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Do you know the truth about serums? Do you really need to add a serum into your skin care routine?
The short answer is no, but that doesn’t mean you want to dismiss the thought of using a serum completely.
Serums are good add-on products to an already established skin care routine. If you have specific skin concerns that a particular serum promises to target, it definitely won’t hurt adding it into your routine.
Serums are basically lightweight moisturizers that are developed to deliver active ingredients deeper into your skin. Serums are usually formulated with higher concentrations of active ingredients, so you don’t need to use much to reap the benefits. Since they are formulated with higher concentrations of active ingredients they tend to be more expensive. Most of the serums that I’ve tried have been worth the money, but I suggest really taking a look at the ingredient list to make sure you get the most bang for your buck.
If you have dry skin you might want to look for serums with glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid, vitamin e or niacinamide. For acne prone skin I’d suggest serums that contain salicylic acid, vitamin c and retinol. I’ve been noticing a trend with antioxidant packed serums, which are great for those with dull skin and uneven skin tones.
Typically serums are water based but recently I’ve been seeing more oil-based serums hit the market. If you are going to incorporate a facial serum into your routine you need to know what you’re using and where to fit it in. For a water based serum, I’d suggest applying to your face after toner and before moisturizing. If you opted for an oil based serum, I’d suggest you apply after your moisturize. The reason why you would apply in different steps is all because of molecule size. Without getting too scientific, water based serums typically have a smaller molecule size and absorb better directly into the skin whereas oil based serums have a larger molecule size and help keep your moisturizer and whatever else you have on underneath nice and moist throughout the day.
If you’re going to add a serum into your skin care routine I highly suggest checking the ingredient label and picking one what will work best for your skin type and routine. You can live without a serum in your routine, but do you really want to?
Shop Some of my Favorite Serums
Well, if I may add my point of view on your article: regular serums from big brads are filled with petrochemicals, regular creams are filled with waters and harsh toxic preservatives. Though, when you purchase a real botanical based serum: you have only very good ingredients, with specific rich oils according to your skin needs. Plus some active ingredients ( which sometimes are already present naturally into these oils) and cherry on the cake, which makes a serum better than a cream: no water based ingredients, meaning: no need of strong preservatives. So I would say: I really prefer, for my skin and for environment, to use serum vs creams, :), but you are so right when talking about regular brands.
I completely agree with you on this! I’m guilty of buying into popular brands and using products with little to no active ingredients, but am getting a lot better at spotting them out! I use both serums and creams in my routine, but not as many as I was a year ago!
Thank you so much for your answer. Well, you are certainly not the guilty one, it is sad that almost all brands are holding only 2.5% of the product’s budget into ingredients. The 97.5% other $ are going into marketing, ambassadors…you name it…we are working hard to make our cosmetics/ skincare available for a very fair price, all super oils, and we even invest into EU certification. And I find the market game pretty green/brain washing…but thanks again for finding the right balance in your words….✨✨✨, keep going on underlining the bad chemicals 😉😉😉