Should I Apply Toner or Moisturizer First?

Whether you’re new to the skincare world or considering adding a new product to your skin care routine, you might be thinking, “Should I apply toner or moisturizer first?” 

Generally, dermatologists recommend performing your skin care routine steps and applying skin care products in a specific order to optimize their effectiveness [1]. Experts suggest:

1. Cleansing your face before applying any skin care products and patting your skin dry
2. Applying prescription medications, eye cream, spot treatment, or treatment-focused skincare products
3. Adding a daily moisturizer with SPF for sun protection and a night cream for total hydration at night

But where does toner fall in this order? You should apply a thin layer after cleansing and before moisturizing your face. Let’s break down some basics about toner and moisturizer and whether or not you even need to use a specific toning product in your routine.

An Overview of Moisturizers and Toners

Moisturizers are a type of topical skin care product (e.g., creams, lotions, and serums) that boost the water content in your skin, providing additional moisture, and preventing dry skin [2]. Water is critical for skincare, and it’s especially important for maintaining the stratum corneum—the outermost layer of the epidermis. Healthy water balance supports:

• Skin strength
• Cellular turnover (i.e., shedding old, dead skin cells and producing new ones)
• Skin flexibility
• Corneocyte buildup prevention (the cause of flaky, dry skin)

There are a variety of moisturizers on the market today. When in search of the perfect product, you might encounter:

• Tinted moisturizers that match your skin shade
• High-moisture healing products like a night cream
• Moisturizers with SPF for daily protection from sun damage

So what does toner do for your face? Toners are also generally water-based, but they’re designed to achieve a few different purposes, including [3]:

• Removing cleanser residue
• Adding moisture
• Cooling or tightening the skin
• Balancing the pH balance of our skin
• Delivering anti-aging ingredients

The role (and effectiveness) of a specific toner product depends on its active ingredients. In your search for the perfect product, you might encounter:

• Toners for oily skin and acne-prone skin, which typically include active ingredients like alcohol, salicylic acid, and witch hazel.
• Toners for dry skin, with humectant ingredients such as glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and propylene glycol.
• Anti-inflammatory toners, featuring aloe, allantoin, and bisabolol.
• “Anti-aging” toners, which might include vitamins, antioxidants, and pigment lighteners.
• Sensate or “calming” toners, with ingredients like menthol and camphor.

Simply put, both moisturizers and toners are ubiquitous in the skin care world. There are countless varieties available, and each product’s role will depend upon its active ingredients. Let’s find out how to use face toner and incorporate it into your skin care routine.

Should You Apply Toner or Moisturizer First?

Should you apply toner or moisturizer first? The correct answer is neither. 

The first step in your skincare routine should always be using a facial cleanser to clean your skin and remove debris from your follicles (makeup included). 

But, after cleansing your face, dermatologists recommend applying the thinnest products first and the thickest products last [4]. Since individual toner products are generally thinner than moisturizers, the thinnest-to-thickest rule would dictate that you should apply toner before moisturizer. If you choose to wear makeup, you should apply cosmetic products on top of your other skincare products. 

Do You Need Toner and Moisturizer?

If you’ve been interested in health and beauty, you may already know that at-home skincare can be complicated. If you’re trying to keep your skincare regimen simple, do you really need to use both toner and moisturizer? And do you wash off toner first before applying moisturizer or not?

To answer this question, you’ll need to ask yourself two others:

1. What are my skincare goals? – Will both a toner and moisturizer help you achieve your skincare goals? Toners serve a variety of purposes (based on their active ingredients), but if you don’t have a specific skin need (i.e oily skin or acne-prone skin) that a toner product can meet, you simply might not need one. It’s also important to note that dermatologists recommend moisturizers (especially products with SPF) for most people [5].
2. Which active ingredients are already included in my other products? – Facial cleansers from PROVEN, for instance, already include the active ingredients used in many toner products. Since our products are personalized and designed to simplify your skincare routine, our cleansers clean, tone, and exfoliate. If your cleanser already has the toning ingredient you’re looking for, you can probably skip the toner. 

While your skincare routine is as unique as your skin, two important takeaways can simplify your life and help you save on skincare products:

1. Keep your routine as simple as possible. Consistency is key, and simple routines are much easier to make time for. Simplicity and personalization can help you achieve your unique skincare goals without sacrificing precious time or overspending on products. 
2. Read product ingredients carefully. If, for instance, your cleanser or moisturizer already has an ingredient you would find in a toner, you might not need to add any more of that ingredient to your routine. 

Discover Personalized, Simple Skincare with PROVEN

Should you apply toner or moisturizer first? If you’re using both products, you should cleanse your skin, apply toner, and then add moisturizer (and, after that, any makeup as desired). 

With the sheer number of products on today’s market, PROVEN is making skincare simple—and bespoke. Our products are customized specifically for your skincare history and your goals, and all of our formulas are science-based and backed by dermatological data. 

If you’re looking for personalized, effective skincare products formulated just for you, start your PROVEN journey today.