Why you should be adding a serum to your routine!

No matter what type of skin you have, there IS a serum for you..

Acne/scarred/oily/sensitive = a serum that will balance out the oil and help to heal the scarring..

Normal/Maintenance (lucky duck!) = a serum that can continue to feed your skin and give it what it needs as we age for it to keep producing the good stuff!

Mature, dry skin = a serum that can help correct the microbiome, pH and provide some much needed hydration.

It's great to cleanse and moisturise morning and night as this is the basis for a good, healthy skin structure.. but what after..?

Serums are designed to enrich the skin from what it has lost during the day - from the harsh weather, to the pollution it has absorbed and then to the internal stress we put it under (because mental stress also causes changes in our skin)

In order for your skin to be able to protect AND replenish itself, the ingredients in your serum are absolutely crucial. If you're already using a serum, ask yourself these questions:

1. Have I seen a difference in my skin since I started using it?

2. Does it have a LOT of ingredients in it?

The BEST serums, no matter the skin type will have a higher ratio of plant-based ingredients to non plant-based. Non plant-based ingredients are still a little necessary in some formulations as it helps to stabilise the plant-based ingredients - otherwise, they would go rancid and potentially cause irritation to the skin. (This is where 'brand transparency' comes into play so you know exactly what you're buying!)

So, which ones should I be looking for?

Acne/scarred/oily/sensitive skin:

If you have this type of skin (at the moment!), you must be using a product that rebalances the oil and therefore cell function in your skin. You want something that is anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial & anti-viral. It could be a gel or an oil. Yes, we said oil! As an ex-oily/acne skin sufferer 8years ago, I (Krystle) would have scoffed at the idea of putting oil on my already oily skin, so I can see your jaw-drop from here! BUT, the reason your skin is spurting out so much oil is because something you're using is stripping the natural oils from your skin and its only reaction is to replenish the NATURAL oil it needs, so it comes back 10-fold. This is where the 'oily skin, harsh cleanser' roller coaster starts - I know you've been there, I certainly have. You also want ingredients in there that help to heal your scarring, even those red dots that irritate you!

e.g: Cucumber extract, Kakadu plum, Aloe vera extract, Quandong (eyes peeled for how we are about to use this skin-lovin' ingredient in the next few weeks!), carrot seed oil, Seabuckthorn oil. These are just some examples that can help your skin tremendously!

Normal/Maintenance skin:

Firstly, I'm jealous.. secondly, well done on having different wiring through your nervous system where your life stresses don't affect your skin (if this sentence went over your head, it's okay, keep calm.. we'll explain in due course!). Having said this though, as you age, your body will naturally stop producing certain hormones, proteins and enzymes that keep it looking fresh! But, we want to keep it in a state of 'well-ageing', this means it needs to be re-fed as of now. 

e.g: a magnitude of extracts and plant-based ingredients that provide all the necessary vitamins, minerals, protein and enzyme building blocks that you're going to need. A great place to start are the Australian Native botanical extracts such as Kakadu, Lilly Pilly, Quandong & Papaya. They are jam-packed full of these building blocks your skin will need in the future.

Mature/Dry skin:

Mature and dry skin require similar ingredients to each other to help and 'rehydrate' the skin cells (obvs!), but we also need to get it functioning the right way to keep it healthy. We develop fine lines because there isn't enough moisture around the cells and they start to 'crevasse'. You need ingredients that will not only hydrate, but that will feed the skin cells fatty structure to essentially bring it back to life - we usually use more oils here as they penetrate quicker and deeper into the top layers of the skin and will be more readily accepted by the skin cells structure (this is KEY when formulating products & serums!!)

e.g: Pomegranate oil, Sandalwood essential oil, carrot seed oil, hyaluronic acid (temporary fix!). 

One more thing before I end this lengthier than expected blog!

If you're wanting to help your skin on a long-term basis and want to help it THRIVE, not just survive - it is important to understand that harsh chemicals and synthetic acids are not the way to go (we've already discussed this in another blog!). Sure, they get results, but before too long you'll find you'll have to use more and more to get the same effect you did 6 months ago AND eventually your skin WILL start to break down - quicker and harder right in front of your eyes.

Choose 'well-ageing' every time.

Choose clean products you can trust (and not stress about).

Choose products that can be layered and mixed in with your current moisturising regime.

Simple. Simple. Simple!

Krystle + Connie x