How To Use Face Serum: 5 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Serum

When used correctly, a good quality serum can be the holy grail of your skincare routine. Its gel-like consistency allows high concentrations of active ingredients to be absorbed by the skin deeply for complete nourishment. 

This makes a serum’s mission quite a powerful one and thus become one of the reasons why many skincare brands and dermatologists alike recommend them for solving specific skin concerns, such as firming, aging, brightening, etc. 

While serums aren’t as complicated as they seem, there’s a good chance that most of us are probably applying it improperly. Let's start with the function of serum and we will share 5 expert tips for getting the most out of your serums!

What is Serum? 

Serums are essentially supplements for the skin. With their lightweight texture and smaller molecular structure, they are designed to deliver high concentration of specific active ingredients to the skin. 

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This allows them to deposit powerful nutrients or hydrators like hyaluronic acids, peptides, antioxidant-rich vitamins or glycolic acids into deeper layers of skin to amp up skin's health as soon as you apply them.

So serums are no doubt considered to be a vital step in stabilizing and enhancing skin’s condition. 

 

1. Cleanse First 

To make sure your skin is ready to absorb the precious nutrients inside the serum, you should cleanse your skin before applying the serum. 

If it’s in the morning, you don’t necessarily need to wash your face, as some skin does fine with a splash of water alone. But you may want to if your skin type tend to produce a lot of oil or if there’s residue left on your skin from the products you used the night before. 

2. Apply to Damp Skin 

Compared to dry skin, damp skin is more receptive to skincare ingredients, so make sure you apply serum to damp skin after cleansing or mist skin with an soothing, alcohol-free toner for better and quicker absorption. 

Press serum into skin with an open palm, patting it on then smoothing it out. As serums are packed with active ingredients, you may increase the amount if you find the pea-sized amount is not enough to get entire face covered. However, it doesn't mean you should use too much as it's likely to be a hasty waste.

3. Let the ingredients sink in 

While your skin will absorb the products on its own and it’s not necessary to wait for too long before moving on to the next step in your skincare routine, since serums contain active ingredients, such as vitamin A, B, C, antioxidants, it’s still better to let it fully absorb and dry (taking approx 1-2 minutes depending on your room temperature) before moving on to your other products. 

4. Use as Mask 

Another tip to make the most out of your serum is to use it as your rescue mask. All you need is to spread the serum evenly over your face or on areas that needs some targeted results like calming, soothing or anti-aging. 

5. Mix it with Facial Oil

You have the water-based serums and the oil-based serums. Both are designed to nourish the skin, but in different ways. Face serums and facial oils each have their own advantages and can be used separately or layered to work together. 

Get your favorite facial oil and mix it with serum in a 1:1 ratio to make your skincare routine even simpler yet effective.