Editor’s tip: If you happen to choose to use your serum earlier than mattress, attempt the Olay Tremendous Serum Night time Restore, whose system helps the high-activity restore mode your pores and skin endures in a single day.
Key’s substances: vitamin C, collagen peptide, niacinamide | Who it is for: folks searching for a multitasking system | Main advantages: texture-evening, hydrating, smoothing | Perfume-free: sure
Incessantly Requested Questions
What are the advantages of utilizing a face serum?
Face serums have turn into a mainstay in each Attract editor’s skin-care routine, and they need to be in yours, too. Kenneth Howe, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York Metropolis, explains that “in distinction to moisturizers, serums do not include air-tight, occlusive substances, which permit them to penetrate extra deeply into the dermis, carrying their lively substances with them.”
Another excuse these facial serums are a mainstay for skin-care novices and lovers alike? The great, previous really feel issue. “Serums are the brand new moisturizers,” New York Metropolis-based board-certified dermatologist Ellen Marmur, MD, tells Attract. “They’re good for layering—like a primer on clear pores and skin earlier than make-up or sunscreen.”
What order ought to my serum be in my routine?
In line with New York Metropolis-based dermatologist David Kim, MD, you need to apply your serum after cleaning and earlier than your moisturizer. “Serums have extra lively substances in increased focus, and they’re formulated to both brighten, hydrate, or calm the pores and skin,” he says. “Then a moisturizer goes on prime to lock within the moisture and to restore the pores and skin barrier.”
Can I exploit a number of serums directly? What cannot be blended?
Dr. Kim says you may tag-team a number of serums to sort out quite a few skin-care considerations, however ensure you aren’t flooding your pores with too many harsh lively substances directly—that may result in sensitivity and irritation. “For instance, you may apply a light-weight vitamin C serum with a hydrating serum on prime earlier than sunscreen,” says Dr. Kim. “That is significantly efficient for folks with oily acne-prone pores and skin who do not like a heavier, thicker moisturizer.”
As for dangerous combos? “I do not suggest layering sturdy, lively substances as a result of it might probably result in irritation, reminiscent of combining a retinol with alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) or beta hydroxy acids (BHAs),” Nina Desai, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in California, beforehand instructed Attract. “I discover the mix will be too drying and worsening to the pores and skin.” Dr. Desai additionally warned towards utilizing benzoyl peroxide with actives you may discover in your serum.
Meet the specialists
- Deanne Mraz Robinson, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in Connecticut
- Shereene Idriss, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in New York Metropolis
- Heidi Prather, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in Austin, Texas
- Shari Marchbein, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in New York Metropolis
- Kenneth Howe, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York Metropolis
- Ellen Marmur, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in New York Metropolis
- David Kim, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in New York Metropolis
- Nina Desai, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in California
How we take a look at and overview merchandise
When Attract assessments a product, our editors take a look at it from each angle in an effort to greatest serve you. We overview substances, scrutinize model claims, and, when crucial, study peer-reviewed scientific and medical research. Along with testing every product that’s included in every overview, we depend on specialists who form their fields, together with dermatology, beauty chemistry, and drugs, to assist us vet the substances and formulation.
