Incorporating a new step into one’s grooming routine isn’t easy. If we’ve established something we like, it’s hard at first to add one thing, even if that one thing doesn’t take very long. But in grooming, just like in life, it’s the little things, the little details, that often make the biggest difference in how you look and feel, and facial serums are one of those little details that can help a Gent look and feel his best.
What Are Serums?
So what are these serums? They are concentrated liquids, usually found in small bottles, that should be used after you’ve washed your face. They are comprised of ingredients like:
- Nourishing antioxidants
- Brightening Vitamin C
- Hydrating hyaluronic acid
That last ingredient, hyaluronic acid, is an all-star ingredient that packs a powerful punch. It can absorb more than 1,000 times its weight in water, which means that it attracts and binds to water molecules, increasing the water content of your skin.
In addition to moisturizing, serums can also:
- Reduce signs of aging, like wrinkles
- Clear inflammation
- Improve tone and texture
Serums are made up of smaller molecules, leading to faster and better absorption.
Which Kind Should You Choose?
Just like every Gent has his hair cut differently, not just because of his own preferences but because of how that hair grows and styles, so too there are different serums for different faces and different applications. However, serums allow for layering, so if you have different needs, you can sometimes apply more than one, or use one in the morning and a different one in the evening.
Some of the different types of serums you can find will focus on:
- Hydration: helping your skin retain moisture and plump fine lines and wrinkles
- Dry skin: using peptides and squalane to combat a natural tendency to dryness — squalane is a complex of hyaluronic acid and peptides are amino acids which can relax the skin, speed wound healing, and promote collagen
- Vitamin C: we often think about Vitamin C as the package of powder we dissolve into a drink when we want to get over a cold or flu, but it’s great for your skin as well, repairing and protecting, brightening dark spots from sun damage or acne scarring, stimulating collagen production, and improving your skin’s elasticity
Serums can vary from $10 to $200+ a bottle and vary widely based on what you want and what kind of quality you are after. AS with many things in life you get what you pay for, but even the most basic serum is going to deliver changes you can see in a short amount of time.
How to Use Serum
So as we noted above, serum is something you put on after washing your face (with either Rascal facial cleanser or scrub, for example) but before you put on a moisturizer. You’re going to take a pea-sized amount and spread it over your face. It’s lightweight and dries very quickly; it doesn’t have the thick and creamy texture of moisturizers.
Also, as we said, it can be layered, so if you’ve got a couple different serums you’re using to address skincare needs, you can wait about 30 seconds before applying a second one.
For best results you should use serum twice a day, but as we said with with eye cream, baby steps help ease a new aspect into your grooming routine and if you want to start with just once a day, apply serum at night.
