Choosing the Best Face Serum for Your Skin Type
If you’re shopping for serums, it’s only natural to be a little bit confused. There are hundreds of different varieties, each promising a unique set of benefits for a wide array of skin concerns.
The most important question is whether or not a particular serum will work for your skin type.
You need a product capable of delivering the results it claims it can deliver, and that product has to agree with your skin.
Before you start collecting little glass bottles on your bathroom counter, it helps to learn a little bit about your skin type and what ingredients will be most beneficial for its health.
What is a Serum?
Your serum is the star of your skincare routine. Serums are highly concentrated skin nourishing treatments designed to address numerous skincare concerns.
Some serums take a specific approach, while others lend broad benefits that are generally applicable to the majority of people.
The Needs of Dry Skin
The simplest explanation is that dry skin needs more moisture, and serums aren’t designed to provide moisture. Instead, they hydrate the skin.
At first, this distinction seems confusing. Moisture and hydration are similar concepts, but they aren’t the same thing.
Moisturizers use oils to lock moisture into the skin and create a protective barrier.
Hydrating products infuse the skin with water. Your moisturizer is what seals your serum in and allows it to keep working to provide benefits to your skin.
Serums provide hydration, but may also contain moisturizing ingredients. Things like apricot kernel oil and jojoba oil can soothe dry patches and restore the soft and supple appearance of dry skin.
The Needs of Oily Skin
If the majority of your face builds up an oily shine by the end of the day, you have oily skin. Oily skin overproduces sebum, a natural moisturizer your skin creates to protect itself from the elements.
Many people with oily skin mistakenly believe that they should avoid moisturizing or hydrating ingredients for fear of making their oil buildup worse. This isn’t necessarily the case.
Oily skin typically occurs because the skin feels inadequately protected or moisturized. The body overcompensates by creating an excess of oil, and your skin doesn’t understand the concept of “less is more”.
If you have oily acne prone skin and are using a medicated treatment for your acne, you might find that moisture is even more important.
Prescription ointments like isotretinoin have a tendency to dry the skin and cause peeling. Moisture is necessary to counteract the side effects of the treatment.
People with oily skin need a well balanced serum. You want to introduce a little bit of exogenous moisture from a source like jojoba oil to prevent your skin from overproducing its own oil.
Ingredients like nettle help to reduce the oil that occurs naturally on the surface of the skin. Over time, your skin will establish an ideal level of oil production.
The Needs of Combination Skin
Combination skin is normal, oily, and dry in any number of configurations. Many people with combination skin find that the majority of their face is dry, but their “T” zone, the area encompassing the bridge of their nose and their forehead, gets oily throughout the day.
Combination skin can be tricky to address with skincare. Going overboard with moisturizers won’t help the oily spots, and getting overly enthusiastic with astringents will exacerbate the dry patches.
Combination skin can establish a baseline with balanced ratios of ingredients that treat all aspects of the issue. Ingredients like sea buckthorn can address the problem from all sides.
Sea buckthorn encourages healthy skin elasticity, soothes inflammation in the skin, and battles acne bacteria. It can keep you from breaking out in your oily zones while tending to the needs of your dry zones.
The Needs of Sensitive Skin
Sensitive skin can be complicated because any number of things can contribute to its sensitivity.
Certain skincare ingredients, especially things like artificial colors and fragrances, can be problematic for sensitive skin.
If you have sensitive skin, you should choose an all natural serum. You don’t want to take your chances with artificial ingredients and synthetic chemicals, which can lead to contact dermatitis.
If your sensitive skin is allergy-prone, it is important to read the ingredients list and flag any potentially irritating ingredients.
Look for serums with naturally soothing antimicrobial and antibacterial ingredients like echinacea.
Serums with a high antioxidant content are especially important for people with sensitive skin, as antioxidants help to protect the skin from environmental stressors and free radicals.
All skin types benefit from this protection, but people with sensitive skin are most likely to notice the difference.
What People Seek in a Serum
In addition to your skin type, you likely have at least one skincare concern you’d like to target.
Maybe you’d like to firm your skin and minimize the appearance of fine lines, or reduce the appearance of dark spots, or even out your skin tone.
You might want a buffet of benefits from your serum. The ideal scenario would be to find one multifunctional product that adequately addresses every skincare goal.
Can One Serum Work For Everyone?
Since every skin type is different, logic would suggest that everyone needs a different serum. This isn’t necessarily the case. Well-rounded serums designed to nourish the skin will often address the needs and concerns of multiple skin types.
Another benefit of well-rounded serums is that you’ll only ever need one. If a single product can meet all your needs, your skincare routine is significantly easier.
Though “one size fits all” serums are few and far between, they do exist. That’s what we’ve created at Caldera + Lab.
Our serum uses active botanicals and all-natural ingredients to moisturize, replenish, firm, protect, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, and minimize dark spots while evening skin tone. It is designed to address almost every skincare concern one could possibly have.
We’ve tested our serum on every skin type, and we’ve found that the results were clinically significant for everyone. The majority of users saw meaningful benefits from the active ingredients, regardless of their skin type.
Getting Started With a Serum
Let’s make the search for the perfect serum a short search. We already have what you need.
Caldera + Lab’s serum is one of the very few serums designed to work for every skin type and preference.
To target your skin type, adjust the number of drops you normally use. Most men with oily skin find that four to six drops are plenty. Normal skin needs seven to nine drops, and dry skin needs 10 to 12 drops.
Our vegan, chemical-free, and cruelty-free skincare products are designed to provide the benefits and results that the majority of men are seeking when they choose a skincare product.
Sources:
5.3B: Sebaceous (Oil) Glands | LibreTexts
Abundance of active ingredients in sea-buckthorn oil | Biomed Central