Bottom Line: With few exceptions, you can feel free to mix your serum and moisturizer (and most other skin care products) together and apply without concern. The exception is your daytime moisturizer with SPF, as mixing other skin care products with your sunscreen will dilute your UV protection.
Since serums contain the active ingredients that you want to penetrate as deeply as possible into your skin, you should always apply a serum directly to your skin after cleansing or toning and before your moisturizer and sunscreen. Don't put your serum on after you moisturize.
Ultimately, face serum and moisturizer are both necessary for a holistic skin care routine and to ensure that your skin doesn't dry out during the day. Face serum can't replace moisturizer, and moisturizer doesn't give your skin the extra vitamins and nutrients it needs to succeed and look great for years to come.
Don't Mix: Retinol with vitamin C, benzoyl peroxide, and AHA/BHA acids. AHA and BHA acids are exfoliating, which can dry out skin and cause further irritation if your skincare routine already includes retinol.
They work best in different skin environments, so using them at the same time may make both less effective. And because they can have similar effects on the skin, experts do still advise against using these two ingredients together, Dr. Hogan says. Using them in the same part of your routine can cause irritation, Dr.
Limit to Two Serums Per Routine
We recommend you use no more than two serums per routine. Again, alternating skin care items is a strategy here. If you have many serums that you like, use one to two in your morning routine and two different serums in the evening.
Wait, then Moisturize Serums are not moisturizers.
To allow serums to fully absorb, apply and wait 5 minutes before moisturizing. Take note: Well-formulated serums absorb quickly and disappear into your skin. If they leave an oily or sticky residue, they're not doing their job well.
You can mix serums together in the palm of your hand before massaging them into your skin. This works best if all the serums are of the same consistency – otherwise, they won't blend together super smoothly, and you might end up with serums that feel (excuse this word), curdled.
When should I use a face serum? Most face serums are safe to be applied twice daily – once in the morning on a cleansed face, before the rest of your makeup, and once at night before bed.
But, whether you get it in a toner, exfoliant, serum, or moisturizer, it doesn't matter. Just find a product you like and that works for you. If it's a toner, use a toner. If it's a serum, use a serum and skip the toner.
Moist skin is ten times more permeable than dry skin, so we recommend that you always apply your serum twice daily, directly to your skin after cleansing and toning. In the morning apply your facial serum before your SPF moisturizer or sunscreen, at night time apply the serum before your night cream or moisturizer.
As long as you have the serum sandwiched between slightly damp skin and a moisturizer, you're good to go. It really plumps up the skin and makes it look nice and moisturized, and stays moisturized, throughout the day.
The reason why people suggest a maximum of two or three serums comes down to layering and penetration. Heaps of brands, salons and experts recommend leaving time between applying your serums and moisturisers, and doing it in a specific order so as to allow all of the ingredients to actually sink into your epidermis.
AHAs and BHAs, such as glycolic, salicylic, and lactic acids should never be used with Vitamin C. Vitamin C is an acid, too, and is unstable, so the pH balance will be thrown off by layering these ingredients together and might as well be useless.
Thanks to their lightweight, fast-absorbing formulas, serums can easily be layered to target competing skin concerns. However, more isn't always more, and it's important to know how to layer serums for optimal results, minimal irritation.
Serums absorb deep into your skin, rather than sitting on the surface like moisturizers. Serums work great for specific concerns like acne, dry skin, brightness, and wrinkles. After you wash your face, apply a pea-sized amount of serum to your cheeks, forehead, nose, and chin.
Benefits of a face serum
While serums are no doubt nourishing and weed out many skin problems at the root, they also come with visible benefits and perks. 1) Your skin texture will improve drastically thanks to the collagen and Vitamin C content, becoming firmer and smoother, leading to visibly younger looking skin.
Face serum can be applied during the day and at night. Apply a serum after cleansing your face and pat drying. If you are applying serum at night, make sure not to layer too much. Night cream or moisturizer forms a heavy layer.
Serums are a little trickier to quantify. Because they're designed to target specific concerns, and contain potent, concentrated ingredients, the time it takes them to work can vary hugely. As a general rule, you'll need to give it four to six weeks before seeing definite results.
Serums are intended to deliver active ingredients deep into the skin and the moisturizer forms a seal to make the serums more efficacious," explains Hartman. To effectively layer your serum and moisturizer, first rub the serum onto your face and neck. Then, wait 30 to 60 seconds before applying your moisturizer on top.
The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2% Exfoliating Serum
"It's best used at night and contains lactic acid, a gentle but effective alpha hydroxy acid that works to eliminate dead skin cells to improve the overall texture and tone of the skin," the derm revealed.
While there is no limit to how many serums you can add to your regimen, esthetician Enrique Ramirez, founder of Face to Face NYC, suggests stopping at three. Piling on more products than that is not only time-consuming, it also reduces the chances of each ingredient getting properly absorbed by your skin.