When it comes to skincare there is a secret weapon that isn’t talked about enough - face serums! What are they? Why should you include one in your skincare routine? And what are the best face serums for women over 50? Let’s get started!
Face serum is the one thing every women over 50 must have in her skincare routine.
Firstly, one thing a face serum isn’t is an alternative to a good moisturiser! That is a commonly held myth when it comes to skincare. You should be using a face serum in addition to, not instead of, your daily moisturiser. So what are face serums?
Simply, they are a concentrated treatment that can give your skin a targeted boost of nutrients and active ingredients. So we’re talking about skin care powerhouses like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C, retinol, peptides… just to name a few! Serums deliver these active ingredients to the skin in a concentrated formula, often being able to penetrate deeper than amoisturiser or facial oil can because of their molecular structure. They have much smaller molecules so when they are applied to the skin directly they can penetrate deep into the skin for maximum benefit. This makes serums a great targeted treatment - sometimes this can also mean you use a serum for a specific period of time, as the active ingredients can degrade over time so aren’t as potent.
As your skin ages it naturally changes. This is due to a number of factors, not least a change in hormones. Menopause and the natural ageing process changes how your skin works. Your cell turnover rate slows, your elastin and collagen levels drop and your skin can experience new skin concerns, due to a change in hormones. All of this can leave your skin looking dull and saggy, with excess oil or dry patches and not renewing itself at the same rate it once did. Wrinkles and fine lines can appear, which can also be more pronounced due to lowering collagen levels and dehydrated skin.
All of this is why face serums are so important for women over 50. Face serums are the ideal way to get a boost of skin ingredients to tackle some of the common issues facing your skin as you age. There is no reason your skin can’t look remarkable as you get older - providing you are giving it the right ingredients to thrive!
It can feel daunting - being faced with a wide range of face serums and not knowing which would be best for your unique skin. So we wanted to give you a starting point. Here are the top 6 serums we found for different skin concerns. While there may be eye catching serums that promise to ‘turn back the clock’ with miraculous anti-ageing properties, at Jersey Beauty we know the best serums are those that actually target specific skin concerns and offer ingredients with proven benefits for healthy, happy skin!
A common skin issue for women over 50 is dry skin, whether this is all over the face or in patches. Dry skin occurs when your skin lacks oil. The lipid barrier is a barrier made up of skin cells and lipids (skin oil) that protects the deeper layers of skin from pollutants and irritants, whilst also locking in moisture and goodness. When there is a lack of oil being produced by the skin, this can cause the barrier to be damaged, which can lead to flaky or irritated dry patches on the skin. Hormone changes can lead to lessening oil production.
To treat dry skin, you need a face serum that helps to repair the lipid barrier and also to provide intensive moisture to the skin.
Guinot Serum Nutri Cellulaire is our favourite serum for dry skin. It has pro-ceramides which help to repair the skin’s lipid barrier. Lipids are made of ceramides so this serum is able to fortify the skin barrier whilst at the same time providing moisture. That’s because it has a powerful combination of mango butter, shea butter and macadamia oil, which are easily absorbed into the skin’s layers to rebuild moisture. It is great for reconditioning the skin - with Omega 3 and Omega 6s which strengthen and protect the skin and Vitamin E to protect against free radical damage.
It can be easy to confuse dry and dehydrated skin. Whilst dry skin lacks oil, dehydrated skin lacks water - which means it needs different ingredients for a boost to skin health. Dry and dehydrated skin often go hand in hand, especially for women in their 50s. This is because an impaired skin barrier allows water loss from the skin. This often happens overnight in a process called transepidermal water loss. The result is that skin can look hollow and saggy, wrinkles and lines appear deeper and the skin be rough and dull in tone and texture. A serum is a great way to give your skin a boost of hydration, as its molecules are small enough to penetrate into the deeper layers, delivering and locking in moisture.
Evolve Organic Beauty Hyaluronic Serum is our favourite choice for a hydrating face serum. As its name suggests, it has hyaluronic serum, which is widely known as a brilliant ingredient for hydration. That’s because it holds up to a thousand times its weight in water and can get deep into the skin’s layers. It also works to promote the production of collagen which helps to plump up tired and dehydrated skin for a healthy radiant glow. To help guard against future water loss, this serum also has pomegranate extract, which works to strengthen the cell membrane, locking in the newly gained moisture for lasting skin health. This serum is a great example of how these targeted treatment can hold a much higher concentration of an active ingredient - this one has 200mg of hyaluronic acid - for a much needed hydrating boost.
So you can probably google anti-ageing serum and come up with a ton of suggestions of miracle products. But the key to choosing the right serum to treat lines and wrinkles is to know what causes them and the active ingredients that really work. So as your skin ages, your cell turnover rate lowers, as does your skin’s collagen and elastin production - that’s the stuff that keeps your skin plump and taut. The result is that in your 50s your skin can start to have lines and wrinkles, as the skin loses its elasticity and ability to snap back into place. Whilst this is natural, you can use some ingredients to slow this process and to ensure that your skin is healthy and renewing itself.
Dermalogica Overnight Repair Serum is our favourite face serum for dealing with lines and wrinkles, because it has a unique AGE Smart formula that targets the causes of skin ageing. AGE Smart works by impacting the main biochemical reactions that produce the signs of skin ageing. The three are:
Overnight Repair Serum has peptides that help to stimulate collagen production, which in turns helps to plump up the skin and fight deepening lines and wrinkles. It also has argan oil which is packed full of omega fatty acids and has antioxidant properties, which make it good for repairing the skin’s structure and stimulating cell growth. Rose oil also helps with cellular regeneration and also has calming and soothing properties.
There is a common myth that says younger skin is brighter. The truth is you can have bright skin at any age - it’s a sign of healthy skin. It is also true that when you are younger, your cell turnover rate is quicker and your skin demasquation process, that’s the process of getting rid of dead skin cells, is often quicker. So when you reach your 50s your skin may need some extra help to stay bright and healthy. That’s where a serum can come in. Once you have exfoliated, using a serum with active ingredients for skin radiance can help to achieve that much desired youthful glow!
Dermalogica Biolumin C Serum is our favourite face serum for brighter skin. It is the perfect example of how a serum can deliver active ingredients in a more concentrated form than other skin care products. Vitamin C is great for brightening skin - it has powerful antioxidant properties and can also help with skin tone and dealing with hyperpigmentation. The problem is that Vitamin C often degrades as soon as it reaches the air, which means by the time it is absorbed into the skin, there’s not much of its potency left to act.
Biolumin C Serum has two new generation forms of Vitamin C that are in an ultra stable complex. This means that they are able to penetrate deep into the skin and retain their potency. Vitamin C also boosts your collagen production and is combined with Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5, a designer peptide that can work to retrain your collagen to reduce skin sagging. Vitamin C is not just great for skin health but also works to even skin tone, reducing hyperpigmentation and age spots, to give an overall brighter complexion.
Your skin is exposed to the sun everyday, whether it looks sunny or not. The long term effects of UV rays on your skin can start to show in your younger years but when you reach your 50s, this is often more pronounced. This is because your cells are slower to reproduce and so hyperpigmentation and cell damage has more physically obvious effects on the skin. This may result in uneven skin tone and what is commonly known as age spots - areas where the skin has produced more melanin in reaction to sun exposure.
Dermalogica PowerBright Dark Spot Serum fades dark spots to bright with noticeable results in just a few days. Light-diffusing technology begins to balance the appearance of uneven pigmentation after one use, and continues working over time with potent Niacinamide and Hexylresorcinol to help fade dark spots. Skin care powerhouse Shiitake Mushroom – rich in beta glucans – brightens skin, while adaptogenic Ashwagandha smoothes and delivers antioxidant benefits. Black Currant Oil and Peony Flower help boost skin’s natural luminosity. Skin-shielding actives help protect against pollution-induced dark spots.
When it comes to treating your skin in your 50s, dealing with signs of ageing and treating your specific skin type, face serums are a great addition to your skincare routine. The potent ingredients in facial serums can give a targeted boost because of their high concentration. You should use a serum before your moisturiser but they aren’t a replacement for your daily moisturiser. It’s important to not mix the serum and moisturiser as this could lessen the impact of both products and can cause issues for sensitive skin. Using one then the other ensures maximum benefit from the active ingredients.
Visit Jersey Beauty Company’s website to shop for your favourite serums and to find even more choice for your specific skin concerns:
