what to know when you’re choosing your serum
Vitamin A – for mature skin
Most people have heard of Retinol, or Retin A, these come from vitamin A. Retinol is a fantastic anti-aging ingredient that can seem more intimidating than it needs to. Besides knowing that Retinol works like an exfoliant, causing your cells to turn over more quickly than usual, there are just a few key things to know when it comes to using Retinol.
1. You’ll want to build up your tolerance for it. This means that for a few weeks, you’ll just use the product one a week, then twice a week for a few weeks, then three times, and so on. Depending on the strength/percentage of the Retinol you may hit a point where your skin feels a little sensitive or dryer than you’d expect, that means you’ve gone a little further than your skin likes, so go back to the number of days that felt good and stay there.
2. You have to wear SPF when you use Retinol! This is a deal breaker! Retinol can make your skin more UV sensitive, and getting a sunburn will work directly against what you’re trying to achieve with your Retinol, so pick up some sunscreen when you buy your Retinol!
3. You can’t have any hair removal done in the area you’re using Retinol! Because of it’s exfoliating power, you’re more likely to experience damage to the skin with hair removal. Make sure to let your technician know if you’re using Retinol, it may change your visit a little.
4. You only need to use this product where you feel you need it. This is not necessarily an all over your face serum, although you may prefer to use it that way. Different areas of your skin may have different needs so pay attention to how your skin feels as you’re using it, and if it feels like your cheeks may not be the right place for it, stop using it there. Nice and easy!
Vitamin B – for dry, sensitive and breakout prone skin
When we’re talking about vitamin B, we’re talking about Hyaluronic Acid and Niacinimide. Two very serious words for such beautiful ingredients. Your skin naturally produces Hyaluronic Acid, which helps keep your skin naturally hydrated. When you add extra Hyaluronic Acid you’re adding a ton of extra moisture and helping your skin hold onto it. Then we’ve got Niacinimide, which has become a very popular ingredient recently with good reason. Niacinimide is also something you naturally produce and it’s a great calming ingredient. It can help reduce inflammation and redness that comes with dry or sensitive skin, plus it can help people with breakouts and acne not only heal more quickly, but to reduce the redness that comes with those breakouts.
Vitamin C – for dull or uneven skin and for mature skin
Vitamin C has become a common and popular ingredient lately as well. Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant making it helpful for anti-aging effects but more than that it helps to brighten dull skin, can help to repair pigmentation and can help collagen production. It’s gentle enough to be used twice a day for maximum results, but like our friend Vitamin A/Retinol, you’ll absolutely need to wear sunscreen when using Vitamin C. Vitamin C has been shown to be more effective when it’s used in conjunction with sunscreen, plus you’ll want to make sure that hard work you’re putting in has the effect you’re looking for!
