What is a serum and what are the benefits of using a face serum?

Any skincare routine for your face talks more about cleansers, toners, exfoliators, moisturizers & sunscreen. But there is one more stuff which is a magical elixir that brings you the required nourishment and nutrition for your skin. Here comes the facial serum that’s often not discussed or not given the required importance.

So what is a serum?

Serums are lightweight liquids that contain active ingredients made of powerful ingredients like essential oils. These contain lighter molecules compared to the creams & moisturizers that help them penetrate deep into the skin layers to get the best benefit of the product.

Serums are generally clear, oil or water-based liquids. They are targeted at solving specific skin problems and you tend to find serums in the market that gives you specific benefits. Look at The Zero Skin’s Moringa Youth Serum targeted to get you anti-aging benefits and radiant skin.

Serums also contain active ingredients that boost the serum's performance by giving you targeted benefits. For example, The Zero Skin’s Visible Lift Eye Serum contains licorice extract as an active ingredient to help tackle your dark circles. Also, they contain a higher percentage of active ingredients considered creams & lotions where they are made up of mostly water.

What is the difference between moisturizers and serums?

Serums moisturize your skin but they are totally different in the way they act upon your skin. Serums contain smaller molecules that are smaller than those in your regular moisturizer which makes them penetrate deeper into the skin and give better results. A moisturizer has larger molecules & works on the top layers of skin by just hydrating and retaining water content.

Choosing a serum

Serums come in two types: water-based & oil based. There are claims that Water based serums are the actual serums and oil-based serums as facial oils. With more and more natural and organic brands coming up, formulations using carrier oils, essential oils, and plant-based active ingredients are more common now and they get you better benefits too. So it’s up to you to choose a serum considering the factors like the benefits that you get, pricing & applicability.

Why you should choose an oil-based serum?

In general, products with 100 percent oils mean more active ingredients whereas water-based means they are diluted as they contain water. So with oil-based products less is more & that may be the reason you find such products priced on a higher end compared to their water-based alternatives.

I have oily skin. So I should not use oil-based serums?

This is a myth and a wrong conception. Our skin protects itself by generating oils that we wash away or the environment removes. So it's about giving your skin the needed oils to replenish itself. Your skin is oily as your skin feels you are short of oil and it produces more(sebum production). So when you give the required oils to your skin, the skin tops produce oils. But all these work when you use natural oils and oils that contain a lesser non-comedogenic rating. For example, jojoba oil mimics your skin’s sebum production thus controlling oil.

How to use serums?

Based on your skin type & serum type you can use it once a day or even twice(morning and night). It can go before you apply moisturizer or sunscreen. A little of the product goes long way. Wait for a few seconds for the serum to be absorbed fully into the skin before you top it with your moisturizer or make-up.

Also, make sure you apply serums also to your neck as your neck shows signs of aging far before your face.

Reach us for any queries you have and we would be happy to help you.