Do I Need Both a Toner and a Serum? For people who like to keep things simple, a toner may not be necessary. Cleansing, applying a serum, topping the serum off with moisturizer, and using SPF during the day are the only must-do items in a skincare routine designed to address the skin's basic health and aesthetic needs.
Both these products are water-like in appearance, but serums have a thicker consistency than toners. If you are using both these products, make sure you use the serum after the toner, but before moisturizer.
Absolutely! Pro-tip: Toners for dry or normal-dry skin, are a.k.a. skin tonic and gentle skin toner.
Face serums are necessary for a holistic skincare routine. Like other skincare items, serums also have their own benefits on the skin. While moisturizers simply hydrate the skin, serums are often packed with anti-aging, anti-acne, and similar ingredients meant to target specific skin issues.
A good rule of thumb is to apply products from thinnest to thickest—toner, serum, moisturizer, oil. Be sure to always start with a clean face.
While toners prep the skin and help balance its pH levels, serums have more active ingredients that [are designed to] penetrate the [surface layers of] skin and provide targeted skincare.”
While hyaluronic acid is most often applied as a serum, it can also show up in toners, face mists and even as ingestible powders. Take a look at these different products that use hyaluronic acid: Cleansing Face Mist by Rooted Beauty.
The main difference between Vitamin C Serum and Toner is that Toning units are usually watery and available in large bottles, whilst serums are thicker but still lighter and available in tiny vials. Serums are generally more expensive than toners. A vitamin C serum is a vitamin C-rich cosmetic.
Rose water is, indeed, a natural toner. It comes from the Rosa damascena flower, commonly known as the Damask rose, and is created by distilling rose petals with steam. While it's become more popular in recent years, rose water has actually been used for centuries.
Vitamin C serum is typically applied once or twice per day. A good rule of thumb is to cleanse, tone, apply vitamin C serum, and then moisturize. It can be safely used with other active ingredients, although using alongside niacinamide may make vitamin C less effective.
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.
You can use face serum twice a day—before your moisturizer—but reserve products with retinol for nighttime. “Generally, most people should be using a treatment serum twice day,” says Hirsch.
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.
“I definitely recommend serums for anyone who is concerned about aging. It's a really good way to get extra anti-aging effects, more than your typical moisturizer and sunscreen,” says Dr. Waldman.
If there's one skin-care ingredient that puts you in the fast lane to hydrated skin, it's hyaluronic acid. You'll find it as an active ingredient in seemingly every skin-care product category under the sun — serums, cleansers, moisturizers, and more.
In most cases, it makes sense to apply serum before moisturizer. This is because serum is usually more lightweight, whereas moisturizer tends to be thicker. Applying serum first can also give the skin more opportunity to absorb the active ingredients. In many skin care routines, moisturizer is the last step.
Originally toners were used to pH balance the skin after using a cleanser. Since you can easily get pH-balanced cleansers these days, toners are no longer necessary in a skincare regimen, says Dr.
How often can you use it? It's always best to follow specific product instructions and to start off slowly. Generally, though, you can safely use hyaluronic acid both morning and night.
Dr. Robinson advises using serums that'll help with collagen rejuvenation. She recommends using a vitamin C serum (typically in the form of L-ascorbic acid) in the morning for DNA repair, such as to remedy the effects of excess sun exposure. Then at night, opt for retinol to support skin cell turnover.
While some skincare ingredients, like retinol, are best used at night and others, like vitamin C, work their magic in the daytime, hyaluronic acid can be used both morning and night. “I recommend use of an HA serum up to twice daily, depending on your skin's needs,” says Abdulla.
Can You Use Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamin C Together? Not all powerful skincare ingredients can be mixed, but hyaluronic acid and vitamin C are two that become even stronger when paired with one another. These ingredients can provide both immediate and lasting results when used together in anti-aging formulations.
If you are applying a Vitamin C serum and hyaluronic acid separately, it's suggested that you apply the Vitamin C first, and then add the hyaluronic acid afterward in order to help fortify the skin barrier and lock in the moisture.