Taking the “UM” out of Serum

I say it all the time, but what you put ON your body is just as important as what you put IN it.  With gizzilions of skincare products on the market and a good amount of them pricey, you should be picky with what you choose.  Please don’t just grab the most convenient fix at the drug store and figure it’s “just as good”.  Chances are, it’s not and you are just wasting your money and doing an injustice to yourself.

After you’ve removed your make-up, cleansed your face and exfoliated, the next step is to treat those clean pores with a nutrient rich serum.   I urge you to find products that contain my ride or die list of ingredients:

Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Antioxidants, Omegas, COQ10 and Hyaluronic Acid.

Out of all of those, Vitamin C is the true super hero.  It brightens skin, lessens the appearance of dark spots, protects against damaging environmental factors like free radicals, promotes cell turnover, the list goes on.

Here’s a quick run down on my other favs:

Vitamin E: Combined with SPF, it can reduce the damaging effects of UV light and like all antioxidants, will help boost the immunities of skin cells and has anti-inflammatory properties.

Omegas/Fatty Acids: Regulates oil production and helps skin remain plump with proper hydration.

CoQ10: Super antioxidant that has scientifically proven to help reduce the risk of skin cancer.

Hyaluronic Acid: Don’t be fooled by the “Acid”.  This is an ultimate hydration component.

As far as products go, I get Hyaluronic Acid and CoQ10 from my toner (see To Tone or Not article) and I get a lot of omegas from my Rosehip Oil serum.  I like Natropathica’s because I trust the ingredients are pure and it has tremendous healing properties.  I tend to always have a scratch or an injury from my dog or kids jumping up on me.  I notice that when I put this serum on, everything tends to heal overnight.

I get the rest of my super nutrients from my beloved Skinceuticals CE Ferulic.  This serum has a cult following and it’s for good reason.  Packed with a potent amount of antioxidants, it feels great on and I’ve been addicted to it for years.

In summary, take a quick run through of the ingredients in the products you are using and just make sure they are actually doing something beneficial for you and not packed with harmful chemicals.

I love to use EWG’s Guide for a quick scan to be sure products I consider pass the “clean” test and Think Dirty has an awesome app as well that you can literally scan into.