17 Finest Face Serums in 2024 to Goal All Pores and skin-Care Issues, Based on Dermatologists

Editor’s tip: For those who choose to use your serum earlier than mattress, strive the Olay Tremendous Serum Night time Restore, whose system helps the high-activity restore mode your pores and skin endures in a single day.

Key’s elements: vitamin C, collagen peptide, niacinamide | Who it is for: folks in search of a multitasking system | Major advantages: texture-evening, hydrating, smoothing | Perfume-free: sure

Ceaselessly Requested Questions

What are the advantages of utilizing a face serum?

Face serums have turn into a mainstay in each Attract editor’s skin-care routine, and they need to be in yours, too. Kenneth Howe, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York Metropolis, explains that “in distinction to moisturizers, serums do not include air-tight, occlusive elements, which permit them to penetrate extra deeply into the dermis, carrying their energetic elements with them.”

One more reason these facial serums are a mainstay for skin-care novices and lovers alike? The nice, outdated really feel issue. “Serums are the brand new moisturizers,” New York Metropolis-based board-certified dermatologist Ellen Marmur, MD, tells Attract. “They’re excellent for layering—like a primer on clear pores and skin earlier than make-up or sunscreen.”

What order ought to my serum be in my routine?

Based on New York Metropolis-based dermatologist David Kim, MD, you need to apply your serum after cleaning and earlier than your moisturizer. “Serums have extra energetic elements in greater focus, and they’re formulated to both brighten, hydrate, or calm the pores and skin,” he says. “Then a moisturizer goes on high to lock within the moisture and to restore the pores and skin barrier.”

Can I take advantage of a number of serums directly? What cannot be combined?

Dr. Kim says you may tag-team a number of serums to sort out quite a few skin-care issues, however be sure to aren’t flooding your pores with too many harsh energetic elements directly—that may result in sensitivity and irritation. “For instance, you may apply a light-weight vitamin C serum with a hydrating serum on high earlier than sunscreen,” says Dr. Kim. “That is notably efficient for folks with oily acne-prone pores and skin who don’t love a heavier, thicker moisturizer.”

As for unhealthy combos? “I do not suggest layering sturdy, energetic elements as a result of it could result in irritation, comparable to combining a retinol with alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) or beta hydroxy acids (BHAs),” Nina Desai, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in California, beforehand advised Attract. “I discover the mixture will be too drying and worsening to the pores and skin.” Dr. Desai additionally warned towards utilizing benzoyl peroxide with actives you would possibly discover in your serum.

Meet the specialists

• Deanne Mraz Robinson, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in Connecticut
• Shereene Idriss, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in New York Metropolis
• Heidi Prather, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in Austin, Texas
• Shari Marchbein, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in New York Metropolis
• Kenneth Howe, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York Metropolis
• Ellen Marmur, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in New York Metropolis
• David Kim, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in New York Metropolis
• Nina Desai, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in California

How we check and evaluation merchandise

When Attract exams a product, our editors take a look at it from each angle in an effort to finest serve you. We evaluation elements, scrutinize model claims, and, when vital, study peer-reviewed scientific and medical research. Along with testing each product that’s included in each evaluation, we depend on specialists who form their fields, together with dermatology, beauty chemistry, and drugs, to assist us vet the elements and formulation.