Published: June 15, 2023
Browse any skincare store and you’ll likely see a number of different face serums on display. They’re fantastic products that are highly recommended by dermatologists, with many people incorporating multiple serums into their skincare routines.
However, what exactly is all of the hype about? How do facial serums benefit the skin and is it worth adding one (or more!) to your own skincare routine? Read on as Avinichi talks you through all that you need to know.
What is a Facial Serum?
A facial serum is a lightweight, low-viscosity skincare product designed for use on the face.
Since they don’t contain the heavy ingredients that creams do, they absorb quickly into the skin, making them perfect for carrying potent active ingredients. This is why serums tend to contain high concentrations of actives – they’re one of the most powerful products that you could add to your skincare routine.
The Different Types of Facial Serums & How They Can Benefit Your Skin
While some serums are great all-rounders, most face serums are formulated with a specific skin type or skin concern in mind. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular types of face serum out there:
Hydrating Serums
Due to how they dive deeper into the skin than other skincare products, face serums that carry hydrating ingredients can produce truly impressive results. They access the skin cells that other skincare products neglect, providing them with hydrating ingredients that leave them feeling fuller, stronger, and deeply restored.
Hydrating serums are ideal for all skin types. Everyone’s skin needs moisture in order to thrive, which is what a hydrating serum helps to provide. Ideally, every skincare routine should consist of at least one hydrating serum – adequate hydration is everything for healthy-looking skin.
When choosing a hydrating serum, go with a formula that contains a few different humectants. These are compounds that have moisture-binding properties, enabling them to immediately plump up your complexion. Some of the most popular are glycerin and sodium hyaluronate (or hyaluronic acid), but other, more unusual, ingredients, such as reishi mushroom extract, can provide humectant properties too.
You’ll find all three in Avinichi’s Hydrating Antioxidant Serum, which is in our Phyto Thermal Collection. In addition to its selection of humectants, this serum also contains a trio of peptides. This is another ingredient that’s great for hydrating the skin, giving it a plumper and fuller finish.
Antioxidant Serums
Let’s talk antioxidant serums. Antioxidants are compounds that help to reduce the appearance of free radical damage. This usually occurs due to environmental aggressors, such as UV rays and pollution. However, other factors, like mental stress and excessive exercise, can also contribute to free radicals forming in the skin.
Once free radicals start to gain momentum, they cause so much harm to skin cells. They drastically accelerate the skin aging process, meaning that fine lines and wrinkles form much earlier on in life than they should, while also leading to the development of dark spots and discoloration.
The best way to neutralize the visible effects of free radicals is with antioxidants. There are thousands out there, although some are definitely more powerful than others. The best antioxidant serums will combine several powerful antioxidants, making them ideal for anyone looking to reduce the appearance of skin damage.
Just about every dermatologist would agree that vitamin C is one antioxidant that everyone should be using. It can help with pretty much every skin concern. Vitamins A and E also function as antioxidants, and the effects of these three vitamins combined are truly impressive.
You’ll find all three antioxidants in the Avinichi Hydrating Multifruit C-Serum. In fact, there are two forms of vitamin C in this formula, making it even more potent. We’ve also added in some black mulberry extract. This botanical has a high anthocyanin content. Research suggests that these antioxidants are capable of preventing the appearance of UV damage, making them a worthy addition to any skincare routine.
Serums That Reduce the Visibility of Aging
While an antioxidant serum will go a long way in helping to reduce the visibility of skin aging, there are other serums out there that focus on this even more. In addition to antioxidants, they’ll offer up other ingredients that have been proven to tackle the appearance of aging, giving the skin a younger and smoother finish.
Our Alpha Fine Line Surface Filler is a great example. It’s packed with antioxidants, from vitamins A and E to numerous antioxidant-rich botanical extracts. At the same time, it also contains a variety of other ingredients that can help to firm and tighten the complexion. Squalane and sodium hyaluronate provide hydration and moisture, peptides add strength and elasticity to the appearance, and alpha-hydroxy acids help to keep the skin looking bright, clear, and radiant.
Eye Serums
While most facial serums can be safely used around the eye area, it’s important to remember that the skin around your eyes is much thinner than the skin anywhere else on your face. It also contains fewer sebaceous glands, leaving it more prone to dryness. Plus, the eye area is almost constantly in motion – it even moves while you sleep. All of this comes together to accelerate the skin aging process around the eyes, causing fine lines to appear here before they’ve developed elsewhere on the face.
This is why it can be so useful to have an eye serum in your skincare routine. While hydrating and antioxidant serums will benefit this area too, eye-specific serums will contain ingredients that are perfectly suited to the fragile skin around the eyes.
The Avinichi Eye Rescue Phyto-Serum showcases that. This formula is loaded with peptides, which, as we explained earlier, are great for strengthening the complexion. It also boasts a wide range of antioxidants and hydrating compounds, making it ideal for banishing the look of creases and dryness. We’ve also added some licorice root extract to this formula because of how effective it is at reducing the look of discoloration and dark shadows, along with some calendula extract to soothe the appearance of puffiness and inflammation.
Why Add a Facial Serum to Your Skincare Routine?
As you can see, a facial serum is capable of doing so much for your complexion. From hydrating the skin to repairing the appearance of environmental damage to minimizing the look of skin aging, these benefits alone make it well worth having at least one serum in your skincare routine.
However, some may argue that other skincare products, such as certain moisturizers, can produce these results too. So, what makes a serum so special?
Well, firstly, as we mentioned earlier, serums are extremely lightweight in texture. This enables them to penetrate deeper into the skin than a cream or any other heavier skincare product, meaning that their ingredients reach a greater concentration of skin cells.
It’s this, coupled with the fact that serums are filled with a high concentration of actives, that enables serums to work so well. They’ll often produce visible results much sooner than a cream will, making them ideal for people who want to see improvements in their complexion ASAP.
Since serums are so lightweight, they can easily be layered over the top of each other, which is difficult to do with a face cream. It’s common to include multiple serums in a skincare routine. This way, you’ll be able to target a few different visible skin concerns all at the same time. That said, avoid using more than two or three serums in one go. As you can imagine, applying more than this can cause the ingredients to dilute each other, rendering them less effective.
How to Use a Face Serum
Wondering where a face serum would fit into your skincare routine? Here are some simple steps to follow:
Cleanse and Tone Your Face
There’s no point applying a face serum to your skin unless you’ve cleansed your face first. Apply a serum to dirty skin and it won’t be able to penetrate past the impurities that cover the surface of your skin. Instead, it will sit on top of this layer, contributing to congestion, dullness, and breakouts.
So, always begin your skincare routine by cleansing your skin. Ideally, use a cleanser that isn’t overly harsh. Many cleansers strip away the skin’s protective barrier, which could potentially cause the active ingredients in your serum to irritate your skin. Go with a gentle but effective formula, such as Avinichi’s Noni Mousse Cleanser.
Once you’re done cleansing, follow up with a hydrating toner, such as the Avinichi Noni Pore Purifying Toner. This will help your skin to feel rebalanced and receptive to the serum that you’re about to apply.
Apply Your Serums
Now that your face has been prepped, you can go ahead and start applying your serums. If you’re using more than one, start with the thinnest and lightest product, working your way up to the thickest.
When applying a serum, some people like to massage the product into their skin while others prefer to tap it in. There’s no definitive answer as to which is most effective at promoting absorption, so experiment with both and do whichever feels best for your skin.
Moisturize
Although serums are lightweight enough to quickly soak into the skin, a large percentage of any skincare products that you apply will still be lost to evaporation. One way to prevent this is by locking your serum in with a moisturizer. This will form a seal over the surface of your skin, pushing your serums down rather than allowing them to evaporate out.
Ideally, pick a moisturizer that’s suitable for the time of day. If you’re following your skincare routine in the morning, a day cream, like Avinichi’s Noni Morning Glow, will keep your skin feeling protected as it encounters environmental aggressors. In the evenings, turn to a formula that will help to repair the look of your skin overnight, such as the Avinichi Noni Night Repair Cream.
Summary
If you want to establish an effective and well-rounded skincare routine, a facial serum is a must. Pick a high-quality formula designed to target the visible skin concerns that you’re dealing with and use it regularly – it won’t be long before you start to see big improvements in your complexion!
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