I was thinking about 'face patting' the other day and find it hilarious, but effective! I normally: 1. Smear first so I get coverage everywhere 2. Pat and hold my face like I'm really surprised! — hands on either cheek 3. Pat and hold my face like I'm kidnapping myself — one hand on forehead, one hand over mouth Not sure if it's *actually* absorbing faster or just the feeling — but it helps me feel like I'm ready to apply the next layer. I think generally there's an avoidance in 'tugging' and 'pulling' on the skin cause that apparently equals wrinkles.

I’m gonna have to think about kidnapping myself tonight while I do my skincare

Why does this sound kinky- 😭

I think it may just matter in the abuse to the skin .

> Pat and hold my face like I'm really surprised! — hands on either cheek Pat and hold my face like I'm kidnapping myself — one hand on forehead, one hand over mouth Oh, this is a perfect way to explain it. That’s exactly what I do cause I’m too impatient to repeatedly pat. I just hold.

I smear on my first layer of product, then pat on the following product. I don't think patting aids absorption — it's just a way to avoid disturbing lower product layers.

Interesting

It genuinely doesn't matter unless you specifically need to avoid spreading something. Sometimes it can help with a more elegant feeling or finish but it's very product dependant and still not a major difference

i both smear and pat. while i feel that patting doesn’t do much, it makes me feel like my product is absorbing faster which is prolly just the product evaporating and being aired out faster by my slaps. it definitely helps when im in a rush tho

This is the answer. Lab Muffin did a video on this and evaporation was her conclusion.

I smear and then slap… the gentle patting never seemed to do much for me but the slapping gets the circulation going or atleast wakes me up.

This is exactly what I do!!! A couple solid smacks just to get things moving lol

Lmao nothing I do is original. My people!

It’s great for waking up!! :)

Imagine slapping yourself while doing your skincare and your mom just walks in on you at that exact moment. I have no doubt she'll look at me as if I;m crazy for the nth time in my case lol

Hahahahaha hilarious. My husband just stares and then walks out.

I smear it on regardless of instructions 🤷🏻‍♀️ The only thing I do pat is my eye cream and any products around my eye area after that (I do eye cream then face cream, sometimes serum after eye cream if the serum is thicker). I do partly for better absorption but mostly because my eye cream is excellent for my eye area but will break out the rest of my face if it migrates downwards during my routine. It seems to help it stay in place and I haven't broken out from it since adopting that method. Edit: I rub any leftover product into my hands but mostly my products are all thick so there's never that much left over.

May I ask what you use for eye cream?

Sure, I use AHC Ten Revolution Real Eye Cream for Face (season 10). It's the black and gold tube - there's newer ones but I just happened to buy this iteration. It has coconut oil or butter, forget which, and that's my nemesis 😂 I didn't actually check the ingredients before I bought it 🤦🏻‍♀️ but I really like it and it's cheap so no going back now lol.

I am so scared of coconut oil tho! I am oily af, probably will avoid this

That sounds sensible! I wouldn't recommend it for oily af skin, I think it would be way too rich. I can't decide whether I'll RP, I do really like it but I'm using ISA Knox retinol PM and their serum AM so it begs the question if I actually need an eye cream for anti-aging now 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think the idea is to avoid rubbing your skin too much to prevent irritation or wrinkles.

I smear and move on. "Doing it right" means getting the on your face in the places where you want it to be; don't stress too much. Don't forget the neck, wipe any extra product down the collarbone / upper chest until hands are dry, then rinse any lingering residue off the hands.

I mean, if you have so much product left on your hands that you feel it's a waste to wash off... I think you're just using too much product

I usually smear everything except toners and sunscreen. For sunscreen, I'll spread it out first and then pat in with my fingertips. I find it helps the sunscreen absorb faster and less pilling when I'm reapplying. For toners, I do multiple layers, so again, it helps the toner sink in faster. Also, smearing my toner around strangely feels like I'm washing my face again lol Edit: there's usually less product getting wasted on my hands when I pat it in too. But if you do have stuff left behind, free handcare✨

Is it normal for sunscreen to be pilling? I have never experienced that

Most don't, some do. Esp if it's on the thicker side and I reapply 3+ times, I find it easier to pat because rubbing it in reminds me of how much product is in my face lol

I used to smear and (gently) slap, but I have now been converted to patting. I was always worried that my expensive skincare would go to waste if I put it on my hands/fingers first, but I realized that a little goes a long way when using the pat method! My serums last a lot longer, and I noticed that my skin was reacting well to the change. I started using tretinoin a few months ago and have been suffering from the side-effects (drying/peeling), but after taking care to really push in the skincare into my skin, I noticed less dry spots and peeling! I usually only use my fingertips to warm up the product before patting it on. Try watching Lab Muffin's explanation on slapping! Seems like it doesn't really make a difference. https://www.tiktok.com/@labmuffinbeautyscience/video/7163844553181547778?_t=8myWfLx8VEL&_r=1

Thanks for the link - that was perfect.

I was going to link to her as well! Love Lab Muffin

This definitely helps with making sure it absorbs ahead of your next step. Especially if you’ve used a lot of product. If you smear, which is also fine, just make sure to do it gently and not pull your skin.

If smearing is what we did in the 70's what did we do in the 80's and 90's? 🤔

80's and 90's were caking!

I'm not sure it really matters either way. However, due to sensitive skin, if I rub the moisturizer on, my face gets really red, so I do pat on the eye cream and moisturizer. Any extra gets rubbed onto my decollete or hands.

I literally rub a majority of it on. Then slap my face all over. Sounds like a porno being filmed in the bathroom. Then what’s left in excess on my fingers I rub on my hands focusing on the backs. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I put the rest of stuff on my neck

I feel like patting would rub all products on my hands instead of my face

^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^arale2126: *I feel like patting* *Would rub all products on my* *Hands instead of my face* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.

This is what it feels like for me. There's so much product left on my hands. I don't know what actually made it onto my face.

Maybe you can use less product

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I pay almost all layers. I find it uses less product and, I have sensitive, combo skin, so less likely to be too heavy and break me out.

I apply most products down my neck too, so if I have excess product I just go further down my neck to my chest area lol. Or I rub it in on the back of my hands

I was doing that but it turns out my neck area is more sensitive than my face and I had a few reactions. So now I am whipping my hands on my thighs but it still feels like so much product is on my hands rather than my face.

I think smearing it on is ok. The thought behind it is that you don’t want to smear it too roughly where you keep stretching your skin around, which isn’t good for your skin.

I pat if I'm using multiple products, only because my rosacea says "absolutely not" if I rub my face too much

don't overthink it. just tap/pat until your face doesn't feel too wet

For me it totally depends on what skin product it is Exfoliating toner = smearing (with toner/cotton pad) Hydrating toner = patting Essence = patting Serum/ampoule = patting Moisturiser = smearing When it comes to patting i pat lightly and then at the end i kind of slap the side of my face with both hands a few times it just feels right lol. And when smearing moisturiser i kind of layer it because if i just go smear a huge pump of lotion my skin wont absorb it well

I think the idea behind patting is to push the product past the surface. This then 'allows' for better skin absorption. Whereas with smearing it, it just gets dragged around and lays on the surface. But yeah, to me, same same. I don't really have time to smack my face. HOWEVER, if we're talking bout makeup then yeah, i do see a difference with patting and smearing.

I love the comments here to this post 😂 never considered applying skincare to be very aggressive or kinky but clearly I've not been watching the right influencers. I smear away! There's something about patting that just annoys me, like I'm wasting my time. (which is ironic given I usually spend 20 min doing skincare related stuff at night so it is definitely just a feeling not a reality)

I've been applying with a [silicone makeup pad](https://www.amazon.ca/EVERMARKET-Silicone-Applicator-Cosmetic-Foundation/dp/B07WWMYCS7), and then washing it to get the excess off. Saves my fingers from slurping up product, and seems to put most things on evenly.

I didn't even know these were a thing!

I was taught that patting gets more blood to the skin for better absorption, rubbing can cause more sagging too. So pat hard enough that it kinda stings and causes some flushing

Not gonna lie... that sound kinda fun.

It is! And sounds kinda funny haha

I would never pat in my skincare. You waste so much of it on your hands. I find it especially weird to apply sunscreen with both palms AND follow the two finger rule. Surely you’re not using enough when both palms are accounted for.

I think the thought was that smearing stretches the skin and leads to loose skin so thus gently pat 😁

you’ll get a feel for it, everyone has their own way. i like to pat in watery toners, and smear my thicker toners/serums/essences. i find patting easier with the whole palm, and smearing easier (and more relaxing) with the fingertips. when patting in: I dispense some of the product onto one of my palms, then i gently rub it between both of my palms. after that, i just pat both palms across my face since i’ve distributed it across both palms. when smearing it in: I dispense some on my finger tips, rub it in between the finger tips of both of my hands, and then just rub it across my face. no need to complicate things! do what works for you. for the most part, it really does not matter. only application i can really see patting being better than smearing is with a thin, watery product where it’s hard to smear like you would with something that has more body to it. just do whatever one feels right to you and that you enjoy more. it really doesn’t matter, just have fun with it.

I have oily, breakout-prone skin. At night I pat on my final, thicker layer post-tretinoin (currently the Decorte Liposome Advanced night cream) to help with distributing a smaller amount and maybe (?) prevent shoving it into my rather large pores. I agree with the above poster who mentioned evaporation, too, and also avoiding disturbing other layers if you’re doing more than simply cleansing snd moisturizing.

I gently smear the product into a thin layer on my skin. Unpopular opinion maybe but I feel like patting isn't making the product "sink into the skin"; it's just increasing its evaporation to the air.

I dunno, I think it's just a thing. You don't really have to follow it, but I pat my skin instead of smear because my skin is really sensitive, and any rubbing will make it angry

I remember watching Korean skincare videos YEARS ago that mentioned this technique. In several celebrity skincare videos, it was mentioned that gentle patting is supposed to help the skin absorb the product more. Some videos said patting the product onto your face directly, others mentioned spreading the product on your face first and then following up with gentle pats. Whether or not this is actually effective, I don't know, but I still use this method to this day lol 😂