My mother likes to always say, “Nicki — don’t use a moisturizer. Use a serum. A serum works better!”
Mother usually knows best, it’s true. But not always. (I remember a few haircuts attributable to her that were sub-par, for instance.) And the scientific side of me was skeptical of this as well — are serums really better? What makes a serum a serum and not an oil or a thinner moisturizer? Below, I set the record straight through some of the most common misconceptions:
1.) Serums Typically are Thinner and Have More Penetration Enhancers Than Moisturizers.
Skin care products have a parameter known as viscosity. This simply is a measurement of the thickness of a solution. Skin care ingredients traverse the distance through a solution to get to your skin. Believe it or not, at a certain level of viscosity, it becomes nearly impossible for beneficial ingredients to get to your skin at all. It sounds crazy, but it does become possible for skin care ingredients to have little to no benefit for your skin. For instance, if you apply a petrolatum or mineral oil-based product under a thinner product, like an antioxidant serum, far fewer antioxidants will reach the skin. If you apply enough petrolatum or mineral oil first, it is possible that no antioxidants will reach your skin! (But this would be, like, applying an entire jar of Vaseline first. I’m just proving a point.)
That said, serums typically have a much lower viscosity than moisturizers. They are designed for beneficial ingredients to reach your skin and treat your concern. They also will often include high-molecular weight alcohols, like butylene glycol and propylene glycol, which are often the “secret sauce” behind medicinal patches. Yes, these are substances you see in industrial plants, but used in concentrations of 0.1%-1%, they have never been found to be anything but safe for your skin and your overall health. In industrial concentrations, that’s where you get the issues.
[Read more: Do You Really Need a Skin Care Penetration Enhancer?]
2.) A Serum is Designed to Treat a Skin Condition. Moisturizers are Designed to Hydrate, Then Treat.
A serum is more of a problem/solution type product, intended to be used along with, and on top of, your existing routine. According to FutureDerm chemist Dr. Konstantinos Lahanas, Ph.D., “A serum is specially fortified in certain benefits, be it pore minimizing, anti-acne, line treatment, anti-inflammatory, or enhanced antioxidant potential, etc. A serum really rounds out your regimen for your specific needs.”
On the other hand, moisturizers are designed to hydrate your skin first. The viscosity and hence delivery of ingredients is typically less of a consideration than providing the level of hydration. Dr. Lahanas says moisturizers work in four distinctly different ways, all of which are not primarily treating but hydrating: “First, by trapping moisture into the skin (occlusion). Second, by grabbing moisture from the air (humectancy). Third, by delivering water into the skin as an “active” (liposomes, lamellar emulsions, etc.). Lastly, by promoting healthy skin turnover –i.e. “a fresh coat of skin. (AHA’s and chemical or enzymatic peels, physical exfoliation).” Serums are the opposite, delivering key ingredients into the skin first, then delivering moisture.
3.) You Can (and Should) Mix and Match Serums Between Different Skin Care Lines.
This is the fun part. Because a treatment serum is designed to deliver unique actives into the skin, you get to pick which actives you want. So you could use a skin care line (pick mine, pick mine!) addressing one set of issues, say, anti-aging, but then use a treatment serum for acne. And then switch it up the following month with a skin care line designed for anti-acne, but use a treatment serum from a line that is anti-aging.
4.) Serums generally have a shorter shelf life than moisturizers.
Let’s get one thing straight: Active means reactive. The more active an ingredient is, the more reactive it tends to be with light, air, or heat. That means that it will also decay faster. So a product enriched with high concentrations of antioxidant retinoids, vitamin C, vitamin E, and tea extracts will break down more quickly than a product with lesser concentrations. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use the products with the highest concentrations — it simply means you need to cap tightly, look for pumps or microencapsulated formulas, and store in a cool, dark place.
Temperature may be the biggest culprit of serum breakdown. Dr. Lahanas says, “Temperature is by far one of the most common ways to intentionally effect chemical change. By the same token, an undesired chemical change is an instability, and temperature plays the same role. This can and does impact the performance of the product. Products are stability tested for this very reason, but sold to be stored and used under ambient conditions. There are physical changes as well, as anyone who has left their lip balm or lipstick in a hot car can attest. High temperature for brief periods of time are ‘usually’ acceptable, extended periods are not.” So get that antioxidant serum out of your car!
5.) These Serums Rock!
If you are looking for a serum, start with your concern, and then look into ingredients, as mentioned above. Or just use this handy cheat sheet:
FutureDerm Favorite for Fine Lines/Wrinkles, Skin Roughness, and Sagging: FutureDerm Time-Release Retinol 0.5
Wait, I know you’re thinking – that’s not a serum! But it is — it’s a gel serum that is designed for use under moisturizers for those with dry to normal skin, and for use alone for those with oily skin. FutureDerm Time-Release Retinol 0.5 is designed to enhance retinol penetration into the skin with a thin, lightweight formula that is really fast-absorbing.
FutureDerm Time-Release Retinol 0.5 is also designed to optimize the retinol activation process in the skin. Retinol must be converted to isotretinoin by enzymes called retinyl ester hydrolases in order to become active within the skin. Our formulation is designed to increase the efficiency of this process with an optimized delivery system and condition.
Lastly, FutureDerm Time-Release Retinol 0.5 is microencapsulated and time-released, targeting retinoid receptors in the skin for a full eight hours. This makes our gel formula ideal for nighttime use.
FutureDerm Favorite for Dry Skin: Sunday Riley Juno Lipid Transformative Serum
A cult favorite for some time, Sunday Riley Juno Lipid Transformative Serum contains fatty acids that are able to hydrate the skin. Research demonstrates that those who have dry skin often also have a lack of lipids, so this serum helps to replenish some of what is lost. Obviously, this is not as good as natural endogenous production of skin lipids, but hey, it’s a start!
FutureDerm Favorite for Age Spots: FutureDerm Vitamin CE Caffeic 16+2 Silk Serum
Vitamin C has been shown to do everything in skin care from lighten the appearance of sun spots to enhance collagen production (and hence skin firmness). Yet most formulas will have vitamin C breakdown over time. Our serum defeats this by microencapsulation. The process by which L-ascorbic acid is microencapsulated is a mechanical process. L-ascorbic acid is wrapped in very small amounts of a safe, protective coating, and then combined into solution with the rest of the formulation. The protective coating is designed to protect L-ascorbic acid from oxidation, pollution, and heat. It is testable, because FutureDerm CE Caffeic Serum has withstood all of our bacterial and heat testing without the slightest tinge of yellow or orange (and no artificial coloring). Of course, the reason why FutureDerm CE Caffeic Serum doesn’t turn yellow or orange because L-ascorbic acid is protected from oxidation. Studies also show microencapsulation of L-ascorbic acid imparts greater stability to light and air (Journal of Microencapsulation, 2001; International Journal of Food Chemistry, 1991).
Love Our Expert Advice? Try FutureDerm’s Expertly Designed Products
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FutureDerm Time-Release Retinol 0.5 The best retinol serum you’ve ever tried. We guarantee it. |
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FutureDerm Skin Reborn Facial Cleanser 8.31 A cleanser that feels like a serum! |
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FutureDerm Skin Reborn Gift Set One bottle of FutureDerm Vitamin CE Caffeic Silk Serum 16+2 (use in the morning) and one bottle of FutureDerm Time-Release Retinol 0.5 (use at night). |
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FutureDerm Time-Release Retinol 0.5 – Triple Set Get our best-selling retinol cream at a discount when you buy three at a time! |
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