The art of targeted skincare application
Written By Jenny Wu on
I remember the first time I heard of multimasking (where you apply different masks to different areas of your face) and I thought “Wow, this makes so much sense! Why didn’t I think of this before?”. Well targeted skincare application is the same concept, except with regular skincare products.
If you have combination skin, you can relate to the difficulties of picking a product that’s not too rich as to breakout your t-zone, but not too light as to dry out your cheeks. It’s like Goldilocks except with skincare products! I’ve lost count of the number of products I’ve tried in hopes that one of them would have that perfect balance of not-too-heavy and not-too-light – so far no luck, though some were really close!
So rather than trying to find that one perfect product, I found it was much easier to buy 2 products for the 2 different regions of my face. Then instead of applying these products all over your face, you only apply it to the targeted areas. For example:
- Naruko Tea Tree Shine Control & Blemish Clear Serum – I apply this to my t-zones only as it not only helps control sebum production and prevent future breakouts, but it’s just hydrating enough for these oilier areas of my face.
- Andalou Natural 1000 Roses Moroccan Beauty Oil – I apply this to my cheeks and mouth areas only because these ares the dry areas of my face. If I do want to apply this all over, I’ll mix it with my toner to create a lightweight emulsion.
- Skin Actives Every Lipid Serum – This is definitely a heavier oil, so I apply this at night only, avoiding my t-zones. This is another oil I’ll mix with my toner if I want to apply all over my face.
- First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream – I apply this on my cheeks and around my mouth, on top of my usual moisturizer. The colloidal oatmeal in this cream really helps soothe any irritations caused by the cold + dry weather!
- Any rich cream or serum – In an effort to use up my current stash, I’ve been applying my richer creams/serums around my eye area in place of an eye cream. So far this method is working out quite well – my eye area is hydrated and I use up existing products faster!
Honestly, this all sounds like common sense and some of you are probably sitting there going “DUH“. But for those like me, who until 2 weeks ago applied every product all over, this idea is pretty ingenious.
So does that mean we all need multiple cleansers, toners, serums, and moisturizers now? Thankfully, no. Targeted skincare application should be used only when you’re having difficulty finding a product that works all over. For me, this usually happens with serums and moisturizers, so I’ve adopted the targeted application approach with these product types. Now my skin is more balanced and less prone to breakouts!
#Skincaretip: instead of applying a product all over your face, apply it only to the areas that need it!
But even if you have the same skin type (eg. dry, oil, normal) all over, seasonal changes can exacerbate the conditions of your skin, making certain parts drier/oilier than usual. In that case it helps to have a product (whether it’s a serum or moisturizer) on hand for these problem areas.
Hope you found this post helpful and enlightening! If you already incorporate targeted application in your skincare routine, let me know which products you use in the comments below! Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful rest of the week!
Passionate about science-based skincare. Tested hundreds if not thousands of products since my 20's. Working regularly with brands like iHerb, Ulta, CurrentBody, and MedStar Health to share my knowledge and experience in all things beauty. Learn more.
Skin profile: 35+, dry/combination, focused on well-aging, hydration, and a healthy glow ✨
Comments & Questions
Elisa
oh, the joy of having combo skin and how "easy" it is to find a moisturizer for my skin~ *intense sarcasm intended*
because i don't use serum or essences or oils, my difficulty is to find the perfect moisturizer for my combo skin. i'm currently trying the innisfree green tea balancing line - lotion for day moisturizer and cream for night time. i don't know if i actually like them, tbh. my cheeks are normal instead of dry so using moisturizer -- whether it's light or heavy -- of any kind does not cause any breakout or turn my cheeks into a greasy hot mess. my T-zone, however, is extremely picky! i love the body shop's seaweed clarifying night treatment; i remember slathering that product on my face and since it wasn't cream-based (it's gel-based), it didn't cause my T-zone to break out or turn into a greasy mess in a matter of hours. unfortunately, when TBS didn't have that in stock, idk what made me wanna try innisfree but i did. it's not horrible, doesn't cause breakout as far as i've been using it but gel based formula is soooo much better for combo skin than thick, cream formula...at least imo.
i guess, in a way, i'm lucky that my cheeks aren't dry because then light moisturizers do not dry out my cheeks and they work awesome on my T-zone. the naruko serum got me interested though! a serum that actually works in controlling sebum on the T-zone? yea, sign me up! sadly, there's no naruko store here and i don't like international shipping :(
sigh, why are all the good products only available for international countries!? LOL
i've always used my regular skincare products like this, but never my face mask... weird, huh. i tend to use lotion + moisturizer on my cheeks and sometimes only lotion or only moisturizer on my T-zone. but i never thought about combining 2 masks on different targeted spots! LOL WHY SELF.
anyway, just a random thought since i believe asians tend to have combo skin... will you write a blog post that recommend moisturizers for combo skin from both drugstore and high end brands? that'd be interesting to know and beneficial for someone like me who can't seem to find the right moisturizer right now.
P.S: sorry for being such a blabbering mess lol your blog has turned me into a skincare enthusiast!
Jenny Wu
Gel moisturizers are definitely the way to go if you have oily or combination-normal skin. I used the Clinique Moisture Surge in the summer years ago and that was very refreshing, but as I get older I noticed my cheeks actually get drier, so I need something richer for that area.
The naruko tea tree serum has tea tree oil + salicylic acid which are great for oily skin, but it also has some hydrating ingredients so it won't strip your skin, hence a healthy balance.
It looks like this place sells Naruko products: https://m.tokopedia.com/naruko Or you can always try eBay!
Thanks for the post idea! I haven't shopped for drugstore products in a long time, but I can do some research and put together some products of all price ranges.
And woohoo for a skincare enthusiast convert! ? Skincare is a fascinating subject because you'll find that the more you learn about it, the less you realize you actually know!
Cat L.
Jenny, what a great post! Same here, when I first heard about mulit-masking thought it made so much sense. And now that I'm hearing about targeted skincare, I'm having a similar moment. How come I didn't think of it before? Such an informative post, and what you mention resonates with me as well. I could see how serums and moisturizers, just like masks, could work differently on the face depending on hormonal changes, seasons, etc. Thus it makes perfect sense to mix and match. Great post Jenny and beautiful photos! Will be giving the multi-serum approach a try!
~ Cat L.
www.CatsDailyLiving.com
Jenny Wu
Thank you Cat! I would love to hear how you'll incorporate a multi serum approach in your skincare routine and which products you'll use! I feel like the more we experiment and try different techniques, the more we discover what works (or doesn't work) with our skin ?
Angela @BeautyandtheCat
Good tip. I only figured this out recently, too. ? The biggest difference has been in realizing I don't need to put acids all over and that I should just entirely avoid my nose and sensitive areas. --Angela
Jenny Wu
Oh that's a good point! I should probably avoid acids around my mouth area then ?