2024 - How to choose it and apply it well?

Dehydrated skin, small pimples, lack of radiance or wrinkles that set in? What if you opted for a serum to give your skin precisely what it lacks? How to choose and apply it best to get all the benefits, we tell you everything about the face serum.

Article written in collaboration with Les Laboratoires Vichy.

Long reserved for mature skin, the face serum (also sometimes found under the name of elixir) has now become a must-have for skincare. So much so that in recent years, its sales have exploded.

Ultra concentrated in skincare active ingredients, it comes in different formulas to help us regain beautiful, toned and luminous skin. There is a solution for each skin (and each skin problem). Is your face tight? Bet on a moisturizing serum. Your complexion is gray and lacks luminosity? Turn on the light right away with a radiance booster serum. If your skin has lost its homogeneity, this is an anti-spot serum for you. But if your features are marked after a short night, opt for a revitalizing serum, while an anti-wrinkle version will be perfectly suited to blur or delay the onset of signs of aging. There are even anti-redness and anti-blemish formulas against pimples, blackheads or other dilated pores, or anti-oxidants to fight against external aggressions and pollution …

In short, there is something for all skin types and all you have to do is choose the one that best meets your needs. While they are often more expensive than creams, there are however serums at all prices and are sold in supermarkets, as well as in pharmacies, organic stores, perfumeries and specialized e-shops. Something to suit all budgets. Moreover, since the serums are light and very penetrating products, they often appeal to men, leaving no traces on the skin once applied. It is therefore an ideal treatment for everyone.

Did you know ? While the serums are mainly aimed at the face, there are versions for the hair and for the body that are very effective and often receive very good reviews on sites like Beauté Test.

How to use your face serum properly?

Start by cleaning your skin properly to remove makeup residue and other impurities on its surface. This is because a serum can only be applied to bare, clean skin, between the lotion you may apply and the day or night cream. Depending on the case, this is therefore the first or second treatment to apply in your beauty routine.

Regarding the dosage, the face serum being very concentrated and its often gel-like texture easy to apply, a few drops of the product heated between the hands are more than enough. Place the material on your skin with your fingertips, massaging in upward movements from the neck to the forehead. Then pat your skin, insisting on the problem areas (cheeks, nose, forehead, chin…) to distribute it well. On the other hand, avoid the application with a cotton ball, which would decrease the action of the serum and stay away from the eye area, unless the treatment is specifically adapted to this fragile and sensitive area. Let the serum penetrate for a few minutes, the time for the skin to completely absorb it in the deep layers of the epidermis, before applying your day or night cream. Do you dislike the idea of having to apply two treatments to your skin one after the other? You can perfectly add a few drops of your serum to your regular cream and apply this mixture all at once.

Face serum: one-off or continuous treatment?

When the skin is "thirsty", to treat a few imperfections or the appearance of small wrinkles, the serum is a perfect solution! Rescue care, it is used on an ad hoc basis. On the other hand, it is recommended to apply it continuously, if a lasting solution is required of this treatment.
However, you should not get your skin used to this intake either. To optimize the benefits of a face serum, you have to vary. A product should last between 1 and 3 months. After we change the formula, product, even if it means returning to his favorite serum regularly.

How to apply your face serum properly?

When the skin is thirsty, to treat a few imperfections or the appearance of wrinkles, the serum is the perfect solution to remedy it! SOS treatment par excellence, it is used occasionally according to the needs of your skin at the moment T. A nourishing serum in winter for example, then after summer, an anti-dark spot or anti-imperfection version in case rebound effect of acne. In short, it is possible to use a serum all year round, but the best thing is to change it every one to three months, so that the skin gets the most benefits from it and does not get used to it.

Serum or day cream, do you really have to choose?

If I adopt the serum, can I skip the day cream? Most of the time, the answer is no! Indeed, one does not replace the other and they are complementary. The face serum is a concentrate that will target a particular problem: wrinkles, acne, lack of hydration…. The serum also makes it possible to prepare the skin for the treatment applied subsequently, and to boost its effectiveness thanks to better penetration of the active ingredients.

However, depending on the case, you can consider applying your serum alone in the morning to avoid overloading your skin and preventing it from shining too much. Especially if you have mixed to oily skin. This is possible with anti-blemish or anti-stain serums in particular. Some brands are also starting to develop specific formulas for the night, such as creams.

If the temptation to apply two serums on top of each other may cross your mind, avoid this beauty faux pas. This is because the formulas will not necessarily be compatible with each other and this could cause redness or irritation on your skin. It is better to target a problem, then find the right dose of hydration with a cream. For example, for very dehydrated and shiny skin, a moisturizing serum will correct the hydration problem, while a mattifying cream will limit shine during the day.

Likewise, if possible, choose a serum and cream from the same brand, or even from the same range. To save money, look for boxes offering cream and serum at the same time, they are often more affordable than when they are sold separately. In addition to this, you need to know more about it.

The flagship active ingredients of face serums

There are different types of serum. The gel textures (obtained with alginates or polymers) on the one hand, are dedicated to combination to oily skin. Creamy emulsions (also called aqueous textures), light or thick, are to be chosen depending on whether you have normal to dry skin. Finally, there are the oily textures, more intended for dry to very dry or mature skin. The ingredients present in the serums then depend on each problem treated by the serum.

I like oily serums
They will be composed of oils of vegetable or mineral origin, particularly effective in nourishing and regenerating the epidermis (argan, borage, prickly pear, rosehip …). It is also possible to find essential oils, whose richness in essential fatty acids and vitamins play a very important role in nourishing deeply. Their variety will depend on the type of serum concerned. Think for example of tea tree to harmonize a complexion prone to imperfections, of Damask rose or Italian helichrysum to fight against wrinkles and restore firmness to the skin …

I need more hydration
The star ingredient is hyaluronic acid, a benchmark anti-aging agent for combating dehydration that causes fine lines and wrinkles to form. As it comes in several molecular weights, serums can contain different types of hyaluronic acid: low, medium or high molecular weight, each of which has a specific action on the skin. The low molecular weight, ultra fine, will deeply penetrate the layers of the epidermis and therefore hydrate it intensely. The high weight remains on the surface to smooth and give bounce to the skin. A godsend when we know that on average, we lose 0.6 mg of hyaluronic acid per day after 35 years and that it is when the body loses more hyaluronic acid than it creates, that wrinkles appear. Certain factors, such as UV exposure, pollution, tobacco or lack of sleep can also accelerate the depletion of natural hyaluronic acid reserves, slow down its production and increase the creation of free radicals, thereby deteriorating l hyaluronic acid of the skin.
These creamy serums will also contain moisturizing elements such as thermal waters, anti-roughness urea, squalane (an active ingredient of plant origin derived from olive trees or of animal origin and derived from sharks). Glycerin – a highly emollient agent – is also very present in moisturizing serums.

I am looking for a serum for my sensitive skin
To soothe a tight or burning skin, there's nothing like anti-inflammatory active ingredients like allantoin, aloe vera or rich vegetable oils like argan oil. Amino acids, trace elements or probiotics can also complement these comforting formulas.

My face shows spots
Make way for niacinamide (or vitamin B3), star youth active at the moment, to find a more even complexion, without risk of irritation on the skin as can be created by ingredients such as retinol, AHAs (or fruit acids) or again azelaic acid.
Be careful, some serums containing photosensitive active ingredients such as vitamin C (special radiance), require the application of UV protection during the day to protect the skin from the sun and prevent the creation of spots.

I want to eliminate my imperfections
Salicylic acid-based serums are yours, perfect for purifying the epidermis and making it clean with each application. Another option is to bet on detoxifying serums which restore radiance and homogeneity by "depolluting" cells and boosting their cell renewal with essential oils or plant extracts.

To note : in most cases it is recommended to choose a serum without sunscreens or other occlusive agents. Indeed, the role of the serum, thanks to its ultra fine texture, is to be able to penetrate very deeply into the skin, and in particular at the level of the hypodermis. However, this type of asset is of no use in this specific place.

To read also on auFeminin:
– How to choose the right moisturizer?
– What eye contour treatment for me?
– Prevent, heal and camouflage brown spots.