Serums + Balance
As we continue with our theme of #balance, we’re going to talk about one of those increasingly popular trends: serums!
Serums are the balancing act in your skincare routine. While your cleanser’s job is to cleanse, and your moisturizer is meant to, well, moisturize, serums are where you have a chance to deeply rehydrate your skin, address specific concerns, and essentially create the perfect skincare cocktail.
With Korean skincare being popular right now, some people have taken this to the next level, using up to five serums in their skincare routine, layered with masques, essences, and other products. However, most people don’t have the time, energy, or dedication to try to do that morning and night. One thing we can all do, however, is incorporate at least one or two serums into our skincare to help create that glowy, hydrated, balanced skin we all want. But how do we know what to look for?
My personal belief is that good skincare should be simple and accessible for everyone. I personally keep my routine straight to the point: a thorough cleanse, a nice, soothing mist, a brightening serum, and my favorite face oil. If you’re someone who likes a bit more pizazz in your routine, feel free to layer many different types of serums. This is also great for skin issues that have many different facets: for example, if you’re acne prone, you may want a serum that helps you combat congestion, while also using a brightening serum to help with acne spots and general discoloration (although a good product should hopefully do both). Just be careful to test them each out first, especially if you have sensitive skin.
Serums for Brightening
Whether you’re trying to even out overall discoloration, or trying to fade sun spots, there are a few go-to ingredients for brightening. As always, vitamin C is big in this area. However, it’s difficult to stabilize vitamin C, and it can lose its efficacy if the product isn’t properly preserved. Make sure you purchase a product with high-quality vitamin C, and reach out to the company if you want more information on how they stabilize their products.
Other great ingredients to look for when it comes to brightening are licorice extract, niacinamide, kojic acid, and vitamin E. Keep in mind that acne prone skin sometimes doesn’t take well to vitamin E, so if you use a C+E serum (a common powerhouse combo) and start to breakout, it may be from the vitamin E.
Serums that contain gently exfoliating acids, like glycolic acid, are a great way to help expedite the brightening process, but we wary if you have sensitive skin, and be aware this means you absolutely cannot skimp on SPF.
A few serums that are great for brightening are: Eminence Organics Bright Skin Licorice Root Booster Serum, Lira Clinical Bio Hydra C Serum, Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum, and SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Antioxidant Serum.
Serums for Hydration
Serums meant for hydration are pretty straightforward: you’re looking for hyaluronic acid. You want high-quality hyaluronic acid, and perhaps even several types in one product. You can also look for serums with alpha hydroxy acids, glycerin, and aloe, which all help directly deliver water to the skin. Eminence Organics Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Serum, Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S. Thirst-Quenching Serum (my personal favorite), and SkinCeuticals B5 Gel are some top picks.
Serums for Acne
Although acne can be difficult to treat, there are two mainstay ingredients in most anti-acne products: salicylic and glycolic acid. They help gently exfoliate the skin, balance oil production, and de-clog pores. Most people tend to gravitate towards salicylic, which is an awesome go-to anti-acne product, but be willing to try glycolic, as well. As always, if you use products with either of these ingredients, make sure you’re extra careful about SPF.
Some great anti-acne serums are: Eminence Organics Clear Skin Willow Bark Booster Serum, True Botanicals Clear Repair Serum, and SkinCeuticals Blemish + Age Defense Serum.
Serums for Anti-Aging
Generally, anti-aging serums need to have ingredients focusing on hydrating the skin to smooth fine lines and wrinkles as well as maintaining brightness and reversing sun damage. In addition, any collagen-boosting benefits are an added perk. Ingredients you may want to look for include hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, resveratrol, retinoids, peptides, CoQ10, and polyphenols.
Some great serums for anti-aging concerns are: Eminence Organics Marine Flower Peptide Serum, Eminence Organics Eight Greens Youth Serum, Eminence Organics Firm Skin Acai Booster Serum, SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Antioxidant Serum, Caudalie Resveratrol Firming Serum, and Caudalie Vine[Activ] Glow Activating Anti-Wrinkle Serum.
Serums for General Skin-Boosting
This is for those people who may not have specific skin concerns and just want a little extra boost to help protect them from general environmental factors, like sun damage and pollution.
The main thing you’re going to want to look for is any ingredients that are antioxidants, since these provide great general protection for your skin, no matter what your skin concerns may be. Vitamin C is big in this department. Other big ones are vitamin A (Retinol), polyphenols, vitamin E, resveratrol, niacinamide (vitamin B3), and flavonoids (those things that are good for you in tea). Some great options are: Eminence Organics Citrus & Kale C+E serum, Eminence Organics Stone Crop Serum, Lira Clinical Bio Hydra C Serum, SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Antioxidant Serum, and Caudalie Skin Perfecting Serum. True Botanicals also has what they call Boosters that you can add in to other skincare products, including a Vitamin C Booster, and an Antioxidant Booster.
Let us know if you find some newfound #balance in your skincare routine after incorporating a new serum. Stay glowing!
The author of this blog, Layla Hanson, is a writer and project manager for Infinity Aesthetics, specializing in holistic media production. You can see her popping in and out of the office from time to time to snap photos for our Instagram and website. Feel free to say hi and offer to pose for a picture!