As relaxing as skincare can be, there are times when things get a little confusing, especially when it comes to the blurry lines between day and night products.
There are day creams and night creams, and then to complicate matters, you will get conflicting information from experts and influencers on the importance of these labels.
However, we’re here to help clear up the confusion around day and night skin care, starting with night serums.
Why should you use overnight serums?
In order to understand the importance of using a serum at night, it helps to understand the roles of day and night care.
Day care is all about protecting your skin from the sun and the elements; this means it’s important to use an SPF and layer it with an antioxidant serum to fight free radicals.
Meanwhile, the evening hours are devoted to repair and recovery. While you’re sleeping soundly, your skin is working hard, as cell turnover is at its peak right now, it’s the perfect time to use a serum. When you use a serum with effective ingredients that target your skin concerns, you’re seriously enjoying your rest period.
Plus, the evening hours are great for using some actives that you wouldn’t want to use during the day. For example, retinol can work wonders for cell turnover, but it can make skin prone to sun damage.
Which serum is the best for the night?
Now that we see why it is so useful to use a serum at night, you may be wondering: what is the best serum for my face?
There’s no shortage of options when it comes to nighttime serums, and luckily, you don’t have to use just one!
However, it is important to choose your night serum with intention. After all, what works for your best friend or favorite influencer won’t necessarily work for you.
That being said, there are go-to ingredients that are definitely worth considering. For example, retinol is a powerful anti-aging and clarifying agent, while vitamin C at night can work wonders for collagen production. There are also ingredients like rice, green tea, and even cucumber, which help soften and renew the skin while you rest.
You do not know where to start ? Do not worry! Read on to discover our list of the 10 best serums to use for the night, depending on your skin issues and concerns.
The best serums for the night, according to your skin
Best Night Serum to Target Dullness
As most skin experts will tell you, moderate exfoliation can do wonders for dull, dry skin.
Exfoliation involves gently removing the outermost layer of skin, which helps reveal glowing skin from underneath. When we talk about exfoliation, we tend to discuss chemical and physical varieties. In recent years, however, enzyme exfoliation is becoming increasingly popular.
Typically used in facial spas, enzyme exfoliation involves fruit-derived enzymes. These enzymes digest keratinocytes in the outer layer of your skin without damaging the barrier, which can help smooth skin texture, brighten skin tone, and improve skin permeability for better product absorption.
Our brand new 10% Fruit Acid Apple Enzyme Resurfacing Serum is a replenishing serum with skin brightening licorice, kojic acid from sake (fermented rice), alpha hydroxy acid from sugar, beet lactic acid and fruit enzymes from pineapple, green apple, citrus and papaya. .
These incredible radiance-enhancing actives work together to:
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Brighten and even skin tone, lighten scars and dark spots
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Accelerates cell turnover to smooth out bumps and scales for super soft, smooth skin and,
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Minimize the appearance of pores.
Best night serum for mature skin
As we age, our skin benefits more from extra hydration. So why not try a face oil as one of your night serums? Facial oils can do wonders for hydrating the skin and retaining moisture; If you plan to use several different serums at night, be sure to either use your face oil after your serums and before your moisturizer, or mix it into your moisturizer.
We love the luxurious feel of this
Evening Primrose Oil + Green Tea Algae Retinol
from MARA, which contains a potent combination of retinol, seaweed and green tea to help boost hydration, brighten skin and promote a fresh, plumped look.
Best Night Serum for Hydration
Too often, hydration is one of those priorities that we leave on the back burner in favor of powerful active ingredients like retinol and niacinamide.
However, hydration is one of the most important factors for a healthy skin barrier, so be sure to use a hydrating serum at night!
Our Water Locking Serum Watermelon Cucumber hydrates, plumps and smoothes skin with watermelon and cucumber, while hyaluronic acid and polyglutamic acids soothe and lock in moisture.
Best Night Serum with Antioxidants
Antioxidants have gained some serious recognition in recent years, particularly for the way they fight free radicals. Thanks to this function, it has been shown in studies like
this one
that antioxidants can play a major role in preventing aging and wrinkles.
A well-balanced antioxidant serum is a great addition to your nighttime skincare routine; especially one like our PM Potent Multi-Vitamin + Antioxidant Serum which is made with highly stable Niacinamide and Vitamin C.
Best Anti-Aging Night Serum
There is a huge range of ingredients that can help maintain a youthful glow, but one of our absolute favorites is epigallocatechin (EGCG).
As a key phytonutrient in green tea, EGCG has been
shown to help delay the signs of agingincluding sun damage, fine lines and wrinkles, sagging skin and age spots.
Our Concentrated Green Tea EGCG Serum contains green tea extract combined with a powerful dose of EGCG, making it an excellent nighttime serum.
Best Night Serum for Deep Wrinkles
While retinol is often hailed as the queen of anti-aging, there are ingredients that can further boost its effectiveness, especially when it comes to targeting deep wrinkles.
For an anti-aging evening serum, we love Alpyn Beauty
Wild Nettle & Niacinamide Firming Serum. Made with wild nettle, niacinamide, and a plant-derived form of retinol called rambutan, this serum works like an anti-aging cocktail for all skin types.
Best Night Serum for Irritated Skin
For a particularly soothing and gentle ingredient that further boosts your glow, rice is one of the best options out there. With its skin softening, brightening and moisturizing properties, it’s no wonder it’s been used in oriental skincare for centuries.
What’s better than rice in skincare? Fermented rice!
Fermented rice is highly concentrated in amino acids, minerals, enzymes, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) and vitamins which can nourish and brighten the skin.
A fantastic source of fermented rice is sake, which we feature in our Fermented Rice Water Serum.
Best Night Serum With Retinol
As mentioned before, retinol is one of the most effective ingredients you can have in your serum at night.
But with so many retinol serums on the market, it’s hard to cut through the noise and find one that works for you.
Finding the perfect retinol serum for your skin can involve some trial and error, but one of our favorites is the
STEM CELLULAR Retinol Anti-Wrinkle Night Serum
by Juice Beauty.
This serum contains retinol of plant origin, as well as evening primrose oil. The accompanying ingredients in this serum make it particularly moisturizing, so it is incredibly gentle. We love how it glides on skin – it’s the perfect night serum for an evening of self-care.
Best Luxury Night Serum
Let’s face it: there are a lot of expensive skincare products out there, and not all of them are as effective as we’d hope.
Sometimes, though, you stumble upon a skincare gem — the kind that gives you an instant glow, like RANAVAT’S
Radiant Rani Illuminating Botanical Serum. This dermatologist-tested serum contains saffron, the world’s most precious spice.
With its powerful blend of antioxidants, this night serum will leave your skin with a red carpet glow that lasts, while fighting free radical damage.
Best Night Serum for Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a time full of changes, and some of these changes can happen to your skin. While we would all love to have clear, glowing skin during pregnancy, cystic acne and melasma are extremely common issues before and after childbirth.
On top of that, you also cannot use retinol while pregnant.
Luckily, azelaic acid makes a great pregnancy-safe alternative, and at Versine
Clarity Cream-Serum Mild Actives + Azelaic Acidthis powerful yet gentle active works to target common skin conditions during pregnancy.
