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What Are the Benefits of Using a Face Serum?

Medically reviewed by Cynthia Cobb, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, FAANP — Written by Sara Lindberg on September 15, 2020

What’s a serum?
Benefits
Types of serums
How to use
Bottom line

Face serums can add moisture and high concentrations of beneficial nutrients to your skin. The formula you choose can affect the specific benefits.

A variety of face serum bottles lie scattered on a pink background.

If you’re looking to amp up your skin care routine with a product that offers a bigger, more powerful dose of active ingredients than a cleanser or moisturizer, a face serum may be the answer.

Designed to nourish, protect, and hydrate your skin, a face serum is a great next step after cleansing and before moisturizing.

Let’s get into the benefits of using a face serum and how different kinds of serums can benefit your skin.

What is a serum?

“Serums are thin-viscosity topical products that contain concentrated amounts of active ingredients,” explained Dr. Tsippora Shainhouse, FAAD, board certified dermatologist at SkinSafe Dermatology and Skin Care.

The concept with a serum is that larger amounts of active molecules will potentially penetrate the skin’s surface for optimum effectiveness. Also, due to the higher concentration, it typically takes a shorter amount of time to see visible results.

Many people wonder why they can’t just use a moisturizer or face cream on their skin in place of a serum. While there is no hard and fast rule, research from 2011 suggests using both, and to layer accordingly.

Because a serum is lighter and delivers active ingredients to the skin quickly, it goes on first, after you’ve cleansed your skin.

But you also need to seal the serum to maximize the benefits, which is why a moisturizer or face cream is the next step.

Think of a serum as the secret weapon for treating skin issues like discoloration, dullness, fine lines, or acne — and a moisturizer as the key to hydrating your skin.

What are the benefits?

If you use a face serum that’s well suited to the type of issue you want to address, a serum can have numerous benefits.

Let’s look more closely at some of the key benefits of adding this product to your skin care routine.

Face serum benefits

Absorbs quickly into your skin. Serums are lighter skin care formulations than moisturizers. The thinner viscosity allows the serum to be absorbed more easily into your skin. This makes a face serum an ideal first step in the layering process.
Soothes sensitive skin. Serums, with their light preparations, are often better for individuals with acne-prone or oily skin types, according to Dr. Melanie Palm, board certified dermatologist at Art of Skin.
Improves the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Some face serums contain ingredients like retinol that may help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Protects your skin from free radicals and future damage. Serums with ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin E, ferulic acid, green tea, resveratrol, and astaxanthin help prevent oxidative damage from ultraviolet (UV) light and pollution, which can lead to premature skin aging and wrinkles.
Has the potential to provide more visible results. The higher concentration of active ingredients may provide more visible results, compared with other types of skin products.
Feels light on your skin. Because they absorb quickly into your skin, a face serum doesn’t feel heavy or greasy.

Types of face serums and ingredients

When it comes to choosing a skin serum, it’s important to recognize there are different types of serums, as well as specific ingredients to look for based on your goals.

In general, face serums fall into the following categories:

anti-aging serums
skin-brightening serums
hydrating serums
free-radical fighting serums
acne-prone and sensitive skin serums
reparative/texture improvement serums

Anti-aging serums

Anti-aging regimens encourage skin renewal and collagen production. According to Palm, this type of serum often includes retinol or bakuchiol, or both.

Recommended anti-aging serums include:

Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Night Moisturizer
CeraVe Skin-Renewing Retinol Serum

Skin-brightening serums

Skin-brightening serums are often chock-full of antioxidants and pigment-fighting ingredients to improve skin tone.

“Key ingredients might include things such as vitamin C, glycolic acid, kojic acid, ferulic acid, mushroom extract, licorice root, or lactic acid, among others,” Palm explained.

Recommended skin-brightening serums include:

L’Oreal Paris Revitalift 10% Pure Vitamin C Concentrate
CeraVe Vitamin C Skin Renewing Serum
Mad Hippie Vitamin C Serum

Hydrating serums

Hydrating serums contain hyaluronic acid, a molecule that physically binds water in the skin to make it look fresh, plump, and younger.

“Kids make lots of hyaluronic acid, and it’s attached to their collagen, but as we age, we lose collagen and lose the attached acid,” explained Shainhouse.

Topical serums with hyaluronic acid can temporarily bind water in the superficial layers of the skin, which, according to Shainhouse, can make your skin appear fresher and dewier. It also has the ability to temporarily minimize the appearance of fine lines.

Hydrating serums often contain vitamin B5, which helps to hydrate skin, making it appear smoother and more hydrated.

Recommended hydrating serums include:

SkinMedica HA5 Rejuvenating Hydrator
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Serum

Free-radical fighting serums

Antioxidants fight free radicals that can damage healthy skin.

To help prevent skin damage from free radicals, choose a serum that contains ingredients like vitamins C, A, and E, and resveratrol.

Recommended skin-brightening serums include:

SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Serum
Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops

Acne and sensitive skin serums

Anti-acne serums often contain salicylic acid or similar plant-based derivatives.

Also, look for niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3), which, according to Shainhouse, is a soothing, hydrating, and anti-inflammatory ingredient that’s combined with other active ingredients to minimize irritation and soothe sensitive skin.

Recommended skin-brightening serums include:

Paula’s Choice Niacinamide Booster 10%
The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

Skin texture serums

To help boost your skin’s texture and the overall appearance of your skin, Shainhouse recommends using a serum with glycolic acid serum.

“This sugarcane-derived alpha hydroxy acid can penetrate the top layers of the epidermis to disrupt the intercellular bonds. It can also help shed the dulling, discolored, dead cells to reveal smoother, glowing skin with more uniform texture, tone, and color,” she explained.

Recommended skin-brightening serums include:

L’Oreal Paris Revitalift 10% Pure Glycolic Acid
NO7 Lift & Luminate Triple Action Serum

How to use a serum

Shainhouse explains that the best way to use a face serum is as a base layer under your heavier products like moisturizer, sunscreen, and makeup.

“While younger skin generally doesn’t need much more than a gentle cleanser and daily broad-spectrum sunscreen, it’s helpful to get into a healthy, preventative skin care regimen.”

“Doing so may help prevent discoloration, oxidative damage, dehydration, and premature skin aging and wrinkles,” she added.

You can use a face serum once or twice a day after cleansing and toning your skin. Think of it as the step after you clean.

How often you apply a serum to your skin depends on your goals. Palm suggests the tips below to help you determine when to apply face serum to your skin.

Frequency of face serum application

Anti-pigmentation and antioxidant serums work best when applied in the morning. This helps protect your skin against environmental assaults and free radical production produced by light, including UV and high energy visible light.
Anti-aging serums are often best suited for nighttime application. This allows the ingredients to work with your body’s circadian rhythm for skin repair and turnover.
Hydrating serums for drier skin can be applied twice daily to help keep your skin dewy and moisturized.

To get the most out of a face serum, Shainhouse recommends the following tips:

Apply skin care products from thinnest to thickest. Most serums work best when applied as the first layer, in direct contact with clean skin after you’ve used a cleanser.
If the active ingredient is too irritating or drying, you can apply it over another product to create a buffering effect.

The bottom line

Face serums are lightweight products that contain a high concentration of active ingredients. They absorb quickly into your skin, making them an excellent next step after cleansing.

There are many different types of serums, each with a unique purpose and ingredients. Some serums help to brighten your skin or reduce blemishes, while others focus on boosting hydration or fighting the signs of aging.

Some serums work better in the morning, while others work best when applied in the evening. If you’re not sure if a face serum is right for you, or which type to use for your skin, talk to a board certified dermatologist for more information.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Palm M. (2020). Personal interview.
Shainhouse T. (2020). Personal interview.
Werschler WP, et al. (2011). Enhanced efficacy of a facial hydrating serum in subjects with normal or self-perceived dry skin.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3050617/

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Medically reviewed by Cynthia Cobb, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, FAANP — Written by Sara Lindberg on September 15, 2020

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What is a serum?

What are the benefits?

Face serum benefits

Types of face serums and ingredients

Anti-aging serums

Skin-brightening serums

Hydrating serums

Free-radical fighting serums

Acne and sensitive skin serums

Skin texture serums

How to use a serum

Frequency of face serum application

The bottom line

How we reviewed this article:

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