisturizing sunscreen may provide enough moisture for some people without a separate face cream. Dry skin, on the other hand, may appreciate the combination of face cream and sunscreen.
Can you use the same skincare in the morning and evening?
Yes, many products can be used both morning and evening. However, the routines do not need to be identical. In the morning, you finish with sunscreen, while the evening routine may include, for example, double cleansing and products that you have chosen to use in the evening.
