This season, your skincare routine may require an extra boost of hydration compared to last. According to Cetaphil, the transition from hot to cold temperatures in autumn can stress your skin—causing rashes, itchiness, and dryness you may not have had during the summer. However, using more simple (and affordable) ingredients, then stacking them, is the sensitive skin solution you may need this fall.
“Skincare stacking is like stacking your jewelry,” singer-songwriter Justine Skye tells ESSENCE. “Start with the thinnest products, then layer the thicker ones on top. [Stacking] depends on how many products you have in your skincare routine, which hopefully is not too many.”
The Atlantic Records artist—also known for her glowing, pore-free complexion—uses just a few key products to maintain her skin between her busy schedule. “I don’t like to use too many products,” Skye says, with each step under $25 dollars. In the morning, she starts with the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser then applies a brightening Vitamin C Serum before locking in the ingredient with a moisturizer.
Skye learned about skin care during childhood, looking up to her mother’s beauty routine. “I was introduced to Cetaphil at a very young age because it was something that was a staple in my household,” she says. Now, in the season of family gatherings and group vacations, “my main concern is making sure [my skin stays] hydrated because of the weather changes while traveling.”
While some may stop after their morning skincare routine, Skye adds a night stacking session to her daily regimen: “The Vitamin C Serum is a very light product so you can use it twice a day, and then I use the Ceramide Serum because that makes sure that the hydration is locked in.”
Before bed is the best time to use vitamins—which deliver antioxidants, luminosity, and an even skin tone and texture—with ceramides stacked on top to repair your skin’s barrier while you sleep. As her final step, “I’ll add some more moisturizer to really soak everything in over night, then maybe a facial mist.”
“It’s very important I keep my skin care regimen very precise at night,” she says, to prevent hyperpigmentation, acne, and skin fatigue. While a 10-step cult product skin slugging routine may overhaul your dry, sensitive skin, the intentional stacking of clinically-proven, pharmaceutical ingredients is the hack to seasonal skin concerns. “I think it is the most effective way to take care of the skin.”
