Whether you’re wondering what serums are and what skin goals they help achieve, or you’re a skincare pro who just wants a little extra info, this article is for you. We’re breaking down what a face serum is, the different types out there, face serum benefits and application tips. Let’s dive in.
What Does a Serum Do for Your Face
A face serum is a lightweight, topical skincare product that’s formulated with a high concentration of active ingredients like vitamin C, bakuchiol, hyaluronic acid, ceramides and others.
Knowing this, you might be able to guess that face serums are used to treat specific skincare concerns with their potent formulations. Whether it’s brightening your skin, reducing the appearance of wrinkles, adding moisture and hydration, or exfoliating dead skin—face serums are designed to treat a variety of skin concerns.
Our Favorite Face Serums
At Beekman, we love face serums. From their tiny, but mighty packaging to their highly effective formulas, face serums are a must-have part of our skincare routine. Here are some of our favorites:
Dream Booster Bakuchiol Serum
This plant-based retinol alternative is a better-aging face serum that’s perfect for those with sensitive skin. Expect smoother skin, minimized pores, and fewer fine lines and wrinkles. Perfect for your nighttime skincare routine.
Milk Drops Ceramide & Hyaluronic Acid Serum
If you want to restore your skin’s radiance with deep hydration, this hyaluronic acid serum is for you. A more radiant complexion is just a few drops away!
Golden Booster Vitamin C Serum
With 20x more vitamin C than an orange, our amla berry vitamin C face serum is clinically proven to reduce dark spots, boost skin brightness, and protect skin from environmental damage.
Collagen Booster Peptide Firming Serum
If you want to improve elasticity, tighten up the skin, reduce fine lines, and boost your collagen production, then this face serum was made for you.
Smooth Booster Exfoliating Serum:
If AHA and BHA exfoliants have left your skin feeling irritated, this resurfacing face serum is for you. Willow bark extract, caviar lime, and lactic acid help gently exfoliate and smooth bumpy skin.
Blotting Booster Blemish Serum
This face serum is designed for those with blemish-prone skin who need a gentle-yet-effective exfoliant that controls oil, prevents breakouts, draws out impurities, reduces shine, and unclogs pores.
The Face Serum Benefits You Can’t Miss
As you can see from the list above, face serums with specific ingredients can target different concerns. For example, hyaluronic acid face serums are perfect for increasing hydration, bakuchiol face serums are great for better-aging benefits, and vitamin C face serums are for brightening your complexion. But because we formulate our face serums with multi-purpose ingredients like goat milk, niacinamide, squalene, and others, you can expect to address multiple skin concerns with just one product.
So, why use serums? A simple step to target specific concerns you have,
- Deeper hydration
- Fewer blemishes
- Reduced fine lines & wrinkles
- Brighter complexion
- Less dark spots
- Greater exfoliation
How to Apply Serum on Face
Knowing there are so many face serum benefits, you’re likely ready to begin incorporating these into your skincare routine. So how, and when, do you apply serum on face? Lucky for you, we’ve got step-by-step instructions and much appreciated tips.
Tip #1: Know your order
Your face serums should only ever be applied after you’ve cleansed and toned and before you moisturize. More on this below.
Tip #2: Keep it simple
We recommend using just 1-2 serums at a time to enjoy the full effectiveness of each product.
Tip #3: Go from thinnest to thickest
If you notice a consistency difference between your serums, always apply them from thinnest to thickest.
Tip #4: Let it soak in
After applying each face serum, give it 15-30 seconds to fully soak in before moving on to the next layer.
The Best Way to Layer Skincare
When it comes to the right order, there’s a few things to note. Try to follow this step-by-step routine for the best results:
- Cleanse your face
- Use a toner
- Apply your thinnest serum
- For daytime, we suggest using our vitamin C serum!
- For the evening, try our bakuchiol anti-aging face serum.
- Apply a second, thicker serum if you want
- This would be a great time to layer on our ceramide serum.
- Moisturize
- You may see us combining our Bloom Cream with each of our face serums. If you’re only applying one serum, this is an effective way to combine two skincare steps. However, we suggest giving your serums ample time to soak in if using more than one.
- Apply an SPF (yes every day!)
- By reducing your UV exposure, you’re less likely to have dark spots, wrinkles, and fine lines. We recommend wearing at least SPF 30 every single day.
The Purpose of Layering Skincare
We believe in layering skincare for a number of reasons. First, it’s a great opportunity to slow down and focus on one task at a time. In a way, your morning and nighttime skin routine can be used as a meditative moment to give yourself a little extra dose of self-Kindness.
Second, layering your skincare gives your products a chance to be their most effective. When you cleanse, tone, and apply serums from thinnest to thickest, you can fully enjoy the most benefit from the skincare products you use.
Do I Use Serum Before or After Moisturizer?
Like we said above, we suggest applying serum before moisturizer if you’re using more than one. If you’re using just one and want to combine two steps, you can mix one booster face serum with our Bloom Cream for an enhanced moisturizing experience.