A.M. Step 3: Hydrate With Serum, The Only Way Ever to Apply Your Skin Care Products

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Think of serum as extra nourishment for your skin. Serums deliver a concentrated dose of hydration and antioxidants that a moisturizer typically can't, explains Kraffert. Look for one with hydration-delivering humectants, like glycerin, aloe vera juice or botanical extracts. These ingredients pull moisture into your skin, to keep it hydrated and happy.

Engelman recommends the SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF for daytime use, and Teoxane RHA Serum for dry skin. For wrinkles, she tells her patient to use Environ Ionzyme Frown Serum or SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Gel. Kraffert recommends Amarté's Aqua Veil Pure Hydration Serum.

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To lock in moisture, use a facial oil on top of a hydrating serum, says Kraffert. Engelman suggests sticking with light oils, like argan and rosehip seed oil, which have antibacterial properties that will decrease breakouts and inflammation. Heavy oils that are solid at room temperature (we're looking at you, coconut) will simply sit on top of the skin and, says Engelman, are much more likely to clog your pores. If you're using a heavy oil, apply it last.

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A.M. Step 5: Moisturize & Protect Against the Sun

Daytime calls for a light lotion; use a moisturizer/sunscreen combo such as Amarté Ultra Veil Sunscreen to lighten your product load. According to Kraffert, the UV-blocking properties of sunscreen will prevent other ingredients from reaching your skin, so SPF should always come last. "Sunscreen active ingredients are meant to not be absorbed," says Kraffert. If you're using a separate moisturizer and sunscreen, use the moisturizer first, then layer the sunscreen on top of it.

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Straight from the desk of the skin care gods: Thou must remove thy makeup before slumber. Start with an oil-based makeup remover (check these reader-approved options for top-rated removers) for your eyes, which should wipe that heavy eyeliner right off. For heavy makeup, use a wipe to remove the bulk of the day's camouflage. However, don't stop there. Kraffert says that wipes are great in a pinch, but they don't usually remove everything -- or if they do, they leave a residue behind. "Without water to help remove [the makeup], it's a fail," he says. Follow up with a cleanser (the same gentle exfoliator used in the morning works) to get the rest of the job done.

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This is a good trick to catch any remaining vestiges of makeup that your cleanser -- however vigilantly you scrubbed -- didn't catch. Look for something non-drying, with a low percentage (if any) of alcohol. We like Kiehl's Cucumber Herbal Toner for its gentle formula.

What comes first? Forget the chicken and the egg, we're talking about our skin care products, like serum, moisturizer, face oil and sunscreen. A cabinet full of products to keep you blemish-, wrinkle- and sun spot-free means nothing if you don't know in what order to apply them. Instead of slapping them on and crossing our fingers, we conducted a skin care nerd-out session with board certified dermatologists Dendy Engelman, M.D., and Craig Kraffert, M.D., who is also the president of Korean skincare line Amarté. We grilled them to find out which products should be applied first, last and everywhere in between so that they can perform exactly as they're supposed to. Here, these derms school us in the exhaustive process of layering skin care.

The Only Way Ever to Apply Your Skin Care Products

Your morning and evening guide to layering your serums, wrinkle-fighters and sunscreens

A.M. Step 3: Hydrate With Serum

A.M. Step 4: Lock It in With Oil

A.M. Step 5: Moisturize & Protect Against the Sun

P.M. Step 1: Remove & Cleanse

P.M. Step 2: Tone

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