The Skin Project: Serum review

Posted on Sunday, at bought • 439 views

The Skin Project is a blog project showcasing bloggers' skin and skincare routines. It was started by Lianne over at UK beauty blog The Brunette Says. Posts go live every Sunday from December 1 2013 to January 26 2014. Want to see more posts? Look on Twitter for the hashtag #TheSkinProject.

The Skin Project: Serum

A serum has higher concentrations of certain healing and moisturizing ingredients. Moisturizers may be partially absorbed by the skin, but their main purpose is to form a barrier between skin and the elements, keeping in moisture and keeping skin from drying out. Serums, by contrast, all are formulated to penetrate deeper into the various layers of your skin, delivering the concentrated ingredients so that your skin gets the maximum benefit. Serums are applied right after cleansing, preferably when your skin is still warm and/or slightly damp. If you have no issues that you want to change - hyperpigmentation, excessively dry spots, wrinkles or crow's feet - you may opt to skip applying a serum (though you probably want to start applying some kind of anti-ageing serum when you're in your late 30s if not before.) Because the ingredients are highly concentrated, you don't need to use much serum. In fact, any extra that you use will not be absorbed by your skin.

I've only been using a serum for the past four years. I started out rather leery of them, because they were so costly and they all seemed to claim to do something similar, and I wondered why people would pay for serums instead of using the less-costly moisturizers. I finally tried out Olay Regenerist Serum, because I was noticing more laughter-lines around my eyes and some under-eye puffiness that would persist well into the day…and regular moisturizer didn't seem to have much effect on that specifically. Olay is a brand that I know and trust, a brand that I'd been using and experienced good results (primarily with their UVA/UVB Moisturizing Lotion), and while I could pick it up at the drugstore, it was also available at the warehouse store for a slightly lower price-per-fluid-ounce. I started out with a smaller bottle that I got at the drugstore (hurray for Extreme Couponing), and when I used that bottle up I bought a package at Costco. I apply it around my eyes daily right after I get out of the shower, and I do notice that puffiness and sleep-wrinkles will be smoothed out 5 minutes after application. I also have tried Olay's Microsculpting Serum, primarily on my jawline, to see if it would help firm that skin up a bit; but I haven't really noticed any results, so after I used about half of one bottle I threw it out. Now, I'll occasionally apply the Regenerist Serum on my jawline, too - I've got some minor pigmentation issues, and if it helps the skin around my eyes, it can't hurt the skin on my jawline.

I've come from Serum Skeptic to “multitask the hell out of that skincare tool.”

Some other important information about serums:

  • I do not use one serum for my face, and a separate serum for the skin around my eyes. Eye creams and eye serums are extra-moisturizing - and, hey, the rest of my skin can use the additional hydration and moisturizing benefits, too. I even occasionally use some Olay Regenerist serum on my elbows, where the skin gets really rough (my computer chair has pretty hard arms, and I'm a leaner.)
  • You can buy special eye serum and separate “eye cream” - but serum is just cream with a higher concentration of active ingredient, so go for the more effective product (serum) unless it's going to break your budget.
  • Which serum you use depends on a lot of factors: your body chemistry, your skin needs, your preferences in scent and texture, your budget. Ask for samples, or find stores that allow cosmetic returns (Walgreen's lets you return cosmetics if they're not working for you - just return a mostly-full product, instead of something that you've used nearly all of) and use every coupon or sale-code you can.
  • When in doubt, speak with an aesthetician and/or dermatologist. Skin health and care is their specialty.
  • It's better to start using a serum a little bit early, when you first think you might be noticing signs of dullness/age spots/dryness/flaking/acne/deep wrinkles/whatever…than to wait until you - and the rest of the world - is absolutely sure that you need to start using a serum. (This last holds true for moisturizers, sunscreen, just about any “preventative” remedy.

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