With multiple steps and a variety of product formats out there, it can be tricky to figure out where certain skincare products fit in your routine.
Like take serums for example. Serums and moisturizers are both known for being hydrating reparative steps in your routine. But which one goes first? And can you layer multiple types of serums?
There are lots of different types of serums out in the market. Some help fade dark spots and others help address signs of aging. Some serums you can use together but others you may want to avoid mixing to avoid irritating your skin.
Ultimately, it depends on the kinds of serums you use on how you can layer them or if you can layer them at all.
Different types of serums
Before figuring out where to squeeze in your serums into your routine, it’s important to know the characteristics of different types of serums.
☀️Brightening Serums
The purpose of brightening serums is typically to help fade dark spots and even out the skin tone. To do this lots of these kinds of serums include ingredients like Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Tranexamic Acid, Kojic Acid, and a couple other brightening ingredients.
Vitamin C can be a little irritating to some skin types depending on the type of Vitamin C used. So it may be recommended that if you use a Retinol serum in your routine that you use your Vitamin C serum in AM and the Retinol serum in the PM.
💧Hydrating Serums
Hydrating serums are pretty straightforward in their purpose. They usually are packed with ingredients like Hyaluronic Acid, Squalane, and Ceramides to help hydrate and retain moisture in the skin.
Typically, hydrating serums can be used in your AM or PM routine (or both if you really need the extra hydration.) And they tend to work well with most other ingredients.
🧽Exfoliating Serums
Exfoliating serums help clean up pores and keep them clean. You’ll also likely not use these types of serums every day but rather two to three times a week. Overusing exfoliants can cause some irritation if you have especially sensitive skin. Plus you wouldn’t want to mix exfoliating ingredients like AHAs and BHAs with other strong ingredients like Retinoids.
P.S. If you're looking for a gentle exfoliating serum, check out the Hanhoo Pore Serum with Niacinamide, specially formulated with hydrating, nourishing ingredients to balance the skin.
Lots of anti-aging serums tend to include some pretty strong ingredients like Retinoids. And, similar to Vitamin C, Retinoids are a bit stronger so they shouldn’t be mixed with just any ingredients as mentioned above.
But other anti-aging serums that are made with reparative ingredients like Peptides are pretty okay to use with lots of other skincare ingredients.
Now while these are some of the more popular types of serums, they are not the only kinds out there. The important thing to pay attention to when adding serums to your routine is what’s in them. Then you can figure out where they fit in your routine.
How to fit serums into your routine
Now that we’ve covered the types of serums, here’s how to use them in your routine:
Step 1: Cleanser
Start by cleansing the skin to prep for the rest of your routine.
Step 2: Toner
If you include a toner in your routine, this step is where you’d apply it.
Step 3: Serum
At this point in your routine, you can apply whatever serum(s) you like to use in your routine. But, be sure to avoid mixing potentially irritating ingredients.
Step 4: Moisturizer
Lastly, apply your daily moisturizer.
Lastly, if you like to try out new serums pretty regularly but are not sure how they fit in your routine, you can always do some light research on the ingredients to make sure you aren’t layering serums that could potentially irritate the skin.
