What Does
Face Serum Do?
Meet the expert
Look for his expert insights throughout this article under the sections "A word from our expert."
What does a
facial serum do to the skin?
Face serums enhance the effectiveness of your skincare routine by addressing specific concerns with precision and can often give you visible results faster than other products.
When you incorporate a face serum into your daily regimen, it can help you achieve healthy-looking, more radiant skin.
What is a Face Serum and What is it Used For?
By contrast, simple moisturisers and creams primarily focus on hydrating the top of your skin and creating a protective barrier to lock in moisture, which is essential for maintaining overall skin hydration and protection.
6 Benefits of
Face Serums
- Quick absorption:Facial serums are formulated to promote deep penetration of ingredients into the epidermis (the top layer of your skin). Their thin consistency lets them absorb faster, delivering active ingredients where they’re needed more quickly.
- Targeted skincare concerns:
Face serums are often designed to address specific skincare concerns such as ageing, hyperpigmentation, hydration or blemishes. They contain high concentrations of active ingredients like vitamins, antioxidants, peptides or Hyaluronic Acid to tackle these concerns more effectively.
- Lightweight texture:Unlike heavy creams, face serums have a lightweight texture that feels comfortable on your skin. They don’t leave a greasy or sticky residue, which makes them suitable for most skin types, including oily and blemish-prone skin.
- Enhanced efficacy:Thanks to their special formulation and generally higher concentration of active ingredients, facial serums often deliver more visible and faster results than other skincare products. With regular use, they can help improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots and uneven skin tone.
- Layering adaptability:Face serums can be easily layered with other skincare products such as moisturisers and sunscreens. They can be an effective first step in your skincare routine without interfering too much with the absorption and effectiveness of the products you apply afterwards.
- Protection against environmental damage:
Many face serums contain antioxidants like Vitamin C and Vitamin E, which help protect your skin from environmental aggressors such as pollution and free radicals generated by UV rays. Combined with the use of sun creams and other methods of protection, this can help prevent signs of premature ageing and maintain your skin’s health.
Overall, when you add a face serum into your daily skincare routine, it can help improve the healthy appearance of your skin by targeting specific issues and, depending on the formula, helping to provide moisture protection as well.
What Facial Serum to Choose for
Your Skin Type?
Face serums with Hyaluronic Acid or Glycerin help hydrate and plump dehydrated skin (skin lacking water). Paired with appropriate moisturisers, these serums can also be used on dry skin (skin lacking water and natural oils). Hyaluronic Acid and Glycerin draw moisture to your skin’s surface, hydrating the upper layers of the skin for longer and helping to improve its texture.
Lightweight facial serums with ingredients like Niacinamide can help regulate oil production and reduce blemishes.
Face serums can also be used by men as part of their skincare routine. Suitable for most skin types, such as dry, ageing or oily, these serums can effectively target the specific needs of men’s skin.
How to layer serums
key rules
Depending on your skin type, age, skin sensitivity, allergies and lots of other factors, you might choose different products to start with. Pay close attention to the active ingredients and product descriptions so you can first and foremost work out whether the product matches your skin’s needs. Without the right product, layering won’t be as effective.
Also, some ingredients shouldn’t be used together, otherwise they may cause irritation or simply cancel each other out. We’ve got a dedicated section on that later in the article.
Put simply: go from thin to thick. Start by comparing the textures of your products on your hand. The most watery serums can go first, followed by the creamier ones. If your serum contains SPF, leave it for last.
Start with just a few drops of serum – if your product has a pipette, squeeze them directly onto the skin of your hand or face, trying not to touch the applicator to your skin. This is the most hygienic way to use pipettes, as if they come into contact with skin, there’s a chance of transferring some oils or bacteria back into the product. Gently massage or pat the serum into your skin and give it a minute to fully absorb before applying the next one.
Layering serums with
different active ingredients
Hyaluronic acid is brilliant at hydrating your skin and improving water retention so it doesn’t dry out as fast. This ingredient is very safe, as it naturally exists in skin. It pairs particularly well with Niacinamide and Glycerin – other hydrating and regenerating ingredients that help strengthen their moisturising action. Niacinamide can also be a good mix with bakuchiol and retinoids, promoting antioxidation.
Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10 and Vitamin C are the first that come to mind, and it’s no coincidence they work so well together. Vitamin E is often used to stabilise Vitamin C in skincare formulas, enhancing antioxidant properties and promoting younger-looking skin with a healthy glow.
One additional note – Vitamin C is sensitive to light and breaks down easily when exposed to sun. This is why it’s recommended you apply any Vitamin C formulas as part of your night routine.
Retinol has a strongly proven action reducing acne and pigmentation, but it can irritate skin in very high concentrations – or even low concentrations when skin is sensitive. This is why it shouldn’t be mixed with other irritants or exfoliants in concentrated form – for example AHA/BHA acids or Salicylic Acid. It also increases your skin’s photosensitivity, so during any retinol-based treatments, you need to provide your skin with high SPF50 UV protection.
A plant-based alternative to Retinol is Bakuchiol, with similar benefits but much gentler on skin. You’ll find it in one of the NIVEA serums, as well as other face care products.
"You should be careful when combining active ingredients that you know have the potential to cause irritation, such as highly concentrated acids or retinol. In the case of the various NIVEA CELLULAR Expert serums, the compatibility of the combination is assured. We even have a dermatological tolerance test for these products that clinically confirms the skin compatibility of layering these products." – Dr Mahns
Ready-to use
serum routines
Cleansing: NIVEA Regenerating Serum Infused Micellar Water
Step 1: Cellular Expert Filler Replumping Hyaluronic Acid Serum
Step 2: Cellular Expert Lift 3-Zone Lifting Serum with Bakuchiol
Step 3: Recommended further skincare (if needed): NIVEA Cellular Expert Lift Day Cream
Step 4 (if day care with SPF is not used): Cellular Daily UV Serum Fluid
