While basic skincare comprises cleansers, toners, and moisturizers, the advanced tier includes serums, oils, and concentrates. These premium products enhance a basic skincare regimen by introducing intensive steps necessary for maximizing skin health. They provide substantial benefits by directly addressing skin issues, enriching the skin, and enhancing moisture levels.
Given the vast selection of options, it's crucial to identify the most effective serum, oil, or concentrate that specifically addresses your skin needs. Below is a comprehensive guide to assist you in selecting the ideal product for your distinctive skin type.
Understanding Serums, Oils, & Concentrates Initially, let's distinguish among serums, oils, and concentrates:
Serums
Packed with a dense concentration of active ingredients, serums are designed to tackle particular skin issues and concerns. They absorb quickly and penetrate deeply, offering powerful restoration and hydration. Serums, typically in a fluid or gel form, are applied following cleansing and toning.
Oils
Rich in essential fatty acids and lipids, oils enhance the skin’s moisture barrier. Commonly derived from plant sources such as jojoba, rosehip, or seabuckthorn, these oils are abundant in antioxidants and nurturing emollients. Beneficial for all skin types, including oily, facial oils are best used as the last step before moisturizing.
Concentrates
Concentrates share the feature of having a concentrated blend of active ingredients with serums but differ in consistency, being more like lightweight lotions. They offer both absorption and protective benefits, making them versatile enough to be layered with other skincare products or used independently.
Continue reading to find the best match for your skin type and concerns.
Choosing Products Based on Skin Type
Skin type is genetically determined, influenced by factors like oil production by sebaceous glands, pore size, and skin texture. These aspects affect your skin’s dryness or oiliness, appearance, and overall behavior. While your skin type is fixed, selecting the right active ingredients can help manage your skin effectively.
Normal Skin
Characterized by balanced sebum and moisture levels, normal skin is described as well-balanced. It has a smooth texture, clear and rosy appearance, with fine pores and no visible blemishes, greasy spots, or flaky areas, per Dermascope.
Antioxidants are key for all skin types to combat aging signs. The Eight Greens Youth Serum is recommended to shield the skin from environmental stressors like pollution and UV rays, preventing drying and aging effects.
Dry Skin
With lower sebum production compared to normal skin, dry skin lacks necessary oils and lipids, leading to a tight, flaky, and dull appearance. It often has small pores and more noticeable aging signs.
Oils are an ideal supplement for dry skin care, providing essential fatty acids and hydration-enhancing ingredients. The Camellia Glow Solid Face Oil and Rosehip Triple C+E Firming Oil are suggested for their hydrating and skin-softening properties. The Camellia Oil, combined with pink tourmaline gemstones and marula oil, softens skin appearance, while the Rosehip Triple C+E Firming Oil, with rosehip, jojoba, and seabuckthorn oil, boosts moisture, soothes dry skin, and combats aging signs.
Oily Skin
The opposite of dry skin, oily skin has overactive sebaceous glands. These produce an excess of oil which enlarges pores as well as coats the skin’s surface. For this reason, oily skin is often shiny and can be prone to breakouts due to blocked pores.
For oily skin, we recommend a lightweight option like the Citrus & Kale Potent C+E Serum. This fast-absorbing advanced serum immediately sinks into the skin to deliver potent antioxidant and vitamin-rich ingredients. We explore this serum in depth below.
Addressing Specific Skin Concerns and Conditions
Beyond your basic skin type, you might face particular skin concerns or conditions that are shaped by a mix of internal and external factors, including hormonal fluctuations, lifestyle habits, and environmental elements. While your skin type is largely determined by genetics and remains consistent, skin concerns and conditions can vary and are treatable. It's not uncommon to deal with multiple issues simultaneously, such as experiencing both breakouts and uneven skin tone.
Addressing Fine Lines and Wrinkles
Aging brings about a natural decline in hyaluronic acid, elastin, and collagen, vital components for maintaining a youthful, firm complexion. As these elements deplete, the skin may begin to lose its firmness, leading to the formation of fine lines and wrinkles.
Incorporating Vitamin C into your skincare routine can significantly benefit ageing skin. This essential vitamin helps to enhance skin resilience against environmental stressors like UV rays and pollution.
Our Citrus & Kale Potent C+E Serum, rich in Vitamin C, is designed to quickly absorb and minimize the appearance of an uneven skin tone. Alongside Vitamin E, and nutrient-rich greens like kale and spinach, this serum aims to brighten your skin and reduce the visibility of fine lines and wrinkles. Explore further about the benefits of serums, the right quantity for application, or the impact of free radicals on aging through our informative videos and articles.
For combating aging signs more effectively, consider products fortified with botanical peptides and natural retinol alternatives. Our Marine Flower Peptide Serum, packed with concentrated plant peptides, works to plump the skin and smooth out wrinkles, while the Bamboo Firming Fluid, featuring a Natural Retinol Alternative Complex from chicory root and tara tree, enhances firmness and elasticity.
Tackling Uneven Skin Tone
Hyperpigmentation, whether due to sun exposure, hormonal shifts, or acne, can lead to dark spots and an uneven skin tone. The skin's response to such stressors often involves an overproduction of melanin, leading to discoloration.
Before turning to hydroquinone, consider a natural solution. Our Bright Skin Licorice Root Booster-Serum, with ingredients like bearberry, licorice root extracts, and a blend of African potato and Swiss Alpine plant extracts, is crafted to visibly reduce dark spots.
Managing Large Pores
Large pores, a frequent concern, appear more prominent in individuals with naturally oilier skin or with age as skin elasticity diminishes.
While it's impossible to eliminate pores, their appearance can be minimized. Our Mangosteen Daily Resurfacing Concentrate, containing lactic acid (an AHA), ribose, and red clover flower extract, helps clear pore blockages and reduce their size.
Combating Breakouts
A significant portion of the population will experience acne at some point. Whether dealing with minor whiteheads or severe cysts, acne is manageable. For improving acne-prone skin, our Clear Skin Willow Bark Booster-Serum, enriched with willow bark and tea tree oil, is specifically formulated to address breakouts and skin issues.
Solving Dehydration
Different from dry skin, dehydration refers to a lack of water, not oil, in the skin. It can lead to itchiness, sensitivity, sluggish cell turnover, and visible ageing signs.
For dehydrated skin, hyaluronic acid is highly beneficial. Our Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Serum, featuring our Botanical Hyaluronic Acid Complex, is designed to deeply hydrate and replenish the skin’s moisture.
Find out about the best serums for glowing skin from Eminence Lead Skin Care Trainer Natalie Pergar:
