A Lesson In How To Apply Your Skincare Properly

When it comes to looking after mature skin, moisturizer is great. Heck, it’s vital. However, if you really want to amp up your skincare routine, choosing the right facial serum is everything.

Serums can be tricky to get your head around. Some believe they’re nothing more than an ‘extra’ step in your routine – one that’s, frankly, not that important – while others happily include them in their routine, but then think they can do without moisturizer.

Wrong. And wrong.

Facial serums are, in fact, a vital addition to your skincare routine if you want to target specific issues and concerns that go above and beyond what ‘regular’ basics like cleanser and moisturizer can offer. You see, unlike moisturizers they have a very small molecular structure which allows them to penetrate your skin to channel active ingredients like retinol, vitamin C and peptides deeper below the surface – which is often where they’re needed the most.

Moisturizers, as great as they are, don’t do that. They are, however, essential for sealing in moisture which serums can’t do. And that’s why they make the perfect skincare team.

Navigating the serum world doesn’t come without its challenges, though. With literally thousands to choose from, how exactly do you make the right decision for your skin? What’s best for dealing with dark spots? Which ingredients should you look out for if you have particularly sensitive skin? And is there something out there that can tackle aging AND oily skin?

Below, we talk you through our top ten facial serums so you can make an informed decision on what’s right for you…

The Sensitive Skin Wrinkle Reducer: Rejuvenating Longevity Serum

As you probably know, retinol is ‘it’ for targeting wrinkles, dull skin and basically making your skin look ten times better. And nobody puts retinol in the corner, us included. But as incredibly effective as retinol is, it also has its downsides. Namely being the frequent cause of dryness, irritation and redness to sensitive skin types. Well this is where bakuchiol shines. Frequently touted as ‘nature’s answer to retinol,’ bakuchiol offers all the benefits of this anti-aging wonder ingredient, but with fewer (if any!) side effect. Our Rejuvenating Longevity Serum harnesses all this, alongside revitalizing snow algae and lingonberry stem cells to offer sensitive skin the healthy aging serum it deserves.

The Early Aging Treatment: Smoothing Collagen Serum

Collagen is one of the most important components in your skin, keeping it strong, supple and firm. But life’s a b*tch and once you hit your mid-20s your collagen levels start to dwindle by about 1 percent every year. That might not sound like a lot but you’ll sure notice it in ten years when your skin, well, just isn’t what it used to be. If this sounds familiar and you’re already seeing fine lines around your eyes and a little sagging around the jawline, our Smoothing Collagen Serum could be just what you need. It combines collagen peptides (vegan, of course), ceramides and a powerful blend of antioxidant-rich superfruits to kick-start collagen synthesis and help prevent your skin aging up before its time.

The Skin Brightening Superhero: Vitamin C Facial Serum

The OG of TruSkin and still a fan favorite, our Vitamin C Facial Serum is hard to beat if you’re looking for an insanely good facial serum to not only help glow up your skin but to protect it from the onslaught of environmental aggressors (sun, yes, we’re talking about you).

Like retinol, pure vitamin C can be a tad irritating if you’re not careful, but we cut out all of those risks by using a C-derivate called sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP). SAP is a salt form of vitamin C which makes it kinder to the skin and one of the most stable versions available in skincare. It’s a shoo-in for dull, aging skin.

The All-Round Nice Guy: Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum

While some people love to really hone in on the things they don’t love about their skin, others prefer a more rounded approach to skincare. And that’s why we created our Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum. Like an oral muti-vit supplement, but one you apply topically, this lightweight milky facial serum comes brimming with no less than 11 plant-derived vitamins, minerals and electrolytes to offer an all-in-one approach to youthful, healthier-looking skin. It helps improve tone, texture, firmness and hydration without having to rely on 10 other products to do the exact same job. Smart stuff.

The Mature-But-Still-Oily Skin Savior: Tea Tree Super Serum+

We don’t know about you but we specifically remember being told that our greasy, teenage skin a) would not be so oily as we got older and b) would age way better than our friends with drier skin. Lies, all lies. OK, so the oil might have a subsided a little and the wrinkles aren’t so bad, but still miracles definitely did not happen.

Oily, mature skin is not easy to manage. In fact, the words ‘balancing' and 'act’ come to mind. Which is why you should make tea tree oil your BFF. Due to its potent anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, tea tree oil is fantastic for treating super-oily skin, enlarged pores and breakouts. Our Tea Tree Super Serum+ blends it with hyaluronic acid to deal with dehydration, plus niacinamide and organic aloe. Gorgeous.

The Dehydration Rescue Serum: Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum

Unless you’ve been hiding under a very large rock for the past ten years, hyaluronic acid will be no stranger to you. To refresh, hyaluronic acid, sometimes known as hyaluronan, is a sugar molecule that’s found by the bucketload in your skin where it helps keep it cushioned, lubricated and hydrated by drawing in water like a sponge. Dehydration can be a major issue as you get older because your natural levels of HA disappear and your barrier function becomes weaker.

If dehydration is something you’re concerned with, you can’t go wrong with Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum. As the name suggests, it comes packed with oceans of hyaluronic acid alongside vitamins C and E.

The Dark Spot Destroyer: Vitamin C Super Serum+

Wrinkles are one thing but they’re not the only skin gripe we have to deal with as we get older. Dark spots, aka hyperpigmentation, are also a thing and they’re caused by an overproduction of melanin which happens as a result of too much sun, acting-out hormones or some kind of skin trauma like acne or a burn.

Sounds familiar, then add Vitamin C Super Serum+ to cart right this minute! Why? Because vitamin C was born to help fade existing dark spots and prevent new ones from forming. This highly powered serum also blends retinol for extra anti-aging prowess, plus niacinamide to soothe and hyaluronic acid to hydrate. Word is, it’s so good, you probably only need to apply it a few times a week.

The Overnight Rescue Remedy: Retinol Facial Serum

What kind of skincare company would we be if we didn’t have a retinol serum? Thankfully, we’re not those people. Say hello to Retinol Facial Serum which combines this anti-aging heavy-hitter with hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, glycerin and aloe to help counteract and balance the strength of retinol. Contrary to popular belief, retinol is perfectly fine to apply morning and night but we prefer to save it for bedtime. How so? Well, retinol is ideal for helping your skin to regenerate as you sleep plus saving it for nighttime means you get to use a completely different serum in the morning, ha!

The Skin Harmonizer: Niacinamide (B3) Facial Serum

Another one of our winning all-rounders, Niacinamide (B3) Facial Serum is the absolute nuts for treating a whole bunch of skin types and concerns. Along with vitamins C and E, niacinamide is an effective antioxidant that works hard to help your skin neutralize damaging free radicals. It’s also fantastic at balancing sebum, calming inflammation and increasing the production of ceramides in the uppermost layers to help maintain a strong, protective barrier and more resilient skin.

The Skin Firming Friend: Peptide Facial Serum

Peptides are often talked about in skincare but they can be hard to get your head around. All you really need to know is that, like proteins, they’re chemical compounds made up of amino acids. Because of their similarity to proteins, studies show that peptides are able to penetrate the skin really well, signaling your cells to produce more collagen – undoubtedly the skin’s most important protein of all.

Proteins are key if you want to maintain firmer, smoother and more lifted skin, so it figures that anything you can do to boost collagen, elastin and keratin (all proteins in their own right) is a major plus for the look and feel of your skin. Peptide Facial Serum is just the job here, not only targeting your skin’s essential proteins but also helping to strengthen, hydrate and tone your complexion.

Knowing how to switch things up to get your skin ready for the day as opposed to ready for bed? Life-changing. Well, skin-changing at the very least.

There’s something to be said for nailing a consistent skincare routine. However, it’s not always easy to find your perfect product match. In fact, it requires much nurturing and tweaking – often over many years – to get your routine exactly where you want it. Whether you prefer to keep things basic or like to go all-out with every potion you can get your hands on, skincare is a very personal thing. But there are some fundamentals that every successful regime should abide by.

One of these is the importance of variation. And by this we don’t mean owning 75 moisturizers and just as many facial serums that you switch out more often than your underwear. Because, frankly, this is not the kind of consistency skin strives for. No, by variation we mean having a few different products in your arsenal that are tailored to your skin’s needs as they change from AM to PM.

Often brushed off as marketing hype, morning and night time skincare is, in fact, quite different. Do you really need separate cleansers, toners, eye treatments and exfoliators for morning and night? Absolutely not. These products are important, for sure, but they can definitely remain the same, no matter what time of day they’re being used. However, other products require a little thoughtful adjustment so they’re able to offer exactly what your skin needs as it transitions from day to night.

Never quite sure how to approach your morning and bedtime skincare routines? Then read on for the three most important products you need for each of these skinfluential times of day.

Your Morning Skincare Routine

Life often gets in the way of awesome skin. Things like emotional stress, pollution, the sun, your diet, they all have their own ways of upsetting the health of your skin and throwing things way off whack. This means your morning skincare routine must, most important of all, set your skin up for a daily battle against everything life throws at you.

Morning Skincare Musts

1. Environmental Protection

So, life. As awesome as it is, it batters your skin with daily aggressors that encourage the formation of free radicals. Free radicals are few and far between at night when you’re asleep, but during daylight hours, they can overrun your skin, compromising your collagen supplies, screwing up your elastin and even messing with your DNA. This is seriously bad news for the health of your skin as it can accelerate fine lines and wrinkles as well as other skin peskies like dark spots, sagging, dullness and poor texture and tone.

Keeping your skin protected from free radicals, therefore, should be an absolute priority for your morning routine. And the best way to do this? With an antioxidant facial serum. Unlike other skincare ingredients, antioxidants work hard to neutralize free radicals, allowing your skin to go about its business without the risk of damage from things like the sun and environmental pollution.

Topical antioxidants include the likes of vitamin E, niacinamide and green tea but the real biggie is vitamin C – something we know rather a lot about, here at TruSkin HQ! Universally loved and clinically-proven to nix free radicals in the bud while also brightening the skin, we think of it as a non-negotiable morning essential. You should, too. So try our fan-favorite Vitamin C Facial Serum and get on that, this second.

2. Hydration

As well as to protect itself from the outside world, your skin’s other main job is to keep itself hydrated and moisturised all day so that its barrier function remains in optimum condition. Your skin’s barrier function is what keeps toxins and pollution out and moisture in so it’s vital to moisturize daily to keep it strong and in great working order. Otherwise, you’re asking for trouble in the way of dehydration, dryness, breakouts and potential irritation.

We believe daily moisturizing should be about lightweight formulations that you can layer without overloading your skin. Look out for serums that harness ingredients like hyaluronic acid and aloe vera which help to draw moisture into the skin’s top layers. Then follow with a light lotion that locks all that moisture in. We love the winning combination of Niacinamide Facial Serum followed by Firming Collagen Day Lotion which is deeply moisturizing but light enough for everyday wear.

3. And The Most Important Product Of All: SPF

Of course, sunscreen is futile before bed, but your morning skincare routine is nothing without SPF. You just can’t ignore the fact that the sun is the biggest skin ager and responsible for somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of external skin aging.

If you want to ward off fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots and sagging skin for as long as humanly possible you need to apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen every morning – rain or shine. Broad-spectrum formulations protect your skin from both UVA and UVB so that’s important to look out for on your product labels. Also, make sure to go with nothing below SPF 30 and stick with mineral formulations that are much kinder to your skin. Our SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C checks all those boxes, so no probs there.

Your Bedtime Skincare Routine

As your body and brain go into rest mode, your skin goes into reset mode. Your environment has completely changed and gone are all the elements that have been going at your skin all day long. This makes night time the best time for your skin to heal and rejuvenate itself, ready to do it again tomorrow.

Bedtime Skincare Musts

1. Thorough Cleansing

Cleansing your skin is essential, morning and night, but at night time, after subjecting your skin to a whole day of sweat, makeup, oil, sunscreen, dirt, pollution and, well you get the picture, cleansing is everything.

Your product choices are down to you and your skin type, but always stick with gentle formulations that are free of harsh ingredients like sulfates and parabens. Sure, effective cleansing is important, but you don’t want to strip your skin completely dry or irritate your delicate barrier function. Our current favorite is our Soothing Cleansing Milk but, like we said, the ball is in your court.

When cleansing, take your time to thoroughly massage your skin to remove all traces of daily grime, and use lukewarm (never hot!) water to rinse well.

Double cleansing can also be a good idea before bed – especially if you like to wear a good amount of makeup during the day or are prone to oily skin that feels pretty dirty by the evening. And double cleansing is exactly what it sounds like. First, you use an oil-based cleanser to remove makeup and sunscreen, then you followed this with a water-based formulation to wash away other surface debris and help target your skin type or concerns.

2. Rejuvenation & Repair

Unlike the rest of your body which takes a well-deserved break as you sleep, night time is when your skin gets busy. All the excitement from the day shifts your skin into regeneration mode, repairing damage and preparing it for the next day. During this time blood flow increases, collagen production accelerates, cell turnover doubles and your skin’s natural antioxidant system amps up. It’s like a well-oiled machine that really kicks into gear as the rest of you catches your zzzs.

The products you choose to help all this move along seamlessly are endless, so it’s really a matter of choice. Do you want to help target fine lines and wrinkles as you sleep? Then Retinol Facial Serum might be the one for you. Perhaps you want to concentrate on looking after your collagen? In which case, Smoothing Collagen Serum has your name on it. Then there’s Peptide Facial Serum which strengthens and protects your barrier function to help your skin rejuvenate.

We know they all sound amazing (and that’s because they are!) but try to resist applying more than one at a time. Helping your skin during the overnight regeneration process is great. Overloading it with too many actives? Not so much.

3. Deep Moisturization

Did you know, your skin produces less sebum while you’re asleep? Well, now you do. And hopefully this also makes you better understand the importance of deeper, more intense moisturizing at night.

You might, like us, hate the feeling of heavy creams during the daytime but there’s no better feeling than slathering your face (and neck, of course!) in a beautifully intense moisturizing cream that will nourish your skin and have you waking up with a soft, plump complexion.

Our Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream is perfect for the job. It has that extra sprinkling of vitamin C to add a bit of antioxidant prowess to the party. Plus, it contains aloe to hydrate and our favorite beautifying compound, MSM to soothe, strengthen, firm and revitalize your skin. No effort required.

We love that for you.