Many gentle serums, such as a hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum, barrier-boosting niacinamide serum or soothing, Anti-Redness Serum are effective applied morning and/or night.
Serums should be used daily. Generally, you will use them in the morning and then at night. Both times on clean skin. Apply them with one or two fingers only to ensure a light application.
Limit to Two Serums Per Routine
We recommend you use no more than two face serums per routine. Again, alternating skin care items is a strategy here. If you have many serums that you like, use one or two in your morning routine and two different serums in the evening.
Well, yes, but as for whether it's worth the trouble of applying it in the morning, that's up to you—depends how lazy you're feeling." Both Dr. Zeichner and Dr. Farber specifically recommend application of a vitamin C serum in the morning, even if you do nothing else for your skin.
Daytime Serums: Hydrating, Protecting
“Antioxidants help reduce damage from daily pollution.” Try One Love Organics Morning Glory Caffeinated Firming Serum, which uses organic peppermint water to deliver anti-inflammatory antioxidants.
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.
One of the most popular Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHAs), salicylic acid is an ultra-common ingredient in many acne fighting products, and is well-suited for both day and night.
Therefore, if we want to reap the brightening benefits of nicotinamide, it needs to be ingested via supplement or applied topically to the skin: "Nicotinamide is in some topical formulations and can be used in the morning or night as a cream, typically after gentle cleansing." Vitamin B3 can also be found in some of ...
"Because vitamin C serum helps protect your skin from free radicals, most dermatologists have recommended applying it in the morning to prevent damage during the day," says Joshua Zeichner, the director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
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.
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.
Vitamin C works best in combination with Vitamin E, Ferulic Acid, Vitamin B, and Hyaluronic Acid. Designed to deliver a high concentration of actives, Vitamin C booster serums are a popular choice in skincare.
There's certainly no law against using vitamin C products in the evening, but, again, you may get the most benefit from using them in the morning. “In general, vitamin C products should be applied in the morning before heading out for the day, when UV radiation is at its highest,” Dr. Hogan says.
Vitamin C serum benefits
If you're wondering when to apply a vitamin C serum, the answer is both morning and night, after cleansing and toning. One study even recommends applying a vitamin C serum every eight hours, or twice daily for the pinnacle of protection.
Saedi recommends vitamin C serums for people of all ages because virtually everyone is at risk of sun damage, and with vitamin C serums “we are minimizing the amount of sun damage that our skin's getting from sunlight,” she says.
Is it good to use hyaluronic acid every day? Yup! "Hyaluronic acid is safe and beneficial to use everyday for maintaining skin hydration," says Dr.
“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.
Generally, though, you can safely use hyaluronic acid both morning and night.
Niacinamide can be used morning and night. Because it plays well with other skincare ingredients (even potentially tricky actives such as exfoliating acids and vitamin C) it will sit happily alongside anything else you're using.
"Retinol makes your skin more sensitive to UV rays and sunlight decreases the efficacy of the product," explains Bowe, who instructs patients to only use retinoids at night and be diligent about applying a daily broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher during the day.
Glycolic acid should always be applied in the evening, as it makes your skin sensitive to sunlight. Applying it at night gives ample time for it to do its magic without a higher risk or damaging your skin in the sun. But you should still always apply an SPF moisturizer in the morning.
Yes, you can, BUT you will get better results if you use vitamin C and glycolic acid/salicyclic acid separately. We recommend using vitamin C in the morning and your AHA or BHA at night.
Hyaluronic acid and niacinamide are water-based treatments that complement each other's hydrating effects and can be used together.