What is a serum?
A serum is the first step of your skin care, after your cleanser and toner.
Does a serum hydrate?
It does not hydrate much, if at all; it is not a moisturizer. It is important to use a moisturizer afterward for that reason. It nourishes the skin by inserting ingredients into the skin.
What kinds of serums are there?
There are serums for every conceivable type of skin, and there are serums in development for the next level. Anti-aging serums, anti-wrinkle serums, skin brightening serums, acne preventative serums. to name a few.
What is the purpose of serums?
A serum delivers concentrated ingredients to deeper layers of your skin, whereas a moisturizer hydrates the top layers. The molecules of a serum need to be small enough to penetrate the layers of your skin.
Do you really need one?
Likely so, if you are a certain age. A serum boosts the ability of your skin to duplicate some of the natural functions of younger skin.
If you have not used serums, you will most likely see more changes when you begin to use one, than if you have been using serums for a number of years.
But serums are becoming increasingly sophisticated -- and sometimes pricey -- so newer serums can make a difference over the older, familiar ones.
How does a serum work?
The texture of a serum is more liquid than even a lotion moisturizer. It penetrates quickly. It is designed to get anti-aging ingredients, like peptides or vitamins, CoQ10 or retinol into your skin.
What do I do?
I have a number of serums. I alternate them depending on what I feel like or what I feel like my skin needs. I haven't found that any particular one works better than any other particular one.
Why change serums?
I find that by rotating them or alternating them, they tend to work better than if I continue to use one alone. My skin doesn't get bored with it.
Additionally, if you are still using the serum you used even three years ago, chances are today's serums are better -- and it's possible that your skin has changed enough to need a different formula, or one that is even more targeted.
Day or night?
Either, or both. You might use a different one in the evening than in the morning.
The prevailing thought today (and remember that theories change, so my best advice is to do for your skin what works the best for it, regardless of current thought on it) is that a daytime anti-aging moisturizing routine should protect and hydrate and should include UV ray blockers.
The strong feeling is that your night-time routine needs to regenerate your skin, as well as hydrate it. The thought is that repair and regeneration takes place at night. Whether this is truly so or not, remains to be seen over the next few years.
Do you use serums?
Do you have a favorite? My next post will share some of my faves.
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
Originally posted 2010-01-27 07:29:37.
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