Your Complete Guide To Face Serums
Nourish Mantra
Your Complete Guide To Face Serums
Face serums are multifaceted products that everyone wants to include in their skincare routines. And why wouldn't they? Face serums have wide-ranging benefits that make people ask, "How to use a face serum?". Today, our goal is to answer this question and many more. So, keep reading!
What Do You Mean By A Face Serum?
Simply put, face serums are concentrated liquids of active ingredients that are lightweight and effective in treating several skin problems. These include uneven skin texture, pigmentation, acne, etc.
Serums are water-based products and have a gel-like tendency that helps them penetrate deep into the skin. This deep penetration allows the face serum to show quicker and more visible results. This makes face serums quite popular in the skincare community.
Many people ask, "When do I use a serum?". Well, face serums can contain many ingredients like vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, retinol, etc. This essentially means that different ingredients are used for different purposes and at different times. To have a more refined understanding, take a look at the most famous types of face serums:
What Are The Several Types Of Face Serums?
Face serums can be divided into many types depending on the ingredients they use or the skin concerns they tackle. However, today we have divided them into five broad categories based on the skin issues they tackle:
Anti-Aging Serum
As you might have guessed, anti-aging face serum is best for fighting various signs of aging. It prevents and reduces the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots. These serums also boost collagen production and lessen hyperpigmentation.
The key ingredients in this face serum may include:
- Retinol: A form of vitamin A known for its anti-aging qualities and boosting cell turnover.
- Niacinamide: A form of vitamin B3 that effectively tackles hyperpigmentation.
- Vitamin C: It is excellent for fighting fine lines and brightening skin complexion.
Hydrating Serum
Hydration serums vary from hydrating creams and moisturizers as they contain a high concentration of active ingredients. These serums are excellent for instantly hydrating the skin and making it look bright and glowing.
The key ingredients in this face serum may include:
- Hyaluronic Acid: It is a highly hydrating ingredient known to hold 1000 times its weight in water, which helps retain moisture in the skin.
- Vitamin C: It is an incredible antioxidant that helps in brightening complexion and evening skin tone.
- Glycerine: It benefits your skin barrier and minimizes water loss.
Exfoliating Serum
People with acne-prone skin prefer chemical exfoliants like face serums over physical scrubs, as the former are less likely to cause redness and inflammation. That's where an exfoliating serum enters, as these face serums work both as an exfoliator and a serum for glowing skin.
The key ingredients in this face serum may include:
- AHAs: Alpha-Hydroxy Acids brilliantly get rid of dead skin cells, enhance radiance, and fight other signs of aging.
- BHAs: Butylated Hydroxyanisole improves skin firmness, skin tone, and texture.
- PHAs: Polyhydroxy acids remove dead skin cells and dull skin cells and provide overall healthy skin.
Brightening or Color Correcting Serum
This beauty skin serum is used to reverse and prevent signs of sun damage, aging, and pollution. It is specially formulated to target hyperpigmentation, discoloration, uneven skin tone, and rough texture. Additionally, it also makes the skin look brighter and more radiant.
The key ingredients in this face serum may include:
- Niacinamide: A form of vitamin B3 that effectively tackles hyperpigmentation, diminishes dark spots, and protects against sun damage.
- Arbutin: It is excellent in lightening darkened areas, reducing the appearance of scars, and brightening skin tone.
- Vitamin C: It is a great antioxidant that helps in brightening and evening skin tone
Antioxidant Serum
- Antioxidant serums have great qualities that help them bind to the free radicals, preventing hyperpigmentation, fine lines, wrinkles, inflammation, and dullness. They also shield the skin from daily pollutants and provide overall brightening and radiance to the skin.
The key ingredients in this face serum may include:
- Vitamin C: Thanks to its antioxidant capacity, vitamin C acts as an anti-inflammatory agent which helps soothe and brighten the skin.
- Vitamin E: It prevents moisture loss, protects the skin cells from damage, and softens the skin.
- L-Ascorbic acid: This ingredient is excellent for reducing inflammation, hyperpigmentation, and skin aging.
Now you know about the various types of face serums which mean you can choose the best for your skin. However, if you are still not certain whether you should know how to apply a serum, well, then keep scrolling.
What Are The Benefits Of Face Serums?
Today we have brought you the most incredible benefits of face serums, have a look:
Eliminates Dark Spots
Exposure to the sun and its harmful UV rays and other environmental pollutants can make your skin dull and lead to the appearance of dark spots. That's why people take the help of face serums in such situations.
Face serums have smaller molecules that are designed to penetrate deeper than the stratum corneum ( uppermost layer of the skin). This allowed them to remove dark spots and skin dullness.
Use skin serums containing active ingredients like glycolic acids and Vitamin C to remove dark spots. You can buy our Urban Rani Face Serum and experience its excellent effects against blemishes and dark spots.
Bestows A Natural Glow
Your skin can begin to lose its natural glow due to many factors such as aging, hormonal changes, sun damage, stress, exposure to light, etc. All these factors can make your skin look dull, tired, and old.
However, if you know how to apply face serum, then you can bring back all the skin brightness and natural glow. A serum with vitamin C, niacinamide, and citric acid is often recommended to warm off free radicals and attract a natural glow.
You can get Glow Serum to improve your skin radiance, boost skin elasticity, and provide instant hydration to your face. It is rich in hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C, and Kakadu plum extracts, all of which will work like magic for your skin.
Exfoliates Your Skin
If you don't like using harsh facial scrubs, then face serums are going to be a boon for your skin. Many exfoliating serums contain AHAs and BHAs, which are great exfoliators. They provide you with an even-toned skin without the pain of harsh scrubbing.
Exfoliating serums effectively combat dead skin cells built-up, pigmentation, dark spots, etc. You can try our Exfoliating Serum, a one-stop solution for all your exfoliation needs. It contains AHAs like lactic acid, gluconic acid, and salicylic acid that help remove dead skin cells and open pores while fighting free radical damage.
Manages Acne-Prone Skin
Serums are one of the most effective solutions for dealing with oily and acne-prone skin as they are water-based and non-sticky. You can choose serums containing benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, and even retinol to help clear out acne flare-ups.
These ingredients are quite potent, which helps them unclog the pores, calm irritated skin, remove acne-causing bacteria, diminish acne scars and fight hyperpigmentation. If you use Acne Clarifying Serum, then you can easily bid goodbye to all acne skincare woes.
This serum is fantastic at balancing oil production and open pores, improving the overall skin texture, reducing inflammation, and restoring its elasticity.
Has Anti-Aging Effects
When you know how to put on serum, it means that you are one step closer to having clear and younger-looking skin. Signs of aging, such as fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots, etc., have become quite common. This has created a need for targeting serums with specific ingredients to ensure younger and healthier skin.
So, to fight the various signs of aging, you should look for serums with retinol, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, etc. Youth Restoration Serum by Nourish Mantra can be an excellent choice for this purpose as it increases skin hydration and encourages collagen production to prevent skin sagging.
How To Apply Serum To Face?
Step 1: Wash your face with a natural cleanser of your choice to remove all environmental impurities.
Step 2: Spritz an alcohol-free toner or a natural facial mist on your clean face.
Step 3: Take a few drops of facial serum and pat it on your face. Wait for about 60 seconds to let it be absorbed entirely.
Step 5: Now, get your favorite face cream or moisturizer and apply it to seal the actives of the serum.
Step 6: Lastly, put on your sunscreen. Do not forget the sunscreen as it is absolutely essential to protect your skin against harmful UV rays and sun damage.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is serum a moisturizer?
No. Even though a face serum contains many moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, ceramides, etc., it isn't a moisturizer, at least not in an orthodox way. It is because it doesn't have the rich and thick viscosity of moisturizers that enables them to create a barrier for your skin.
- How often should I use my serum?
This entirely depends on the skin type and the kind of serum you are using. Though generally, using a face serum once or twice a day is enough for healthy and bright skin. If you need more precise instructions, it would be best to read the product's label.
- What's the difference between a serum and face oil?
The most basic difference between face oil and serum is their base material. Face oil is oil-based and has bigger molecules that help keep the face cream or moisturizer locked in for longer periods of time. On the other hand, a serum is water-based with smaller molecules that aid deeper penetration and show quicker results.
- At what age should you use a serum?
You can start using serums as early as in your 20s. If you start using face serums early, it will allow you to slow the various signs of skin aging. Please note that some ingredients like retinol should not be used in your 20s as they are highly potent. So, choose your ingredients carefully. If you are in your 20s, you should look for serums with vitamin C or citric acid, as they will enhance your natural glow.
No singular face serum is best for everyone. A skincare product's efficacy relies on many aspects, including the skin type of the person using it. This is why you need to recognize your skin type and need to choose the best face serum for you.