More than a moisturizer but less than a cleanser, facial serums are packed full of active ingredients that are meant to help target specific skin concerns and aid in your other skincare products and acne treatments sinking into your skin.
Though there is much debate as to if they are truly necessary, many people do swear by serums due to their moisturizing and targeting abilities. Here are a selection of some of the best serums on the market for various skin types and concerns.
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11 Best Facial Serums
1. SkinCeuticals Discoloration Defense
If you suffer from hyperpigmentation, discoloration, or sun damage, the SkinCeuticals Discoloration Defense serum might be your new best friend. The skin brightening treatment uses ingredients like kojic acid, tranexamic acid and vitamin B3 to drastically reduce the appearance of dark spots on the face and neck.
The paraben-free, fragrance-free, silicone-free, gluten-free, and hydroquinone-free product is backed by a twelve week study that claims over fifty nine percent of participants experienced an overall evening of their complexion.
A whopping eighty one percent of people experienced improvement in the appearance of their acne marks, as well, alongside another fifty nine percent who reported a change in their dark marks and sixty percent who noted improvement in the appearance of brown patches.
2. Sunday Riley C.E.O Rapid Flash Brightening Serum
A product with a cult following, the Sunday Riley C.E.O Rapid Flash Brightening Serum is a stellar choice that is worth the hefty price tag. Infused with fifteen percent vitamin C, the serum claims to be able to “dullness, dark spots, and discolorations, while instantly increasing brightness, radiance, and luminosity”, according to the product’s Sephora sale page.
The moisturizing serum also claims to even your skin texture as it sinks in, plumping the face and leaving it ready for makeup or other products.
3. Super Pure Serum
Loved by minimalists everywhere, Glossier has made its own unique space in the beauty world. With its cloud paint blushes and blotted lipsticks, the brand is known for favoring a more natural, ethereal appearance with a hefty focus on good for you ingredients and active skin care efforts. It makes sense that their serum would be one of the best on the market.
The Super Pure Serum uses two of the same ingredients that are in the Ordinary serum, niacinamide and zinc, but with additives to help soothe irritated, inflamed skin without sacrificing effectiveness.
4. Clarins Pore Control Serum
If you have large pores, the Clarins Pore Control Serum may be something that is worth checking into. Using strawberry extracts and vine flower essences to mattify the skin and shrink enlarged pores, the serum is highly potent and works to regulate oil production naturally, without irritation.
Additionally, ingredients like tamarind pulp extract for exfoliation and blurring micropowders work together to help create the illusion of flawless, effortless skin with ease.
5. Dermalogica Ultracalming Serum Concentrate
Redness can be one of the hardest skin issues to treat since it can be caused by a billion different sources. The Dermalogica Ultracalming Serum Concentrate claims to be able to reduce redness in just one use with the help of oat extracts.
Sunflower and avocado extracts aid in soothing irritated skin while strengthening it from the inside out with a mix of fatty acids and antioxidants to prevent further irritation from forming in the future.
Additionally, the product is formulated without any synthetic fragrances or dyes, making it fantastic for those with sensitive skin or who prefer avoiding such unnecessary additives.
Farsali Products
If you enjoy having options, the Farsali like of serums will certainly catch your eye.
6. Skintune Blur Perfecting Primer Serum
Popularized by social media, the line contains four different products intended to target specific concerns. The Skintune Blur Perfecting Primer Serum is specifically designed so that it can be used under makeup (even though it can certainly be used on its own). Drying down to a powder like finish, the product claims to be brightening, blurring, and pore filling, making it fantastic for any coverage level of foundation.
7. Volcanic Elixir Polynesian Beauty Oil
Alternatively, the Volcanic Elixir Polynesian Beauty Oil is fantastic for dry, damaged, or acne prone skin due to addition of oil pressed from the tamanu nut.
8. Rose Gold Elixir
The ever popular 24k gold infused Rose Gold Elixir is fantastic for oily skin types since it is fast absorbing and does not add any additional weight to the face while still delivering a drink of moisture and nutrients, including vitamin C, which is known to be brightening.
9. Unicorn Essence Antioxidant Primer Serum
Lastly, the Instagram famous Unicorn Essence Antioxidant Primer Serum has been dubbed a makeup lover’s must have due to its ability to even out your skin tone while hydrating your skin and treating blemishes!
Pocket Friendly Options
10. Burt’s Bees Renewal Intensive Firming Serum
For an affordable option, the Burt’s Bees Renewal Intensive Firming Serum is an amazing anti aging serum that claims to be instantly firming and lifting. Like all Burt’s Bees products, the serum is made of primarily natural ingredients that work to lock in moisture.
Additionally, this serum apparently makes a rather amazing eye cream, as well. The brand actually advertises using it as a treatment for tired, puffy, or otherwise irritated eyes to create a smooth, even canvas for makeup application or to wear bare.
11. Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
A fantastic pocket friendly option for those with acne, the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% from the Ordinary has garnered quite a few fans recently. The clarifying serum works to gently but effectively remove blemishes and prevent new spots from forming without overly drying out your skin or causing any discomfort.
The zinc infused serum sinks into your skin quickly, leaving behind no greasy residue or off putting stickiness. Other products from the Ordinary are similarly priced and are all quite effective for treating a host of skin care concerns.