Moisture sandwiching: Everything you need to know

WORDS Sonia Blair PHOTOGRAPHY Pinterest PUBLISHED Wed, 16 Feb 2022 - 3:30 pm

Welcome to another day heralding the arrival of a new beauty trend surfacing on TikTok, only this time we are more than a touch intrigued. As skin care enthusiasts ourselves, our interest is always piqued for a new technique alleging to promote improved hydration and a dewy complexion, and the moisture sandwiching method is completely immersed in this part of the beauty world.

If it sounds complicated, never fear as you may already be employing the method – or at least a part of it – in your daily routine. It’s simpler than you think, which is always a delightful bonus when it comes to caring for our skin.

What is moisture sandwiching?

Moisture sandwiching is based on the three-second rule, a process where you apply your skin care products just three seconds after washing your face with no drying in between. This ensures your skin is still wet when you apply serums and moisturisers.

How do I complete the method?

The method of carrying out moisture sandwiching is straightforward, akin to applying your skin care routine in the correct order.

To damp skin, you apply a humectant-based product – like hyaluronic acid – followed by an occlusive balm or your moisturiser. This is designed to optimise the amount of water soaking into the skin and minimising the risk of it dissipating, which may lead to transepidermal water loss.

Ensuring your skin care is applied in strategically ordered layering aids in the moisture sandwich process, starting with your lightest products first and ‘trapping’ them under a heavier product, like your serums or face moisturiser. By applying lighter products on damp skin followed by a thicker part of your routine, this allows for the water to remain trapped for longer and your skin to experience prolonged hydration.

What are the benefits of moisture sandwiching?

The benefits of moisture sandwiching stem from allowing actives to be deeply absorbed in the skin and promoting extended hydration to the epidermis. When skin is damp from cleansing or exfoliating and is followed by the application of actives and hydrating products, this seals in the moisture and helps sandwich the benefits of each formulation.

The process works particularly well when employing a hyaluronic acid serum as it draws water and holds onto it, with each molecule in the active able to holdup to 1,000 times its weight in moisture. This is achieved most effectively when there is moisture to cling to, thus why slightly damp skin is prime for applying.

If you prefer to dry your face after cleansing, an alternative to achieve similar results is to spritz your face with a hydrating mist spray and continue the moisture sandwiching process thus forth.

To start you on your journey into moisture sandwiching, we’ve rounded up a handy list of products to promote dewy, hydrated skin.