The basics of skincare: the difference between serum and cream 

When talking about skincare, people often tend to take some things for granted. Skincare is a journey of awareness on how to take care of oneself, and it is important to know how to do it and which products are most suitable for one's skin type.

Let's take a closer look together at some basics of skincare to learn how to take care of our skin and promote skin wellness.

What is the difference between cream and serum?

The products for skin care are really many: masks, scrubs, peels, cleansers, face creams, sunscreens, eye serums, and face serums, toners, and the list could go on. Face serum and cream remain two fundamental types of products in any skincare routine. Their role? To act deeply and to protect, respectively. Face serums contain the active ingredient, specific, in higher and bioavailable percentages. 

The greater amount of active molecules in the face serum penetrate the skin, and the effectiveness of the active ingredients is optimal and faster, making results visible in less time. However, the serum does not exclude the use of a moisturizer; on the contrary, the rule suggests using both and layering the face cream over the serum, which should be applied immediately after thoroughly cleansing the skin and requires a layer of cream that acts as a "seal" to maximize the benefits. 

Using face cream is definitely one of the fundamental steps of daily skincare as the cream maintains skin hydration and thus helps to reduce wrinkles, age spots, and other fine lines. Face creams also serve as a protective barrier for the skin, defending it from external agents.

The cream, with its more persistent consistency, allows for a good base for makeup, but it is important not to choose a comedogenic product, that is, a product that clogs the pores.

There are day creams and also night creams that can be used for different functions: the day cream can be used to protect and ensure good hydration for the face, while the night cream is for repairing and deeply nourishing. A day cream is often enriched with vitamin C or contains a sun filter, while the night cream is rich in hyaluronic acid and vitamin E as a powerful antioxidant. 

Hydration is the fundamental step for skin care, and to achieve good results, you need to choose the most suitable products for your skin type and follow specific steps. The combination of face serum + cream allows for a winner combo and helps keep the skin young and healthy.

What is a face serum?

Faster and lighter, it absorbs better and allows the active ingredients to penetrate deeper into the skin. These are basically the benefits of face serum. So if you are wondering what the difference is between cream and serum, the answer is this: the serum does not contain lipophilic excipients, which is why its formulation allows the actives, present in the right concentration, to reach the target more quickly.

The serums contain the most powerful dose of ingredients:

•  anti-aging;
• antioxidants;
• peptides;
• skin brighteners. 

Peptides are indeed the latest frontier of cosmetic actives and a tremendous ally for skin beauty; their molecular formulation allows them to reach the heart of the cell more easily. They are the true workhorses of any product line.

Since the active ingredients are more expensive than the excipients, serums often have a higher price. On the other hand, they are not used in the same quantity as a face cream, and therefore have a longer duration; if applied correctly, a serum can last for months, and bottles with droppers are very helpful because they allow for dosing the product and not wasting it. 

A few concentrated drops of serum are sufficient in themselves to achieve truly surprising effects on the skin. Facial serums are composed of very small molecules that are easily absorbed and penetrate deeply, acting on the deeper layers of the skin.

On the contrary, the thick and heavy ingredients of creams serve to create a barrier on the skin and protect it from external agents while retaining moisture and thus natural hydration.

How do you use a face serum?

Adding serum to your skincare routine is definitely a winning choice. Thanks to their fluid consistency, serums allow active ingredients to penetrate deeply and act according to skin needs. But often people wonder in what order to do skincare and how to use serum. The first step of a proper skincare routine is undoubtedly cleansing. 

Cleaning the skin prepares it to better absorb all subsequent ingredients, so it is good to remove makeup and perform a proper cleansing according to your skin type. From time to time, a deeper cleansing is carried out to remove dead cells that can clog the pores, perhaps through a light exfoliation to be done once or more times a week, of course, depending on the needs. In this way, the skin will be ready to receive the necessary nutrients. 

At this point, you can apply the toner or an essence to restore the skin's pH, and then you can use the face serum. It is important to remember that the face serum should never be applied alone because it is not enough to protect the skin, and therefore the cream is the essential next step.

Just a few drops of serum and 10 seconds are enough to achieve significant benefits depending on the chosen serum, whether it is a facial serum or a eye contour serum, which is more specific for the thinner skin layer in this area. Why apply cream after serum? Because this way a protective barrier is created and moisture is retained within the skin, which will remain hydrated for a long time, and it enhances the type of treatment you want to perform, thanks to the action and active ingredients present in the cream. 

A tip to follow: it's better to wait until the skin is dry before applying the serum. Between the application of the serum and the cream, it's best to wait a few minutes, at least 2 or 3 minutes. What matters is to ensure that the serum is completely absorbed, perhaps by massaging the skin from the center of the face outward and tapping the skin for better penetration. Each serum and each skin is unique, so it will be up to you to determine when it's time to move on to the cream after applying the serum.

The order in which to do skincare is fixed because the products are formulated to have specific functions and it is up to you to follow the right steps to allow them to work optimally. 

The face cream, finally, will act as a shield for the skin and allows for maintaining hydration and more. Each cream has its active ingredients that penetrate the skin during the day, protecting and stimulating the natural production of collagen.

Finally, it is important to ensure that you also use adequate sun protection all year round to prevent harmful sun rays from damaging the skin layer. The face serum should be applied morning and evening, before the day and night face cream. Be careful not to apply the serum unless you have cleansed your face first.

How to choose a face serum?

The face serum offers several benefits:

• It absorbs quickly, the thinner viscosity allows the serum to be absorbed more easily by the skin. This makes a face serum an ideal first step in the layering process.
• Soothes sensitive skin, the lightweight formulation of the serum is ideal for those who suffer from acne-prone or oily skin. 
• Improves the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, some serums contain specific ingredients to reduce wrinkles, such as retinol or peptides. 
• Protects the skin from free radicals and damage thanks to ingredients like vitamin E, vitamin C, ferulic acid, or others that prevent oxidative damage from ultraviolet light and pollution. 
• Provides more visible results, the higher concentration of active ingredients allows serums to achieve more visible results in less time. 

There are different types of face serums depending on specific needs: anti-aging, for brightening the skin, moisturizing, to combat free radicals, specific for sensitive skin, or repairing.

Often, anti-aging serums are ideal for the evening as the ingredients work through the skin's circadian rhythm and repair deeply. As for anti-pigmentation and brightening serums, it would be best to use them in the morning to protect the skin from sun damage; however, if you have very dry skin, you can use moisturizing serums twice a day.

The specific rule is to adhere to what is recommended by the manufacturers who have carefully assessed how the bioactive principles can bring the maximum benefit to the skin.

How to combine serum and cream?

Serum and cream have, as we have seen, two different roles and specific functions that can be diversified. While being two essential products of the daily routine, the serum and the cream address different needs and can create winner combinations to solve specific issues.

The LeLang Skin Care products are formulated to achieve visible results from the very first applications, but it is important to make the correct combinations and to be persistent over time, following the skincare steps we discussed.

Here are some examples:

• Ferulic + HA serum is ideal for brightening the skin and countering the action of free radicals. It can be paired with a lightweight and protective cream like Nutralight, perfect for enhancing hydration without weighing down, countering skin imperfections, and which, thanks to its lightweight texture, allows for the application of a good sunscreen as well. 
• Vitis Cell Serum from the Uvè line is indicated for an anti-wrinkle action and to reduce the effects of oxidative stress thanks to red vine stem cells. The serum acts deeply on clean skin while the daytime face cream Perlage completes the antioxidant and anti-age effect thanks to hyaluronic acid and amplified argireline. 
• 5 Complex Night Serum is a serum to be applied in the evening to revitalize and repair the skin overnight, paired with an intensive cream like Anti-Age Hyaluronic Advance, an anti-aging face cream with lifting and anti-stress effects.