Building on the Essential Protocol: What to Add First, and Why

The Essential Protocol has three steps: cleanse, protect in the morning, repair at night. For many people it is a complete system, and it is where Dr Alison Jamieson, Cosmetic Physician, usually begins. The next question follows quickly: what should be added, and in what order?

The order matters because the remaining steps do not ask the same thing of your skin. Some support the skin as it is. One asks it to renew faster. Adding them in the wrong sequence is a common way for a sound protocol to end up with a reactive barrier.

The principle: support first, strength last

Each addition can be judged by one question: does it ask the skin to adapt? Acids and retinoids increase turnover and photosensitivity, so the skin needs time to adjust to them. Barrier and antioxidant steps do not carry that cost.

The Essential Protocol already includes a retinol night cream, so the skin is adapting to one active from the first week. Adding a second before the barrier is well supported places two demands on it at once.

Step one: Biocinamide Serum

Biocinamide goes in first. It is applied after cleansing, morning and night, beneath the Day Cream SPF 15 and the Ultimate A Night Cream. The formula is built around niacinamide, panthenol and a ferment lysate, alongside sphingolipids and phospholipids, which are the type of lipids the barrier is made from.

It adds no photosensitivity and needs no adjustment period, so it can begin straight away. A better supported barrier is also what makes the retinol night cream easier to continue with. The Biocinamide Serum is step two of The Protocol for this reason.

Step two: Jellyfish Peptide x Antioxidant Serum

The Jellyfish Peptide x Antioxidant Serum comes second. It contains Kakadu plum and tocopherol for antioxidant defence, and peptides including Acetyl Hexapeptide-51 Amide and Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, formulated to support the appearance of firmness. It contains no exfoliating acid. In the morning it is applied after Biocinamide and before the Day Cream SPF 15.

With this step in place, the Sun Protocol is complete: barrier, antioxidant, peptide and SPF. The skin has a full daytime defence before anything asks it to renew faster.

Step three: Brightening Serum, last

The Brightening Serum is added last because it is the most demanding step. It contains an alpha hydroxy acid blend (glycolic, lactic, malic and tartaric), salicylic acid and vitamin C, alongside Oligopeptide-68. It is used in the evening, and it increases photosensitivity, so daily SPF the next morning is not optional.

For the first two weeks, alternate the Brightening Serum and the Ultimate A Night Cream every second night, then build to nightly use.

Pace: one step, then wait

Add one step at a time, about two weeks apart. If the skin turns red, tight or begins to sting, hold at the current step instead of adding the next, and let it settle first. The first weeks of any new protocol are covered in How Dr Jamieson Introduces a New Protocol.

At two weeks per step, the full Protocol is reached in roughly six weeks. Compressing that offers no advantage. A protocol the skin tolerates and that is used consistently will do more over a year than one built quickly and then abandoned.

Where you end up

With all three steps added, the Essential Protocol has become The Protocol: six steps across two halves. Cleanser, Biocinamide, Jellyfish Peptide Serum and Day Cream in the morning. Cleanser, Biocinamide, Brightening Serum and Ultimate A Night Cream in the evening. Why that sequence works once assembled is set out in Why the Order of Your Products Matters More Than the Products Themselves.

Not everyone needs all six. If none of the concerns these steps address applies to you, the Essential Protocol is a complete system and needs nothing added. The order above is the default. A pressing concern, such as uneven tone, can change it, which is what a consultation or the Skin Quiz is for.

Common Questions

Can I add all three steps at once?

It is not recommended. Adding steps together makes it impossible to tell which one caused a reaction, and skin adapts more comfortably to one change at a time.

Do I need all six steps?

No. Each addition answers a specific concern: barrier reactivity, early signs of ageing, or uneven tone. Without one of those, the Essential Protocol is sufficient on its own.

What if my skin reacts after adding a step?

Pause the newest step, keep cleansing and daily SPF, and add it back once the skin has settled. Burning, swelling or a rash that spreads is not a protocol question and needs a doctor, as set out in When Your Skin Needs a Doctor, Not a Protocol.

Your next step

The Skin Quiz follows the same assessment order Dr Jamieson uses and points to the protocol that matches your skin as it is now.