If you’re into serious skin care, you wouldn’t want to overlook skin serums, for these potent potions are loaded with skin loving ingredients, and the have specific benefits too.
Unless instructed otherwise by the manufacturer, these serums are usually used before applying your moisturiser and they help achieve a healthier, simply better looking complexion.
Of skincare and promises
There are many steps to skincare routines. Some are simple, such as wash, tone and moisturise. Others may be more intricate, involving many different steps and more skin care products. They all however, aim to achieve one thing: Better looking skin.
During the recent years, one item of beauty product seems to be flying off the shelves of almost every skincare brand in the industry, and that item is the beauty serum. WIth the promise of delivering fast, effective results, they have managed to captivate users, especially beauty enthusiasts who use them diligently. While many swear upon them, claiming to have acquired better, fresher, younger looking skin, some shrug their shoulders in disappointment at their purchase, feeling duped by promises that did not come true.
There are actually legit explanations as to why some people have less luck than other when it comes to beauty serums. Let’s dig further, shall we?
The use of beauty serums
The use of beauty serums have been recorded since the days of Cleopatra, who was famous for her special elixir made from frankincense and myrrh oils. Today, they are all the rage as skincare experts become more and more aware of the mechanics of these products, and manipulate the ingredients and their ratios to create the best serums money can buy.
There are two possible issues when it comes to the usage of skin/beauty serums. Firstly, it may contain one or more ingredient that a user might have an allergy to. In this case, it may actually be a very good product to use if you are not allergic to a particular ingredient(s) in it. So, if you happen across a disgruntled user on social media whose face broke out after using a particular beauty serum, don’t be too quick to judge the product, for it may work wonders on others including yourself.
Secondly, a serum is meant to be used before a moisturiser, so keep that in mind if you’re using one , or thinking of using one. While serums have the special ability to penetrate skin cells and work their magic from deep within the skin layers, they do not have the capability to seal in moisture, which is an integral part of healthy, glowing skin. Moisturisers on the other hand are made up of petrolatum and mineral oils that help keep moisture from evaporating out of the skin.
Another way to put this is that serums are meant to treat certain skin issues such as scars, melasma, skin discoloration, deep wrinkles, etc, all of which needs repairing from the deeper layers of the skin. Moisturisers take care of the skin’s topmost condition, keeping it hydrated by forming a protective layer so that not just water, but also all those beneficial ingredients in your serum do not evaporate out before they have a chance to deliver their benefits.
The true benefit of a good beauty serum
A good beauty serum is said to provide a high concentration of active ingredients. They have smaller particles and penetrate further, effectively delivering beneficial nutrients and hydration actives to the deepest layers of the skin where moisturizers won’t penetrate.
Don’t replace one with the other
A serum should not be used to replace a moisturiser and vise versa, for they each do different things for the skin. A moisturiser adds to and seals in moisture for the skin, which is important or you’ll end up with dehydrated skin. A serum however, is able to reach deep into the skin’s layer and depending on its ingredients or formulation, it can help address a number of skin issues. It does not however have the ability to seal in moisture. Hence, using a serum followed by a moisturiser will complement each other help lock in all the benefits of both products.
But my moisturiser has it all
My high-end moisturiser already contains special ingredients to help combat aging. Do I still need to use a serum?
You’ll have to keep in mind that the main aim of any moisturiser is to provide moisturisation for the skin. This means thicker, heavier ingredients are used in moisturizing creams meant for anti-aging use, to help form a barrier on your skin and to lock in more moisture. However, it can also prevent other active ingredients in the moisturizer from reaching parts of the skin that need them the most, thus reducing their efficacy and, well, defeating their purpose. A much more effective way to get the results you wish to see is to get a serum with similar benefits offered by your moisturiser, and use it before moisturising your skin.
