The skin is the largest organ in the human body, composed of cells which keep dying and being renewed all the time. The skin you had last year is not the same skin you have today. The skin consists of layers. As we age our skin stops producing collagen and the rate of elasticity also starts to decrease.
For delaying the process of aging , a proper skin care regime is always recommended. It is essential to know your skin type for choosing the right skincare products.
These days a skincare routine seems to have so many steps that it's easy to get confused. Today we will see how important the step of using a serum is in skin care routine.
Some questions about serums
▶ What does a serum actually do?
▶ How many categories of serums are there?
▶ Can a serum replace a moisturizer?
▶ At which age do you need to invest in a serum?
A serum is a skincare product that you can apply to your skin after cleansing, but before moisturizer, with the intent of delivering powerful ingredients directly into your skin.
Water Based and Oil Based Serums
Traditional serums are water-based, but a bit viscous than essences.There are some oil-based serums, which feel richer and don't go onto your skin as a second step after cleansing, but as last step, where usually a facial oil or something like that would go. Water-based serums contain so-called penetration enhancers, like butylene, glycol, ethanol, oleic or linoleic acid that help the ingredients to penetrate deeper into the skin.
What does a serum actually do?
Our skin's needs change daily, or monthly, or seasonally, and as you age your skin's needs get more different. Your skin has more problems than it had when you were in your early 20s. Your skin has different needs in the winter time than it has in summer,it has different needs in the evening than it has in the mornings.
You got the gist , serums are the part in your skincare routine where you can change up what boost you're going to give your skin, because that is what they aim to do.They aim to give your skin a boost in hydration, a boost in texture enhancing, a boost in collagen production.Whatever your actual concern is, a serum is particularly good suited to this task because it usually contains smaller molecules and less occlusives and emollients then a moisturizer,so it's designed to penetrate into the skin rather than sit on the surface of the skin and lock in all the goodness that's inside.
Because there are so many different skin needs, there are many different categories of serums,the main three categories consists of:
Antioxidants:
This category of serums has ubiquinone or vitamin q10, vitamin C, vitamin E, everything that you need to protect your skin from the free radical damage that it experiences through pollution, UV exposure and just general stress.
Anti aging serums:
The second category of serums is the anti-aging serums, and these are the one that contains actives like acids, like retinoids, like peptides that aim to improve collagen production.They target the concerns that older skin has, they aim to give an anti-aging boost by evening out the skin texture, smoothing out the skin, plumping fine lines.
Hydrating serums :
The last main category to be identified is the category of hydrating serums .These are the ones that are rich in humectants like glycerin, different forms of hyaluronic acid. Basically all the humectants you can think of in small molecule forms,so they can penetrate deeply and plump up your skin and hydration is something that basically everyone needs, so these are the ones that you can introduce into your routine the earliest.
With all that information you can now actually answer the next question yourself:
Can a serum replace a moisturizer?
Serum is a booster, it delivers ingredients deeply into the skin and for these ingredients to stay there and to be active and not to evaporate through transepidermal water loss or something like that, you need to seal it in with a light layer of moisturizer. That doesn't have to be a thick cream. It could be more of a lotion and if your skin is especially oily so you have your own sebum.You might be able to skip moisturizer because your own sebum is going to seal in all the serum goodness that you applied before that. These days it's a little more difficult because there are lightweight lotions or heavier serums that I think are more of a hybrid between a serum and a cream, so there is some like the Inkey List q10, which has quite a few emollients, is technically a serum, but in the summertime f with oily skin it's more than enough to wear on its own, no moisturizer on top, but if you have something that really has zero occlusive and basically any emollients then yes, you need to follow it up with something more occlusive.
Now the last question:
At which age should you invest in a serum?
If you're young your skin just needs a basic routine : cleanser if you wear makeup, a good sunscreen, a lightweight moisturizer if you tend to have dry or dehydrated skin, but once you reach your mid-20s, early 30s, depending on your skin type and your lifestyle you should start introducing anti oxidants and probably hydration and a serum is a good way to start. So a good cleanser and an antioxidant, hydrating serum and a good moisturizer plus of course your SPF in the daytime is something that you must start in your mid-20s as skincare routine.
As we age, like 40s plus,then our serum arsenal will get much more diversified, but at a young age it is not worth investing a lot of money into this step basically because your skin does not yet need it.
Not all serums work the same. How well they work depends on their active ingredients and the formulation.
Caution while using a skin serum:
Heavy ingredients can irritate sensitive skin, and aggravate your skin issues, so always test a small area before you apply a skin serum extensively and be careful when mixing acid-containing serums with other products that also contain acids.
For example,
➡Your skin may get irritated if you use a serum with vitamin C (which is acidic) with a retinol cream.
➡If you use a retinol serum along with a prescription retinol cream.
To find the correct formulation for your needs, the best practice is to read the labels before buying a serum.More important than price are the ingredients in the serum that suits your skin type.
Conclusion:
A serum is a really important step, especially as you grow older. A serum is a necessary step, if it is a serum in the traditional sense that it actually delivers a boost of active ingredients or a boost of hydrating ingredients. I think a serum is a step worth investing your money in if you get a high quality product, because it can really make a difference in your skin care. Serum is the elixir that you sprinkle on top to really give your skin the extra love that it needs.
I hope that you have got the answers of all your questions related to serums.
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