In this article:
What is a serum?
What’s the difference between serums and skin boosters?
What does serum do for your face?
Face serum benefits
How to choose a face serum
How to use a face serum
Do I need a serum?
Do you need a serum and a moisturiser?
You’ve probably heard that adding a serum to your routine is one way to get the more advanced results you want – but what is a serum anyway? What does it do for skin, and how do you use one? Perhaps most importantly – do you even need to include a serum in your routine?
We have the expert-vetted answers to those questions and many more. Let’s get right to it!
What is a serum?
Serums are advanced, streamlined formulas with higher concentrations of antioxidants, skin-replenishing and skin-restoring ingredients designed to address specific skin concerns in a more targeted, enriching manner. Think of them as specialised weapons in your skin care arsenal that help tackle issues like brightness, wrinkles or uneven tone.
Their laser-focused formulations are their superpower. Serums for face application don’t need to contain sunscreen actives like a daytime moisturiser with SPF requires or the emollients or texture-enhancing ingredients your nighttime moisturiser should have. Instead, face serums use that extra space to pack in other beneficial ingredients that’ll help target skin concerns.
Because of their special blends and textures, serums are easily added to your existing skin care routine. They work well with other product categories and can even be layered with each other so you can design a truly customised skin care experience.
What’s the difference between serums and skin boosters?
At first glance, one might think that serums and boosters are essentially the same product type with subtle differences. However, it’s the nuances between the two that make all the difference.
Serums work in harmony with your moisturiser and other skin care products by supplying an advanced, similarly weighted blend of bioactive antioxidants, skin-replenishing ingredients and skin-restorative ingredients.
Boosters, on the other hand, contain potent concentrations of a single pivotal ingredient–think vitamin C or hyaluronic acid–or a mix of similar ingredients, such as non-fragrant plant oils or peptides.
Some people might prefer having a booster in their line-up to get the higher concentrations of key ingredients they feel will help address their skin concerns; others might select serums for a more holistic approach. Many people, however, choose both so they can reap the benefits of specialised single ingredients and blends to create a robust skin care routine.
*Note: Different skin care companies have differing definitions of what exactly constitutes a face serum or skin booster. The definitions above are what we use at Paula’s Choice Skincare.
What does serum do for your face?
Face serums benefit skin in a myriad of ways depending on their ingredients. Using serums loaded with important ingredients before you begin seeing signs of skin concerns (like fine lines, wrinkles and damage from environmental assault) will position you ahead of the curve for getting (and maintaining) the skin you want now and in the long term. However, well-made serums also work after skin concerns appear, but without question, sooner is better than later.
Face serum benefits
Depending on the ingredients in a face serum and the formula quality, a face serum can:
- Help promote fewer visible fine lines and wrinkles (all Paula’s Choice Skincare serums offer this benefit).
- Bring about a noticeable improvement in skin tone (especially from a vitamin C serum featuring a high concentration of the ingredient).
- Soothe skin (from a ceramide serum with additional calming ingredients like beta-glucan).
- Encourage visibly smaller pores and improve skin texture (from a niacinamide serum with a 20% concentration).
- Support firmer skin (particularly from a retinoid serum).
How to choose a face serum
When it comes to choosing a face serum beyond addressing specific skin concerns, the same rules apply as with many other skin care products–it isn’t right for you if it isn’t a match for your skin type.
All skin types should avoid serums with sensitising ingredients, essential oils and denatured alcohol. These ingredients can worsen skin through disturbing skin’s barrier, ultimately setting back your skin goals. The best face serums are also housed in packaging that minimises the formula’s exposure to light and air, which can degrade the product’s potency.
Now that we’ve covered what to look for in all face serums, let’s cover how to choose a face serum for your skin type:
- The best serum for normal skin (AKA well balanced skin), is one that focuses on tackling and combatting environmental damage from the sun and pollution with ample hero antioxidants, like vitamin C and glutathione. Textures for normal skin serums can range from creams and lotions to gels.
- If you’re looking for a face serum for oily skin, look for a fluid or light lotion serum that feels weightless but still has a potent formulation. You might also want to look for serums with niacinamide, as this ingredient helps balance skin.
- When it comes to dry skin, choose a moisturising serum or a barrier-supporting serum. You’ll likely love serums packed with ceramides, hyaluronic acid, ectoin, emollients and antioxidant-enriched non-fragrant plant oils.
- Combination skin does best with lotion consistencies. Consider applying a serum for dry skin to flaky, parched sections of the face and a serum for oily skin to the T-zone or other sebum-prone areas.
- All skin types experiencing signs of ageing will find the best antioxidant serum features ingredients (like retinol) designed to tackle fine lines, wrinkles and dullness by fighting pro-ageing free-radical damage.
How to use a face serum
Learning how to use a face serum is as easy as figuring out when to slot your serum into your skin care routine. We’ve put together the following guide to make it easy for you!
- Cleanse skin with a gentle face wash.
- Follow with a replenishing, antioxidant-rich toner.
- Exfoliate with an AHA or BHA leave-on exfoliant.
- Apply your serums, boosters and treatments according to their texture, from thinnest to thickest.
- Daytime: Follow with a moisturiser with SPF to hydrate and protect.
- Nighttime: Follow with your nourishing moisturiser of choice.
Is it a good idea to use a face serum daily? Yes! Depending on your skin type and concerns, you can use a serum once or twice per day, in both your morning and nighttime routine.
Do I need a serum?
The answer is maybe; depending on your skin care needs. For some, just following the basic steps (cleanser, moisturiser, sunscreen) of a skin care routine might be enough to accommodate skin health and address minor concerns.
For others, especially those with visible signs of ageing, an advanced routine that also includes a serum or booster (as well as a toner and exfoliant) will produce enhanced results that build on the basics of cleansing, moisturising and protecting from sun exposure.
It also might be beneficial to alternate different serums or to layer them as needed for more customised results. That’s what many of us at Paula’s Choice Skincare do, as this is a great tactic if you can’t decide between two serums or if you feel that both could help your skin improve.
Do you need a serum and a moisturiser?
Using a serum and a moisturiser within the same routine can be truly beneficial and allow you to reach your skin goals in a timelier manner.
Moisturisers and serums occupy different spaces in your skin care routine, both literally (you apply a serum before and a moisturiser after) and functionally.
Moisturisers are integral partners to skin and work to hydrate skin and nourish the skin barrier. However, even moisturisers designed to target more specific issues, like advanced signs of ageing – because of their product formats and structures – simply cannot contain as much of a concentrated, targeted ingredient as your serum does. The two simply have different jobs; they work together synergistically to give you the results you want.
Another reason using both can be effective is because skin is not static; its needs can change for numerous reasons, such as seasonal changes, moving to a new location, pollution or the passage of time. The changes you experience might not be enough to warrant swapping out your moisturiser entirely, rather it could just be a matter of switching up which serum you’re using or integrating a new serum to tackle the differences you’re seeing in your skin.
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