The first time I heard of serums, I was quite confused. They are a lesser-known part of a great skincare routine. Less famous than the moisturizer, the cleanser, or even the toner. Today, I’ll go over the face serum benefits as well as which serums are best for glowing skin.
Serums are a concentrated dose of natural ingredients that help nourish and smooth out your skin. They should be used after a toner and before moisturizing.
They are similar to a toner but more targeted. Look for serums that have vitamin C, retinol, zinc, and/or salicylic acid in them. Ensure to choose a serum that is best for your skin type.
Read on to learn more about serums, including the face. You will also learn which serums are the best for your skin type as well as how to use them properly.
Also, for an excellent serum, take a look at our top pick, the Ordinary with Niacinamide + Zinc:
Click here to see it on Amazon.
Face Serum Benefits
One of the face serum benefits is hydration. A serum is a concentrated dose of natural ingredients that help nourish and smooth out your skin. It helps in minimizing pores and evens out blemishes or uneven coloring. It brightens, tones, and gives more youthful, glowing skin.
Serums provide anything that you’re missing after toning and are a bit contradictory by definition because they’re moisturizing but not moisturizers, they could have oils in them, but they’re not facial oils, and sometimes the consistency of the serums are like essence, but they’re not essences. They are kind of like everything but nothing at the same time.
Nonetheless, including serums in your skincare routine is an important step. They deliver active ingredients straight into the dermis layer of your skin and have very specific ingredients to address each type of skin concern.
Serums vs Toners
Serums are more targeted than toners. Toners are broader. Toners are used every once in a while to balance the ph level of your skin.
Serums are typically used to target specific skincare concerns such as brightening dull skin, reducing wrinkles and acne, delivering a firmer and smoother skin texture, reducing the appearance of big pores, and even increasing moisture levels in your skin.
Serums vs Moisturizers
In a nutshell, serums are lightweight, fast-absorbing, and can sink deep into your skin. They’re super intense but should not be used as a moisturizer.
This is because they don’t have enough of the nourishing qualities that moisturizers have. The molecular makeup and combination of serums are a lot smaller, so they sink deeper into your pores, kind of like toners do.
Moisturizers have bigger molecular makeup, so they act more as a barrier to keep hydration from leaving your skin. Throughout the day, the moisture in your skin evaporates. Your oils will evaporate too. Moisturizers help to lock them down and keep them in their routine.
How to Apply Serum
The proper way to apply a serum is to start with a cleansed and toned face. After toning, use a serum that works for your specific skin type. Put a pea-sized amount onto your fingertips, preferably, or your palm, and then just spread it and work it in.
You start from the cheek area as well as the forehead because those areas tend to be drier and have more pores.
Another one of the top face serum benefits is that serums are never greasy but are lightweight and have a thin consistency. Serums are expensive skin care products and should not be used with a cotton pad. If you do that, you’re wasting it, and it’s like throwing your money away.
It is important to always read the instructions on the packaging and labels of serums. Sometimes, you can use it daily or two times a day. Sometimes, you can only use it two to three times a week.
Therefore, always read the instructions. Another thing to remember is not to put serums under the eyes.
Ingredients in Serums
Now let’s move on to the type of ingredients you should look for in serums. Serums are little concentrated bottles of magic targeting specific skincare concerns.
If you have acne-prone skin, it’s probably a little bit sensitive as well, so you want to look for serums that have vitamin C, retinol, zinc, and salicylic acid.
Vitamin C and retinol increase collagen production and also brighten and make the skin glow. They also help speed up the healing process of skin breakouts that cause darkening or hyperpigmentation on the skin.
Zinc soothes irritation and regulates oil production, while salicylic acid, also known as beta hydroxy acid or BHA, the chemical exfoliant, helps penetrate deep down into the pores to unclog the oils and dead skin that’s forming skin breakouts.
For dry skin that is in need of some desperate TLC and repair, look for ingredients that have vitamin E and niacinamide, glycolic acid, and hyaluronic acid. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects cells from free radical damage, while niacinamide improves skin elasticity and increases hydration levels in the skin.
Glycolic acid helps to gently exfoliate the skin and remove all the dead cells and also helps brighten and lighten the skin, while hyaluronic acid helps your skin retain all the moisture in.
Our body naturally makes hyaluronic acid, so you’re just kind of adding more into it, especially if you have dry skin, which is genetic. Oily skin is also genetic.
Recommended Serums
The Ordinary Niacinamide + Zinc
The Ordinary with Niacinamide + Zinc is one of my top serum recommendations:
Click here to see it on Amazon.
It helps reduce pore size and tones your face, making it smoother and younger-looking. Check out the below video for great tips on this serum:
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid + B5
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid + B5 Serum has 2% hyaluronic acid that will make your skin hydrated and supple:
Click here to see it on Amazon.
Hyaluronic Acid deeply hydrates and plumps the skin, instantly hydrating, replenishing, and boosting the skin’s ability to retain moisture, revealing a smoother youthful complexion.
InstaNatural Vitamin C Serum
If your skin is irritated and inflamed, you should try the InstaNatural Vitamin C Serum:
Click here to see it on Amazon.
It has vitamin C, vitamin E, and Hyaluronic Acid. Vitamin C and vitamin E are great ingredients for anti-aging as they lighten the appearance of dark circles, eye bags, and puffy under eyes.
Caudalie Vinopure Skin Perfecting Serum
Another favorite serum of mine is the Caudalie Vinopure Skin Perfecting Serum:
Click here to see it on Amazon.
You can use this if you want to minimize your pores. Pores and breakouts go hand-in-hand. The bigger your pores are, the more oil you have, the more prone to breakouts you are.
This serum is especially for acne-prone skin. The ingredients are a bit heavier and are designed to attack pimples. It’s extra intense and might cause dryness and flakiness, so make sure you read the labels on how many times you should be using it in a day. You can switch it up with toners or with other serums as well.
Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum
Then, there’s the Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum. This is an intensive hydration serum that is very soothing and calming:
Click here to see it on Amazon.
It has Jeju green tea extract as well as green tea oil, which, when combined, can seamlessly help you balance your skin and help your skin retain moisture.
Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum
If you have uneven skin texture, that’s because you’re not exfoliating. You can use an exfoliating serum to get rid of little bumps and layers of dead skin, such as the TLC Glycolic Night Serum by Drunk Elephant.
Click here to see it on Amazon.
It’s got AHA and BHA, which you can use whether you’re breaking out or have uneven skin texture. The Farmacy Honeymoon Glow is pretty intense and should only be used once a week and only at nighttime. Since it strips off the dead skin, you need to wear sunscreen the next day.
Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Gel
If your skin is just normal, you might just want to add a hydrating or nourishing serum to your routine. You can try Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Gel:
Click here to see it on Amazon.
You can also use the Korean brand Huxley Secret of Sahara Essence. This is called essence grab water, but it’s like a serum. It’s got cactus extract as well as aloe, which is really good for inflammation and is hydrating as well.
Volition Snow Mushroom Water Serum
The Volition Snow Mushroom Water Serum is also good at retaining moisture and will lock it into your skin. It is a hydrating, pore-minimizing serum that contains snow mushroom, which leaves the skin simply healthier-looking.
Click here to see it on Amazon.
Pixi Overnight Glow Serum
If you have dull skin, or if your skin’s not looking as bright as you want it to be, you can try the Pixi Overnight Glow Serum:
Click here to see it on Amazon.
I was concerned by some of the reviews when I first tried this serum, but I was pleasantly surprised. It has a wonderful smell, plumped up my skin, and gave it a smoother look with more life.
It has 10% glycolic acid, which helps gently shed the dead skin cells on your skin. It also has vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, aloe, and cucumber. Vitamin C and vitamin E are nourishing and work well together in dealing with dullness and hyperpigmentation.
Sunday Riley Good Genes
A high-end product that you can try is the Sunday Riley Good Genes, which contains lactic acid to gently exfoliate your skin:
Click here to see it on Amazon.
When I tried this serum, I noticed it cleared some pimples and blemishes I had and made my skin look younger and fresher. I made it last using only a pea-sized amount each morning and night.
Conclusion – Face Serum Benefits
In summary, what are face serum benefits:
There are many face serum benefits, including helping to nourish and smooth out your skin. They are similar to a toner but more targeted, delivering more benefits to your skin.
Look for serums that have vitamin C, retinol, zinc, and/or salicylic acid in them. Ensure to choose a serum that is best for your skin type.
One thing to keep in mind when applying serums is that more isn’t better. They’re highly concentrated, potent, and are for very specific skin concerns. You shouldn’t mix different ones together because it can cause skin irritations and breakouts.
The number one step to the basics of skin care is to properly wash or cleanse your face. Before applying anything onto your skin, make sure you remove all the grime and oil so that you won’t clog your pores which are the main cause of breakouts.
Then, follow up with a toner to rehydrate the skin and rebalance the ph levels as well as help everything that you apply on top, like serums that sink better onto the skin. In between toners and serums, make sure you exfoliate but don’t overdo it.
If you use an exfoliating serum, make sure that your cleanser and toner aren’t exfoliating but are hydrating and neutral. This way, you can strike a balance. If you overdo it, especially with chemical exfoliants, you will peel, be inflamed, be in pain, and then you’ll be confused all over again.
When you use serums, you can see a lot of immediate effects because it sinks into the skin. Since it is applied at night and sometimes in the morning, it stays on your face for the longest period. While serums are moisturizing, you should still apply moisturizers afterward.
