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Skincare Fundamentals

Skincare Routine Order: An Evidence-Based Step-by-Step AM and PM Guide

By · Published March 1, 2026 · Updated October 15, 2026 · 15 min read

Start with our pillar guide: What Is the Skin Barrier? The Science of Hydration, Ceramides and Occlusives, or browse all Skincare Fundamentals articles.

The evidence-based skincare routine order is short: cleanse, treat, moisturize, then protect. In the morning, cleanse, moisturize and apply broad-spectrum sunscreen. At night, cleanse, apply a retinoid and moisturize. Sunscreen has the strongest evidence, from a 4.5-year randomized trial of 903 adults (Hughes et al., 2013). Peptides are optional extras with limited evidence. Evidence: well-established (sunscreen); moderate (retinol); limited (peptides).

This guide sets out each step of the routine, why it's there and how strong the evidence is. Moisturizer steps draw on the barrier research in our guide to hydration and the skin barrier. Peptides get an honest slot near the end of each routine, labeled as optional.

Key takeaways

  • Daily sunscreen is the best-supported step. In an independent Australian trial, daily sunscreen users showed 24% less skin aging over 4.5 years than people who used sunscreen when they chose to (Hughes et al., 2013).
  • A nightly retinoid is the best-supported topical anti-aging active. In a 24-week controlled trial, 0.4% retinol reduced fine wrinkles compared with vehicle (Kafi et al., 2007).
  • Any reasonable moisturizer helps. A Cochrane review of 77 trials found no reliable evidence that one moisturizer beats another (van Zuuren et al., 2017).
  • Peptides are optional. The best-known human trial is a single manufacturer-funded study (Robinson et al., 2005).
  • Add one new product at a time so you can tell what's helping and what's irritating.

What is the right skincare routine order, step by step?

The right skincare routine order has 4 core steps: sunscreen and moisturizer in the morning, and a retinoid and moisturizer at night, each after a gentle cleanse. The tables below show each step, why it's there and its evidence label.

What is the AM skincare routine order?

The AM skincare routine order is cleanser, optional serum, moisturizer, then broad-spectrum sunscreen last.

Step Product Why it's there Evidence
1 Gentle cleanser, or a water rinse Clears overnight residue before you apply sunscreen None in our sources; practical convention
2 Optional: peptide or niacinamide serum Optional add-on, not required Limited (peptides); Early / preliminary (niacinamide and the barrier)
3 Moisturizer Reduces water loss and supports the skin barrier Well-established in eczema; carried over to other skin
4 Broad-spectrum sunscreen Slows visible photoaging Well-established

What is the PM skincare routine order?

The PM skincare routine order is cleanser, retinoid or other treatment, optional serum, then moisturizer. There is no sunscreen step at night.

Step Product Why it's there Evidence
1 Gentle cleanser Removes sunscreen and makeup None in our sources; practical convention
2 Retinoid (OTC retinol, or tretinoin by prescription) The best-supported topical anti-aging active Moderate (OTC retinol)
3 Optional: peptide serum (not copper peptides on retinoid nights) Optional add-on Limited
4 Moisturizer; petrolatum on very dry patches if needed Supports a barrier that retinoids can irritate Well-established (moisturizers in eczema); Early / preliminary (petrolatum)

No study has tested skincare routine order itself. The usual convention is thinnest to thickest: water-based serums first, then creams, with sunscreen last in the morning. Treat that as a habit, not a finding.

What is the skincare routine order with retinol?

The skincare routine order with retinol is cleanser, retinol on dry skin, then moisturizer, at night only. If retinol stings, a common convention is to apply moisturizer before and after it (the "sandwich" method), which no trial has tested.

  • Night only: retinol breaks down in light, so it goes in the PM routine (see the retinoid section below).
  • Peptides with retinol: peptides can go before moisturizer on the same night; see can you use peptides and retinol together.
  • How often: many people start on 2 or 3 nights a week; see can I use retinol every night.
  • Next morning: sunscreen last, every day.

If you use prescription tretinoin, follow your prescriber's instructions on order and frequency.

Why is sunscreen the most important step in a morning skincare routine?

Sunscreen is the only routine step with a large, independent, long-term randomized trial showing less skin aging. In the morning skincare routine it goes last, every day.

Hughes and colleagues randomized 903 adults under 55 in Nambour, Australia, and followed them for 4.5 years (Hughes et al., 2013). The daily broad-spectrum sunscreen group showed no detectable increase in skin aging over that period. Their aging was 24% less than in the discretionary-use group (relative odds 0.76, 95% CI 0.59–0.98). The trial was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, a public funder. Evidence: well-established.

The trial also tested beta-carotene supplements, which had no overall effect on skin aging. The authors noted missing data and modest statistical power. Even so, no other step in this guide has a trial of comparable size, length and independence behind it.

Why does a retinoid belong in the evening skincare routine?

Retinoids are the best-supported topical anti-aging ingredients. Putting them in the evening skincare routine keeps them away from daylight, which breaks retinol down.

Retinoids are vitamin A derivatives. Retinol (INCI: retinol) is sold without a prescription and is converted in the skin to active retinoic acid. Tretinoin is prescription retinoic acid. A 2025 review called tretinoin the gold standard and described retinol, retinyl esters and retinaldehyde as effective and well tolerated (Mambwe et al., 2025). That review's co-authors included No7 Beauty/Walgreens Boots staff.

Two controlled trials support OTC retinol:

  • Kafi et al., 2007: In a randomized trial of 36 older adults (mean age 87), 0.4% retinol applied to the arms up to 3 times a week for 24 weeks reduced fine-wrinkle scores by 1.64 points, compared with 0.08 for vehicle. Glycosaminoglycans (water-binding molecules in the dermis) and procollagen I (a collagen precursor) also increased (Kafi et al., 2007). Funding is not reported in the abstract.
  • Bellemère et al., 2009: In a 9-month double-blind placebo-controlled trial of 48 people, 0.1% retinol improved under-eye wrinkles, fine lines and tone "without any significant adverse reaction" (Bellemère et al., 2009). Johnson & Johnson funded the study.

Evidence: moderate (2 human controlled trials pointing the same way).

The case for night use comes from chemistry. A L'Oréal formulation paper states that retinol "degrades rapidly under the influence of light, oxygen, metal ions, and oxidizing agents" (Wang et al., 2023). Irritation is the main trade-off. Topical retinoids "often cause severe local irritation called retinoid dermatitis," according to a hairless-mouse study (Kim et al., 2012). That's why many people start on 2 or 3 nights a week. If you use tretinoin, follow your prescriber's instructions.

What does moisturizer do in a morning and evening skincare routine?

Moisturizer slows water loss and helps the skin barrier repair itself. Over many trials, which product you choose matters less than whether you use one consistently.

A 2023 review describes how moisturizers work through 3 types of ingredients (Rajkumar et al., 2023):

  • Occlusives, such as petrolatum, form a seal on the stratum corneum, the outer layer of dead skin cells.
  • Humectants, such as glycerin (INCI: glycerin, also called glycerol), pull water from the dermis into the epidermis.
  • Emollients blend into the stratum corneum and soften it.

The strongest data come from eczema. A Cochrane review of 77 RCTs with 6,603 participants with eczema found that moisturizers reduced flares (6 studies, 607 participants, risk ratio 0.33). The same review found no reliable evidence that one moisturizer beats another (van Zuuren et al., 2017). Evidence: well-established for eczema; for healthy skin we're extrapolating.

Some ingredient details are worth knowing:

  • Glycerin: In 2 in vivo studies, skin treated with glycerol repaired its barrier faster and held more water. The effect lasted 7 days after treatment stopped (Fluhr et al., 1999). Sample size is not reported in the abstract. Evidence: early / preliminary.
  • Petrolatum: After the skin barrier was disrupted with acetone in human volunteers, petrolatum sped up recovery. The petrolatum moved into the spaces between skin cells rather than just sitting on top (Ghadially et al., 1992). Evidence: early / preliminary.
  • Barrier lipids: Ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acids are all needed. Applying only 1 or 2 of them to damaged skin delayed barrier recovery, while an equal mix of all 3 allowed normal recovery. These results came mostly from mice, with preliminary human data (Man et al., 1996). Evidence: lab / animal, with early human data.
  • Glycerin alone vs a lipid cream: In a 28-day double-blind trial, 58 adults with a history of eczema used a different cream on each limb. A cream with physiological lipids plus glycerine lowered transepidermal water loss (TEWL, water evaporating through the skin) from 38.02 to 29.79 g/m²/h. A glycerine-only cream reduced dryness but didn't change barrier function (Andrew et al., 2025). Funding is not reported in the abstract.

Niacinamide (INCI: niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3) is the best-supported barrier active we found, though still early. In cultured human skin cells, it raised ceramide production 4.1 to 5.5 times. Applied topically, it increased ceramides in the stratum corneum and reduced TEWL in dry skin (Tanno et al., 2000). Evidence: early / preliminary.

Where do peptides fit in a morning and evening skincare routine?

Peptides are an optional serum step in either routine. The human evidence is limited, mostly funded by manufacturers, and held back by how poorly peptides get into the skin.

Peptides are short chains of amino acids. Cosmetic peptides fall into 4 classes: signal, carrier, neurotransmitter-inhibiting and enzyme-inhibiting (Gorouhi & Maibach, 2009). Our guide to peptide ingredients covers each class.

Palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 (pal-KTTKS) has the best-known trial. "Palmitoyl" means a fatty acid is attached to the peptide to help it enter skin. In a 12-week double-blind split-face trial of 93 women, a moisturizer with 3 ppm of this peptide improved wrinkles and fine lines compared with placebo (Robinson et al., 2005). Procter & Gamble ran the study. Evidence: limited.

Getting peptides into the skin is the main problem. A 2022 review concluded that most anti-wrinkle peptides "might not reach their targets in the skin at right concentrations." Their size and attraction to water make delivery difficult (Mortazavi & Moghimi, 2022). That's the main reason we label peptides optional.

Peptides with retinol: A recurring question in skincare communities is whether peptides and retinol cancel each other out. No study we found shows that. In a randomized trial of 196 women, a cosmetic regimen of 5% niacinamide, peptides and 0.3% retinyl propionate improved wrinkles more than 0.02% tretinoin at 8 weeks. The two were comparable at 24 weeks, and the cosmetic regimen was better tolerated (Fu et al., 2010). P&G funded the trial, and its design can't separate the effect of the peptides from the other ingredients.

The only study we found that tested a morning peptide with an evening retinoid was a 12-week open-label trial with 26 completers. Both groups improved, but the abstract reports no comparison between the arms (Kaufman et al., 2022). Funding is not reported in the abstract. Our article on using peptides and retinol together covers this in more detail.

How should copper peptides be timed with vitamin C and retinol?

As a precaution, keep copper peptides apart from L-ascorbic acid (pure vitamin C) and from retinol. Use them at a different time of day or on different nights. No study has tested either pairing on skin.

Copper tripeptide-1 is the INCI name for GHK-Cu, a 3-amino-acid peptide bound to copper (EU CosIng database). The 2 cautions rest on separate pieces of lab chemistry:

  • Vitamin C: GHK-Cu stayed stable at pH 4.5–7.4 but broke down under oxidative stress and, to a lesser degree, acidic stress (Badenhorst et al., 2016). L-ascorbic acid is an acid, so keeping the 2 in separate steps or at separate times is a cautious default.
  • Retinol: Metal ions are among the factors listed as degrading retinol (Wang et al., 2023), and copper is a metal ion. No study has tested whether GHK-Cu degrades retinol directly.

Topical GHK-Cu also has thin clinical evidence. A 2025 review noted a "surprising absence of clinical studies" for topical GHK-Cu (Mortazavi et al., 2025). In a lab test on intact human skin, "almost no peptide or copper permeated" in 9 hours unless the skin was first pretreated with microneedles (Li et al., 2015). Evidence: lab / animal only. Our copper peptides guide has the full picture.

Does a GLP-1 medication change your skincare routine?

The core routine doesn't change. Rapid weight loss on GLP-1 medications can change how the face looks, and skincare can't replace lost volume.

A 2026 systematic review of 40 human studies, including case reports and observational studies, described facial volume loss, dermal thinning and reduced elasticity in GLP-1 users. Reported risk factors included older age, rapid weight loss, poor hydration and low protein intake (Barone et al., 2026). A 2024 narrative review suggests the changes have several causes, including loss of fat under the skin (Ridha et al., 2024). A scoping review catalogued dermatologic findings reported with semaglutide (Tran et al., 2024).

No study tests barrier creams or any topical routine in GLP-1 users specifically. Never stop or change a medication for skincare reasons. If facial changes bother you, talk to your prescriber.

What can you skip or keep simple in your routine?

You can skip most extras. These are the ones with the weakest support in our sources:

  • Hunting for the "best" moisturizer. The Cochrane review found no reliable evidence that one moisturizer beats another (van Zuuren et al., 2017). Pick one you'll use twice a day.
  • Single-lipid "barrier" products as your only moisturizer. Applying only 1 or 2 of the 3 barrier lipids delayed recovery in mostly animal studies (Man et al., 1996).
  • Stacking several peptide serums. Getting peptides into the skin is the bottleneck (Mortazavi & Moghimi, 2022), and no trial shows that more peptide serums give better results.
  • Double cleansing. Our sources include no trial on it. One gentle cleanse is enough if it removes your sunscreen.
  • Collagen supplements as a skincare step. In a 2025 meta-analysis of 23 RCTs, studies not funded by the industry showed no effect on hydration, elasticity or wrinkles (Myung & Park, 2025). See our collagen supplements review.
  • Extra water as a skin treatment. In a study with no control group, 34 women who drank an extra 2 L of water a day for 30 days had higher skin hydration. Their TEWL didn't change (Palma et al., 2015). Evidence: early / preliminary.

How should you introduce new products into your routine?

Add one new product at a time, starting from a basic routine of cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen. That way, if your skin reacts, you know which product caused it.

  1. Start with the core 3. Use a cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen until your skin feels settled.
  2. Add a retinoid next, slowly. The 24-week Kafi trial applied retinol up to 3 times a week (Kafi et al., 2007), which is a reasonable starting frequency.
  3. Wait before adding the next product. We suggest about 2 weeks between new products. That's an editorial convention, not a tested interval.
  4. Add peptides last, if at all. If you use copper peptides, put them on mornings or on non-retinoid nights.
  5. Pull back if your skin stings or flakes. Drop the newest product first, and keep the moisturizer and sunscreen.

Where the evidence stops

  • Order of application: No study tests layering order or waiting times between steps.
  • Healthy skin: Most moisturizer trials enrolled people with eczema. We don't know how much of the benefit carries over to skin without eczema.
  • Peptides: Nearly every human trial is small, funded by the manufacturer or tests several ingredients at once. Topical GHK-Cu lacks published clinical studies (Mortazavi et al., 2025).
  • Copper-peptide cautions: Both are precautions based on lab chemistry. No one has tested either pairing on skin.
  • GLP-1 users: No trial has tested any skincare routine in GLP-1 users.

FAQ

What order should a morning and evening skincare routine follow? In the morning, cleanse, apply an optional serum and moisturizer, then sunscreen last. At night, cleanse, apply your retinoid, an optional serum and moisturizer. Thinnest to thickest is a convention; no study has tested application order.

Can I use peptides and retinol in the same routine? Yes. No study we found shows that either one cancels the other, and combined regimens were well tolerated in trials such as Fu et al., 2010. The exception is copper peptides, which we suggest keeping at a different time of day from retinol as a precaution.

Why use a retinoid at night instead of in the morning? Retinol breaks down when exposed to light, oxygen and metal ions (Wang et al., 2023). Applying it in the evening limits light exposure, and your morning sunscreen then protects the skin during the day.

Does drinking more water replace a moisturizer? No. One uncontrolled 30-day study found higher skin hydration in people who drank 2 L more water a day, but no change in TEWL (Palma et al., 2015). Moisturizers have far stronger trial evidence (van Zuuren et al., 2017).

Should I change my skincare routine if I'm on a GLP-1 medication? The same core routine applies; no study has tested a GLP-1-specific skincare routine. Facial volume loss linked to rapid weight loss can't be fixed with topical products (Barone et al., 2026). Talk to your prescriber about any concerns, and don't change your medication for skincare reasons.

How long before a new routine shows results? The time frames in trials vary: 12 weeks for the palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 trial (Robinson et al., 2005), 24 weeks for retinol (Kafi et al., 2007) and 4.5 years for sunscreen (Hughes et al., 2013). Sunscreen is about preventing future change, so you won't see a quick visible result.

References

  1. Hughes MC, et al. Sunscreen and prevention of skin aging: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2013. Community RCT, n=903 adults under 55, 4.5 years; funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23732711/
  2. Kafi R, et al. Arch Dermatol. 2007. RCT, n=36 older adults (mean age 87), 0.4% retinol vs vehicle, 24 weeks; funding not reported in the abstract. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17515510/
  3. Bellemère G, et al. Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2009. Double-blind placebo-controlled trial, n=48, 0.1% retinol, 9 months; Johnson & Johnson. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19648781/
  4. Mambwe B, et al. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2025. Review of retinoids; University of Manchester with No7 Beauty/Walgreens Boots co-authors. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39128883/
  5. Wang, et al. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2023. Formulation stability study (24 months) plus 12-week clinical study; L'Oréal. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36853015/
  6. Kim, et al. Int J Dermatol. 2012. Hairless mouse study of retinoid dermatitis; Enprani Co. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22607296/
  7. Rajkumar J, et al. Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2023. Review of skin barrier and moisturizer mechanisms; funding not reported in the abstract. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37717558/
  8. van Zuuren EJ, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017. Systematic review, 77 RCTs, 6,603 participants with eczema. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28166390/
  9. Man MQ, Feingold KR, Thornfeldt CR, Elias PM. J Invest Dermatol. 1996. Mostly murine barrier-repair studies with preliminary human data; UCSF; funding not reported in the abstract. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8618046/
  10. Fluhr JW, et al. Acta Derm Venereol. 1999. 2 in vivo studies (tape stripping, SLS washing), up to 7 days; n and funding not reported in the abstract. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10598752/
  11. Ghadially R, Halkier-Sorensen L, Elias PM. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1992. Human volunteers, acetone barrier disruption; n and funding not reported in the abstract. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1564142/
  12. Andrew PV, et al. Br J Dermatol. 2025. Double-blind intra-participant trial, n=58 adults with an eczema history, 28 days; funding not reported in the abstract. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40408261/
  13. Tanno O, et al. Br J Dermatol. 2000. Cultured human keratinocytes plus topical application in dry skin; n not reported in the abstract. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10971324/
  14. Gorouhi F, Maibach HI. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2009. Review of cosmetic peptide classes. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19570099/
  15. Robinson LR, et al. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2005. Double-blind placebo-controlled split-face RCT, n=93 women, 12 weeks; Procter & Gamble. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18492182/
  16. Fu JJ, et al. Br J Dermatol. 2010. Randomized parallel-group trial, n=196 women, 8 weeks plus 16-week extension (n=25 per cohort); Procter & Gamble. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20374604/
  17. Kaufman, et al. J Drugs Dermatol. 2022. Open-label study, 26 completers, 12 weeks; funding not reported in the abstract. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36074511/
  18. Mortazavi SM, Moghimi HR. Skin permeability, a dismissed necessity for anti-wrinkle peptide performance. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2022. Review. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35302659/
  19. Mortazavi SM, Mohammadi Vadoud SA, Moghimi HR. Bioimpacts. 2025. Review of GHK and GHK-Cu; no conflicts of interest declared. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39963574/
  20. Li H, et al. Pharm Res. 2015. In vitro human skin permeation study of GHK-Cu with and without microneedles. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25690343/
  21. Badenhorst T, et al. Pharm Dev Technol. 2016. Lab study of GHK-Cu lipophilicity and stability. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25384620/
  22. Barone M, et al. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2026. Systematic review of 40 human studies, including case reports and observational studies. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42162206/
  23. Ridha Z, et al. Aesthet Surg J. 2024. Narrative review of facial aging with GLP-1 receptor agonists. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38874170/
  24. Tran MM, et al. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2024. Scoping review (research letter) of dermatologic findings reported with semaglutide. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38554940/
  25. Myung SK, Park Y. Am J Med. 2025. Meta-analysis, 23 RCTs, 1,474 participants; funding not reported in the abstract. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40324552/
  26. Palma ML, et al. Skin Res Technol. 2015. Uncontrolled study, n=34 women, 30 days. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26058417/
  27. European Commission. CosIng cosmetic ingredient database (copper tripeptide-1, palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 entries). https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/

Disclosure: This article contains no affiliate links, and no brand paid for or reviewed it. It is for general information and is not medical advice. For prescription retinoids, skin conditions or questions about any medication, including GLP-1 medications, talk to a qualified clinician.

For educational purposes only; not medical advice. See our disclaimer and research method.