In What order do I apply my Ordinary products ?

[mariangel93]

I purchased the below ordinary products: 

• Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
• Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%
• Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA
• Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution
• Lactic Acid 5% + HA
• Mandelic Acid 10% + HA

I have T zones very oily, acne-prone skin, stains left by old facial cleansing, and having comedones. I would like to know in what order should I apply above mentioned ordinary products and what would be an example of a regimen for AM and PM Routine with these products? 

Thanks for your help and recommendation in advance 🙂 

[WinglessOne]

@mariangel93 (FYI, remember to tag folks when you reply so they’ll get notified. Otherwise they might not know you replied.) 

Order of use:

1. Makeup removal (PM only, & obviously only if you wore makeup that day) - can be an oil cleanser, micellar water, cleansing balm, Makeup Eraser type microfiber cloth, etc. If you have a true cleanser (not just micellar water) that removes all your makeup, then of course you can skip this step.

2. Cleanser - micellar water might be fine for morning, but I recommend using a true cleanser at night.

3. Exfoliant (use no more than 3 times a week, if even that frequently) - choose JUST ONE of the 3 AHA exfoliants you bought (glycolic acid, lactic acid, or mandelic acid). Also, for acne, consider swapping one of those AHAs for a BHA (salicylic acid) product. AHAs are not oil soluble, so they won’t get down into your pores to degunk them. BHA will do that.

4. Treatments - these are the niacinamide serum and azelaic acid treatment. Honestly, any order of use is fine. I use The Ordinary’s azelaic acid treatment and usually apply it after a liquid licorice root serum, but I’ve also applied it before any other serums with no problems. You might wanna use the niacinamide serum just once a day, but you can use that azelaic acid twice a day if you want. Since azelaic acid has antioxidant properties, morning’s the best time to use it (to prep your skin for the day’s environmental stressors and pollutants) if you opt to use it just once a day.

5. Moisturizer - Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA.

6. Sunscreen (AM only) - the La Roche-Posay sunscreen you mentioned below.

If in doubt, you can always ask Deciem directly via their site. They seem to be good at helping customers with their own products. 

[mariangel93]

@WinglessOne Thank you for your great advice, I will take into consideration your recommendations and it will help me a lot for sure 🙂

I have tried to contact DECIEM directly via their site, but I couldn't find their contact email, do you know how to contact them via email about my issue? I have seen on the official site only the contact numbers, but I prefer to contact them via email 😇

Thank you in advance 😇

[WinglessOne]

@mariangel93  They have contact forms for different types of issues. On their “contact us” page, click the “products + regimens” option (I circled it in green): 

 

On the “products + regimens” page, scroll past all the FAQs (or if any look helpful, check those out) and click the “how should I use my products” link: 

 

Then fill out the form on that page and click the submit button. 

Hope your new skincare routine works out for you! 

[mariangel93]

@WinglessOne OMG 😍😇 THANK YOU SO MUCH! This is the first time I start using this product and hope that it will help my skin ❤️ Thank you a lot for your great advice ❤️  

[Ispend2much6]

@WinglessOne  Thanks- I'm glad to know that!  You are truly the skin care queen. Your knowledge amazes me.

[Ispend2much6]

@mariangel93   I don't know if you know this, but Deciem (The Ordinary's company,) has a guide on their site for how to use their products. 

[mariangel93]

@Ispend2much6 First of all, thank you for your reply. 

I have seen this link (regimen guide on the official site)  before I have posted my question here, but unfortunately, it's a little unclear to me the information which is explained on the site, I didn't understand in what order can be used the mentioned products. 🙄

[quspork]

A couple questions, @mariangel93 - what's your experience with chemical exfoliants? You have 4 different ones listed (including 3 AHAs) so it would be a bit redundant to use all of them and could lead to irritation. What cleanser are you using? And do you have a sunscreen? Before starting any of those exfoliants, you'll want the sunscreen in place since AHAs can make your skin more susceptible to sun damage. 

[mariangel93]

@quspork Firstly, thank you for your reply 😇 I have very good experience with chemical exfoliants, However, I have not used them many times, I first used them during a visit to a dermatologist in 2018 and I had a very good result, without any skin irritation.I think I should not use these exfoliators every day, so as not to damage the skin, I just do not know what sequence will be better to use all these product  🙈Currently I do not use any cleanser, cream, etc, I clean only with Garnier micellar water in the evenings and that's it.  Yes, I have sunscreen LA ROCHE POSAY with 100 % SPF protection and i am thinking to use this cream when I start using Ordinary's product.

[quspork]

Gotcha, @mariangel93. I see Wingless gave you a good outline of a routine above and I agree with her on the general layering. I would simply caution you to start slowly and get a base routine of cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen going before adding in your new products. Since you do have some experience with exfoliants, I would possibly choose the lactic acid to work in next. The mandelic is gentler so it's a good starter AHA for those who aren't used to them and glycolic is bit harsher so that might be one to move on to once you've tried out the lactic and have seen how it works for you.