Starting your holistic skincare routine is broader than you think. It means identifying skincare products that would help you achieve your expected skincare goals.
As a result, skipping out on essential products is not advised. For instance, before missing out on serums, you have to ask yourself – why is serum used for the face?
This is quite important if you want to maintain an effective skincare routine. It’s what brought you here at this very moment. You’re trying to create a working routine for yourself and you need to pick the products that would fit in.
If you are wondering why a serum should fit into your routine, the simple answer is to provide targeted treatment to your skin. It treats your skin conditions and issues, especially on your face. The powerful and concentrated formula keeps your skin in a healthy state.
However, if this is not enough to convince you why serum is used for the face, read on to know more about the benefits of serum to the face.
What Is a Serum?
Serum is a thick liquid or formula that provides targeted treatment to the skin. The formula contains active ingredients known to treat the skin. It’s a concentrated product that effectively reduces or clears the skin issues on your face.
In addition, being highly concentrated, the skin reacts almost immediately to it. That is, your skin shows changes in no time. This also means it can only work when the face is cleansed. Therefore, it comes after cleansing your face of dirt and pore-clogging components.
While thick, it is lighter than a moisturizer but thicker than a toner. As a result, you layer after toner but before a moisturizer. The formula is specified, which makes it work on the blind spots your moisturizers wouldn’t be able to treat or it works in unison to provide extra nutrients.
Benefits of Using Serum on Your Face
Serums are valuable products in any routine for face for the following reasons:
1. Provides Targeted Treatment
Serums benefit the face by providing treatment to specific skin problems; well issues that can be treated topically. As a result, they are filled with active ingredients proven to achieve good results.
2. Hydrates the Skin
Serums contain hydrating ingredients that provide needed moisture and hydration to the skin. They are often more concentrated than a moisturizer; as a result, they last longer on the skin.
In addition, they support moisturizers, making them work effectively in tandem. Once absorbed into the skin, the serum provides your face with hydrating properties that keep your skin supple.
3. Provides Fast Results
Serums are concentrated and fast-absorbing. Consequently, they show results faster than any other skincare product. Furthermore, their thin consistency helps them penetrate the skin with ease to keep the skin nourished. Moreover, this helps to layer your products.
You will see a difference in your face – whether brightened, clear, or smoother – in a short period. As a result, people seek the assistance of serums to keep their skin keeping their skin treated in no time.
4. Helps to Reduce the Signs of Aging
Another reason why serum is used on the face is to reduce the appearance of aging signs – especially premature – on the face. Wrinkles, fine lines, age spots, and crepes are smoothened out, keeping your skin firm and soft.
Serums usually contain ingredients such as retinol, vitamin C, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid, which help to reduce these signs of aging. Therefore, you retain youthful skin.
5. Protects Your Skin
The skin is exposed to environmental and chemical aggressors. Serums provide a shield and protection against these aggressors.
Chemical reactions and environmental effects from the sun’s UV rays cause free radicals, which attack the positively charged neurons in the skin, causing skin reactions like wrinkles, dryness, and others.
However, with serums, your skin fights these free radicals, reducing their effects on the skin.
6. Clears Dark Spots
The face needs serum to remove discolorations like hyperpigmentation, blemishes, acne scars, age spots, and dark spots.
When the skin experiences these discolorations, they are cleared or reduced with ingredients such as vitamin C that lighten the pigmentation on the skin. As a result, the skin brightens and looks natural.
7. Improves Exfoliation
Yes, a serum exfoliates your face. While you would leave this to scrub or chemical peel to remove dead skin cells and expose new bright skin, a serum contains exfoliating ingredients to keep the skin bright and clear.
It helps to unclog your skin pores, keeping breakouts controlled. This makes it perfect for acne-prone skin types.
8. Controls Oil on Your Face
You can use a serum on your face to control sebum (oil) if your face secretes it in excess. A serum specifically made for sebum-controlling purposes will regulate and balance the sebum on your face based on the particular needs of your face.
Consequently, your face secretes the right amount of oil to keep it moisturized and protected – no more, no less – with the help of sebum.
9. Soothes Your Face
Serums are antioxidant and anti-inflammatory-rich products. They provide the targeted treatment to your face by calming your itchy, reddened, inflamed, or irritated skin.
The formulas soothe your skin, gently filling your pores with rich antioxidants that fight free radicals causing skin irritation. You would need this for your face if your skin is sensitive and easily irritated.
Face Serum Ingredients
While the list of beneficial ingredients in serum is not exhaustive, you will find some common ingredients present. These ingredients are categorized based on the functions they perform on the skin. Additionally, they include acids, natural ingredients, vitamins, and minerals.
In your quest for finding a good serum, you should look out for these ingredients.
- Hyaluronic acid
- Niacinamide
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Retinol
- Ferulic acid
- Zinc
- Green tea
- Salicylic acid
- Glycerin
- Arbutin
- Collagen
- Peptide
- Ceramides
- Glycolic acid
How to Use Face Serum
You can use your serum in your morning and nighttime routine depending on the versatility of the serum or the recommended time. To use the serum effectively you are to follow the following simple guides.
How to use face serum in the morning
- Cleanse and exfoliate your face.
- Apply your toner to remove remaining residues, and prep your pores with intense products.
- With your applicator or dropper, spot 3-4 drops of serum on your face; focus on your cheeks, forehead, and neck.
- In an upward downward movement, gently massage the serum into your skin. Massage in a circular motion until all parts of your face and neck are covered.
- Wait for up to three minutes for the serum to penetrate your skin.
- Move on to your eye cream or moisturizer next.
- Finish up with sunscreen.
How to use face serum at night
- Cleanse your face. You can exfoliate too. However, avoid exfoliating twice a day with a scrub.
- Use a toner to remove grime acquired during the day.
- Apply your night or regular serum.
- Use an applicator to sprinkle 3-4 drops of serum.
- Massage deeply and gently into your skin.
- Apply your eye cream or moisturizer.
Sunscreens are not needed in your nighttime routine, therefore, avoid applying sunscreen to bed.
Disadvantages of Face Serum
As good as a serum is in your skincare, there are some disadvantages to the product.
Purging
When a new face serum formula is used on the face for the first time, your skin might experience ‘purging’. This is the stage where existing chemicals, components, and ingredients are removed from the skin.
The skin goes through this stage for about two weeks to a month. Consequently, you will not see the results of the serum until after the purging process is complete.
Burning sensation
You might also experience a slight burning or tingling sensation when using a new serum formula. However, this is not threatening but uncomfortable. This feeling should stop after a few weeks of using the serum. This also happens in the purging process.
However, if this is not going away, discontinue the product immediately.
Oxidizes easily
This happens to serums when they are exposed to light and air. This is why they are packaged in an opaque bottle. The serum must be secured in a dark airless spot where it is hard for air to get in.
As a result, serums have a short lifespan when opened. To avoid your serum going bad, keep it safe, and use it only when necessary.
On the expensive side
Serums are on the expensive side due to the concentrated active ingredients. It takes time and resources to get these ingredients in their active states. Therefore, the product comes expensive. There are serums over 200 dollars due to their formula and the type of rare ingredients used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are eye serums different from face serums?
Yes, they are. Face serums and eye serums are not the same, although they can be used the same way. However, an eye serum is also part of a face serum.
While you can use an eye serum on your whole face and experience no side effects, eye serums are made specifically for the delicate parts of your under-eye area and eyelids.
Can serum be applied directly to the face?
Yes, you can. Serum can be applied directly to the face. Nonetheless, apply the serum after cleansing your face to remove dead skin cells and residues on the face.
Should you apply a serum and moisturizer together?
Yes, you should. A serum underneath a moisturizer improves the hydration and moisture level of your skin. Furthermore, the moisturizer seals the ingredients in.
This helps especially in winter months when the skin needs extra hydration to keep the skin from drying.
Conclusion
Why you should add a serum to your packed skincare routine is simple – improve and maintain your face’s healthy skin texture and color. It’s all about keeping your face glowing. Therefore, make room for it; you won’t regret it.
Why the reasons and benefits are obvious, you have to remember that you are bound to experience some side effects, which may be a disadvantage to your skin. Nevertheless, this should not stop you from adding the serum to your regimen.
With proven ingredients known to keep the skin in a refreshed and heightened state, your beauty definitely enhances. Consequently, your thought should not be “why is serum used for the face” but how should I use a serum for the face.
Thanks for reading.
Serum101 provides relatable skincare guides to improve your daily skincare goals.
