Rant: People keep using facial oils before moisturizer and ruining their skin barrier

I've been doing facials for about 5 years now and I keep seeing estheticians online telling clients to apply oil before moisturizer. That's backwards. Oil creates a barrier that stops the water-based moisturizer from soaking in. Last week a client came in with dry, flaky cheeks and tiny breakouts around her chin. She said she followed a routine from an influencer with 200k followers. I asked what she was doing and she said oil, then moisturizer, then sunscreen. Her skin looked like lizard leather with clogged pores. I switched her to moisturizer, then oil, then sunscreen and she texted me 5 days later saying her skin felt normal again. Who started this whole oil-first trend and why are we letting it spread? Has anyone else seen this causing problems in their practice?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_amy21d ago

I read a dermatologist say oil molecules are bigger than moisturizer ones so they just sit on top.

fionarodriguez21d ago

Oil first seals everything in, so water-based stuff actually has to fight to get through, which sounds problematic if true.