Serums are the most potent ally in an individual’s daily regimen to achieve the idea of beautiful, radiant skin. They are lightweight products that quickly absorb into the skin, giving it a lasting youthful appearance and leaving no residues. Indeed, the molecules in a serum protect the skin from the environmental irritants that cause damage.
In particular, serums are packed with vitamins, antioxidants, and other actives that can help counter skin concerns like aging and acne. Also, serums can help treat skin concerns like skin brightening, cell regeneration, and resurfacing. With consistency and proper use, they help improve the texture and tone of the skin.
Why Use Serums?
Serums are skincare products that have the most effective ingredients, formulated to make a difference that one can see and feel. A lot of reasons why people love serums, which include:
- Lightweight
- Fast-absorbing
- Non-comedogenic
- Targeted
- Concentrated
- Effective
- Easy to layer
What Benefits Do Serums Provide?
- Absorbs quickly into the skin. Its lightweight formulation also means it is quickly absorbent. They are absorbed rapidly into the skin due to their thinner texture. Certainly, this makes an ideal first step in the layering process.
- Soothes sensitive skin. Serums are often better for those with oily skin or acne-prone types due to light preparations.
- Improves wrinkles and fine lines’ appearance. One ingredient in the serum is retinol, which may help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
- It helps the skin in protecting from free radicals and future damage. The ingredients of serums like ferulic acid, green tea, vitamin C, vitamin E, astaxanthin, and resveratrol, can help prevent oxidative damage from UV or ultraviolet light and pollution, leading to wrinkles and premature skin aging.
- Provides more potential and visible results. Its higher concentration of active ingredients may provide more visible results than other skin products.
- Feels light on the skin. Since it absorbs quickly into the skin, a face serum doesn’t feel heavy or greasy.
What Are The Types of Serums?
It is vital to recognize different serums when choosing one, especially knowing the certain ingredients based on the skin goals. Below are the following categories that serums usually fall into:
Anti-Aging Serums
The regimens of anti-aging encourage skin renewal and the production of collagen. Nonetheless, this type of serum often includes retinol, bakuchiol, or both.
Skin-Brightening Serums
Often chock-full of antioxidants and pigment-fighting ingredients, skin-brightening serums can help improve skin tone.
Hydrating Serums
These serums contain hyaluronic acid, a molecule that physically binds water in the skin to make it look fresh, plump, and younger.
Free-Radical Fighting Serums
These serums have antioxidants that fight free radicals, which damage healthy skin. In this case, choose a serum that contains ingredients like vitamins C, A, and E and resveratrol to help prevent skin damage from free radicals.
Acne-Prone and Sensitive Skin Serums
These serums often contain salicylic acid or similar plant-based derivatives suitable for acne-prone and sensitive skin types.
What Are The 6 Types of Serum Formulation to Try?
Generally, not all serums work the same since they’ll depend on how well the active ingredients work, the formulation, the vehicle, and the stability of the compound. In fact, there are at least six different types of formulations, which include:
High-Performance Oil-Based Serums
Typically, oil-based serums are what people start looking for. They are mostly made of specialized carrier oils with actives and vitamins. Rich and concentrated products with fluid, oil-based serums have liquid consistency and contain no water.
Pressed Serums
They are anhydrous products, similar to balms. Often, pressed serums use wax or butter to create a firmer, semi-solid consistency. However, they use more luxury oils and butter, higher concentrations of active ingredients, and special waxes such as floral waxes compared to balms.
Gel-Based Serums
Primarily an aqueous or water-based product, this type of serum formulation contains a thickener to create a more dense product. Typically, they have a non-greasy, matte finish and can be less expensive to produce as they contain high amounts of water or hydrosol.
Emulsion-Based Serums
When taking water-soluble and oil-soluble ingredients and combining them in an emulsion, they produce milky to creamy textures. These are what emulsified serums are all about. (gardensdental.com.au) Many emulsified serums cater to most skin types, depending on the ingredients chosen.
Gel-Cream Serums
Gel-cream serums are lightweight and quickly absorbent. They contain many hydrating ingredients and water-soluble actives (similar to a gel). However, it also includes emollient oils to create a very light, cream-like appearance and consistency with an elegant skin feel.
Biphase Serums
Oil and water don’t mix unless they’re emulsified, but leaving them as they are could end up with a product separated into two distinct phases, a water-based and an oil-based phase, which must be shaken before each use. To keep the two phases distinct, Biphase serums need to be specially formulated, with an attractive appearance when allowed to settle but with the ability to mix when shaken for effective use. An advantage of biphase serums is that they can contain both water and oil-soluble actives, plus they are fun to make and use.
How To Apply Serums?
Below are the steps to apply serum for maximum effect, especially when adding it to the daily beauty routine.
- After cleansing the face, apply a pea-sized amount of serum, patting it evenly over the skin with a finger.
- For sensitive skin, wait for 10 to 15 minutes after washing the face before using a serum. Note that applying a water-based product is more likely to lead to irritation. On the other hand, allowing the skin to dry completely slows down penetration.
- There is no need to skip a moisturizer. Just pat on the serum first so it isn’t blocked from penetrating the skin.
In addition, to get the most out of a face serum, the following tips are recommended:
- The application of skincare products from thinnest to thickest is highly suggested. In fact, most serums work best when applied as the first layer, in direct contact with clean skin after using a cleanser.
- In case the active ingredient is too irritating or drying, apply it over another product to create a buffering effect.
The Bottom Line
Serums contain the most concentrated dose of active ingredients that you can find in over-the-counter skin care products, but they can also penetrate deeply, giving you maximum results. Viva Vitality offers TNS® Advanced+ Serum, the next-generation skin rejuvenating formula that improves the appearance of coarse wrinkles, fine lines, skin tone, and texture. It’s the only growth factor product proven to address sagging skin, and results are visible in just two weeks, and they continue to improve through 24 weeks of use.