Printed with permission from Erin Williams l Faces by Erin
Forward from Patty: It's not often that I get to meet and spend time with the creator and owner of a beauty and skin care brand. But I did and what a wonderful experience! When we met, I reeled off all the luxury beauty brands I've worked with and she nodded her head along with me. Seems she's got quite a storied background of her own working for big brands. Eventually she went out on her own and I'm so glad she did. I find the topic of using serums relevant as many of us in our 50's know we need to use them but we don't really understand WHY or HOW. Erin clears that up for us in this article.
Serums. You know they exist and the lady at the department store says you need one, but do you? And what the heck do they do?
Here's a quick Q&A:
What's the point in using serum?
Great question! Their whole purpose is generally to keep everything lifted, firm and elastic. Think of them as the bones of your house - they hold everything up. They can also have other bonus properties like brightening. But keeping fine lines and wrinkles at bay is their raison d'etre. Lovely, right? Agreed.
What's the difference between serum and moisturizer?
Serums are focused on anti-aging while moisturizers are focused on hydrating skin. They can absolutely dance into one another's worlds but their purposes are different.
So do I need both??
It depends on how dry your skin is. If you have oilier skin you might be fine with the amount of hydration your serum can provide. If you have normal or dry skin you usually need a moisturizer on top.
On top - what's my skincare order here? CleanserTonic (toner)SerumMoisturizer/Sunscreen
So serum goes first and then moisturizer? Correct!
How many times a day am I doing this? 2 pumps or so morning and night
Do I put it on my eyes too? I am a fan of using proper eye cream/gel on your eyes and keeping serum to your face/neck/chest.
At what age should I start using it?
Honestly every woman I talked to wishes she had started earlier so I'd vote for mid 20's being a good time.
Will I see an immediate difference?
If you're in your mid 20's then no :) - because you don't need to yet! Here's what I say - the earlier you start the better it will be for your skin. Meaning, if you had a twin and one of you started serums at age 25 and the other started at age 40 the one who started earlier would probably have "better" skin. It'll keep your skin looking youthful and happy longer. You can absolutely see a difference in your skin if you start at any age but the sooner you start the longer you're keeping your skin in "prevention" mode as opposed to "repair" mode.
What ingredients should not be in there? This is just my vote but silicones, dimethicone, cyclopentasiloxane, cyclohexasiloxane, dimethicone and/or phenyl trimethicone - you don't need them. They make your skin FEEL soft but it's only happening while you're wearing it - once you wash it off your face isn't actually softer, it was the product. It's false advertising for softness.
If I'm breakout-prone will serum break me out?
In my experience the answer is generally yes as they tend to target a normal or dry skintype. However, that's why I came out with our Clarifying Serum. I was 33 years old and wanted to do "preventative skincare", aka a serum, but all of them were too thick or just didn't work for me as I was too acne-prone. So the Clarifying Serum was for me :) - it has a number or organic teas (white, green and rooibos) that help fade red marks more quickly as well as Tea Tree Oil which is antibacterial. It is literally my favorite thing in our whole line.
What if I'm just a normal skin type person who may or may not break out on my period?
Our Rose Quench Serum is perfect for you! It's lightweight and focuses on lifting and firming with the addition of brightening as well. It's full of vitamins and heavy hitters on the anti-aging front.
And what if I'm dry or like more heavy-duty situation?
With a more emollient base our Firming Serum is what'll be the best fit for you. A combo of beautiful oils make for a luxurious product that sinks into skin that wants a bigger drink. And you get the same lifters and firmers so you're good to go!
What are the main anti-agers that you use in your serums?
Hyaluronic Acid - holds 1,000 times its weight in water and gives your skin amazing moisture without loading it down. Hyaluronic Acid is known for it's plumping effect with skin - yes please! DMAE - increases skin's fullness* and acts as an anti-inflammatory Niacinimide - boosts hydration, addresses appearance of pore size, brightens skin, addresses fine lines and wrinkles
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