Wellness Wednesday: why the order you apply your skincare changes what it does
A face oil applied first thing in a routine can quietly undo everything layered on top of it. This is not a flaw in the oil. It is what oil is built to do, and it explains why the order of a routine matters as much as what is in it.
Thin before rich, always
Water-based formulas, toners, and lightweight serums are designed to sit against the skin and be absorbed. Oils and butters work differently: they sit on top, forming a light barrier that slows moisture loss. Applied in the wrong order, that barrier becomes a wall. A rich oil applied before a water-based serum simply blocks the serum from reaching skin at all, no matter how good the formula is underneath.
Why oil is meant to go last
Oil is what Balinese ritual has always used to finish, not to begin. Cleanse, then treat, then seal: the facial oil is the last hand pressed to the skin, closing in whatever was applied before it rather than competing with it. This is also why a facial oil never replaces a moisturizer entirely for very dry skin. It seals water in. It does not add water of its own.
What this looks like in practice
Cleanse first. Follow with any lightweight, water-based step while skin is still a little damp, since damp skin absorbs more readily. Finish with a facial oil, such as our Immortelle Helichrysum Face Serum or Oily Face Serum, pressed rather than rubbed into the skin. Choosing the right weight of oil for your skin type matters here too: we go further into that in non-comedogenic oils.
The takeaway: a routine is a sequence, not just a shopping list. Put the lightest, thinnest formula closest to bare skin, and let oil do its real job last, sealing rather than competing.
