Establishing a skincare routine as a beginner takes time, not just because of the care that should be put into figuring out exactly what products and ingredients your skin needs, but also because of the sheer amount of products on the market. Understanding why a daily cleanser or sunscreen should be a part of your routine is a no brainer, but when your skincare shopping experience involves sifting through dozens of other products like serums, essences, ampoules, and oils, it can be difficult to cut through the noise and figure out what’s best for you.
Serums, essences, ampoules, and oils all sound like they can be used interchangeably to describe products that do more or less of the same thing, but they’re actually all pretty different. If you’ve found yourself looking to expand your skincare routine, but you can’t quite tell the difference between what these four products are, when you should use them, and if you actually need them in the first place, keep reading for a brief breakdown.
What Is a Serum?
Serums are products that have high concentrations of specific ingredients that are meant to treat certain skin concerns. For example, if the primary issue you want to address in your skincare routine is hyperpigmentation or dark spots, you might use a vitamin C serum, since vitamin C is known for brightening. If your goal is to reduce or prevent wrinkles and other signs of aging, you’d reach for a retinol serum or something with peptides. If your skin is dry, dehydrated, or just sensitive to actives, a serum with hyaluronic acid or niacinamide might benefit you. They can also be used to exfoliate and get rid of dead skin and texture, but again, that depends on what you’re looking to address.
Serums are usually applied after a toner or an essence, and more often than not, they have a watery or silky consistency, which is why most of them come packaged in glass bottles with droppers. Their light textures also make it easier for the ingredients to penetrate down into deeper layers of the skin.
How to Choose a Serum
Choosing the right serum mostly depends on what your skin goals are and how your skin behaves. If you don’t know where to start, you can try our Rose PDRN Soothing Serum with Azelaic Acid*. PDRN (or polydeoxyribonucelotide) is the primary ingredient in the viral , serum v s a mpoule,jojoba oil for skin “salmon sperm facial,” and it’s known for hydrating and firming the skin. While it’s typically extracted from salmon and trout DNA, our formula uses a vegan version of the ingredient that’s extracted from the stem cells of the Damascus rose. Azelaic acid is also a primary ingredient in the Soothing Serum, and it can be used to treat a slew of skin issues, namely acne, redness, and inflammation. Other hydrators like sodium PCA, squalane, and panthenol round out the list of ingredients in the serum to keep the skin from becoming dry and irritated by actives.
What Is an Essence?
An essence is a water-based product that’s meant to be applied to the skin right after cleansing. Unlike some serums, essences are often very lightweight and can either be sprayed directly onto your face or applied with your hands. Another key difference between essences and serums is that, as previously mentioned, a serum is often used as a treatment for specific skin concerns while an essence is mainly meant to aid in hydrating the skin. This is why hyaluronic acid and glycerin are the key ingredients in tons of essences you may come across.
How to Choose an Essence
Since essences aren’t necessarily used to “treat” anything, finding one is pretty simple, as you should focus on products that are light in texture and can hydrate the skin. Our Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence*, for example, is a milky formula that practically glides onto the skin and hydrates without leaving behind a sticky or tacky texture once it dries down. It includes ingredients like probiotics, which can moisturize and break down dead skin cells; black rice, which soothes irritation while ensuring that the skin maintains its elasticity (that’s your skin’s ability to bounce back and return to its original shape after being stretched and pulled); and ceramides, which help the skin retain moisture while strengthening your skin barrier. A clinical study concluded that 20 product testers between the ages of 40 and 60 saw a 21% improvement in their skin barriers after two weeks of consistent use.
Just pat it onto your face and neck after cleansing.
What Is an Ampoule?
Ampoules are also similar to serums, but they’re often much more concentrated. These usually come in small glass or plastic packages that are just big enough to be considered one daily dose. In a lot of cases, these are meant to only be used for a certain amount of days to treat specific issues and concerns (think: five ampoules meant to be used for five days straight), but there are also ampoules that can be used daily for an unspecified amount of time.
How to Choose an Ampoule
Much like choosing a serum, choosing an ampoule is also dependent on what you’re hoping to accomplish on your skincare journey. Most ampoules, like our Black Rice Hyaluronic Botanical 2GF*, have anti-aging benefits. This one uses adenosine and plant-based growth factors (EGF and FGF) to stimulate collagen production, which in turn, minimizes the appearance of wrinkles and other signs of aging. Hyaluronic acid, on the other hand, hydrates the skin, since fine lines and wrinkles can appear more prominently on dry skin. Black rice rounds out the ingredient list by helping the skin maintain its elasticity while keeping your moisture barrier in check. You can apply this to your face and neck with your hands after applying toner.
What Is a Facial Oil?
Face oils are products you apply topically, and as the name suggests, they’re oil-based. The concept of putting something oil-based on your skin may sound scary, but it’s not—since they’re usually meant to mimic the consistency of the oil your skin naturally produces, a lot of face oils are non-comedogenic. The goal of most facial oils is to moisturize the skin (specifically skin that’s extremely dry), though some oils can be used for anti-aging purposes while others can be used to treat acne. All that said, oils tend to be a bit thicker than serums, essences, and ampoules, so if you’re going to add one to your routine, you’re better off applying it after you’ve already applied all of your lighter products. If you have oily or combination skin, you could also probably skip applying oil altogether.
How to Choose a Facial Oil
Most face oils are meant to moisturize. Our Black Rice Facial Oil* includes almond and jojoba seed oils to moisturize and soften the skin, while vitamin E reduces signs of aging while protecting the skin from environmental damage. It’s an oil, but it has a light, dry texture that applies easily and doesn’t feel heavy or uncomfortable on the skin. If you want to give yourself a dewy finish, you can use it as the last step in your routine or you can mix it in with your favorite moisturizer to get twice the benefits.
*these products are all available to shop during our Amazon Black Friday sale, your perfect chance to shop more for less
Should I Use a Serum, Essence, Ampoule, or Face Oil?
If you’re attempting to figure out which of the above products you should use, you can start by assessing your current routine and figuring out what your needs are and then go from there. The key is to apply them after cleansing in order from thinnest (essence) to thickest (oil). Good luck!
So, What’s Actually the Difference Between Serums, Essences, Ampoules, and Face Oils?
Establishing a skincare routine as a beginner takes time, not just because of the care that should be put into figuring out exactly what products and ingredients your skin needs, but also because of the sheer amount of products on the market. Understanding why a daily cleanser or sunscreen should be a part of your routine is a no brainer, but when your skincare shopping experience involves sifting through dozens of other products like serums, essences, ampoules, and oils, it can be difficult to cut through the noise and figure out what’s best for you.
Serums, essences, ampoules, and oils all sound like they can be used interchangeably to describe products that do more or less of the same thing, but they’re actually all pretty different. If you’ve found yourself looking to expand your skincare routine, but you can’t quite tell the difference between what these four products are, when you should use them, and if you actually need them in the first place, keep reading for a brief breakdown.
What Is a Serum?
Serums are products that have high concentrations of specific ingredients that are meant to treat certain skin concerns. For example, if the primary issue you want to address in your skincare routine is hyperpigmentation or dark spots, you might use a vitamin C serum, since vitamin C is known for brightening. If your goal is to reduce or prevent wrinkles and other signs of aging, you’d reach for a retinol serum or something with peptides. If your skin is dry, dehydrated, or just sensitive to actives, a serum with hyaluronic acid or niacinamide might benefit you. They can also be used to exfoliate and get rid of dead skin and texture, but again, that depends on what you’re looking to address.
Serums are usually applied after a toner or an essence, and more often than not, they have a watery or silky consistency, which is why most of them come packaged in glass bottles with droppers. Their light textures also make it easier for the ingredients to penetrate down into deeper layers of the skin.
How to Choose a Serum
Choosing the right serum mostly depends on what your skin goals are and how your skin behaves. If you don’t know where to start, you can try our Rose PDRN Soothing Serum with Azelaic Acid*. PDRN (or polydeoxyribonucelotide) is the primary ingredient in the viral , serum v s a mpoule,jojoba oil for skin “salmon sperm facial,” and it’s known for hydrating and firming the skin. While it’s typically extracted from salmon and trout DNA, our formula uses a vegan version of the ingredient that’s extracted from the stem cells of the Damascus rose. Azelaic acid is also a primary ingredient in the Soothing Serum, and it can be used to treat a slew of skin issues, namely acne, redness, and inflammation. Other hydrators like sodium PCA, squalane, and panthenol round out the list of ingredients in the serum to keep the skin from becoming dry and irritated by actives.
What Is an Essence?
An essence is a water-based product that’s meant to be applied to the skin right after cleansing. Unlike some serums, essences are often very lightweight and can either be sprayed directly onto your face or applied with your hands. Another key difference between essences and serums is that, as previously mentioned, a serum is often used as a treatment for specific skin concerns while an essence is mainly meant to aid in hydrating the skin. This is why hyaluronic acid and glycerin are the key ingredients in tons of essences you may come across.
How to Choose an Essence
Since essences aren’t necessarily used to “treat” anything, finding one is pretty simple, as you should focus on products that are light in texture and can hydrate the skin. Our Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence*, for example, is a milky formula that practically glides onto the skin and hydrates without leaving behind a sticky or tacky texture once it dries down. It includes ingredients like probiotics, which can moisturize and break down dead skin cells; black rice, which soothes irritation while ensuring that the skin maintains its elasticity (that’s your skin’s ability to bounce back and return to its original shape after being stretched and pulled); and ceramides, which help the skin retain moisture while strengthening your skin barrier. A clinical study concluded that 20 product testers between the ages of 40 and 60 saw a 21% improvement in their skin barriers after two weeks of consistent use.
Just pat it onto your face and neck after cleansing.
What Is an Ampoule?
Ampoules are also similar to serums, but they’re often much more concentrated. These usually come in small glass or plastic packages that are just big enough to be considered one daily dose. In a lot of cases, these are meant to only be used for a certain amount of days to treat specific issues and concerns (think: five ampoules meant to be used for five days straight), but there are also ampoules that can be used daily for an unspecified amount of time.
How to Choose an Ampoule
Much like choosing a serum, choosing an ampoule is also dependent on what you’re hoping to accomplish on your skincare journey. Most ampoules, like our Black Rice Hyaluronic Botanical 2GF*, have anti-aging benefits. This one uses adenosine and plant-based growth factors (EGF and FGF) to stimulate collagen production, which in turn, minimizes the appearance of wrinkles and other signs of aging. Hyaluronic acid, on the other hand, hydrates the skin, since fine lines and wrinkles can appear more prominently on dry skin. Black rice rounds out the ingredient list by helping the skin maintain its elasticity while keeping your moisture barrier in check. You can apply this to your face and neck with your hands after applying toner.
What Is a Facial Oil?
Face oils are products you apply topically, and as the name suggests, they’re oil-based. The concept of putting something oil-based on your skin may sound scary, but it’s not—since they’re usually meant to mimic the consistency of the oil your skin naturally produces, a lot of face oils are non-comedogenic. The goal of most facial oils is to moisturize the skin (specifically skin that’s extremely dry), though some oils can be used for anti-aging purposes while others can be used to treat acne. All that said, oils tend to be a bit thicker than serums, essences, and ampoules, so if you’re going to add one to your routine, you’re better off applying it after you’ve already applied all of your lighter products. If you have oily or combination skin, you could also probably skip applying oil altogether.
How to Choose a Facial Oil
Most face oils are meant to moisturize. Our Black Rice Facial Oil* includes almond and jojoba seed oils to moisturize and soften the skin, while vitamin E reduces signs of aging while protecting the skin from environmental damage. It’s an oil, but it has a light, dry texture that applies easily and doesn’t feel heavy or uncomfortable on the skin. If you want to give yourself a dewy finish, you can use it as the last step in your routine or you can mix it in with your favorite moisturizer to get twice the benefits.
*these products are all available to shop during our Amazon Black Friday sale, your perfect chance to shop more for less
Should I Use a Serum, Essence, Ampoule, or Face Oil?
If you’re attempting to figure out which of the above products you should use, you can start by assessing your current routine and figuring out what your needs are and then go from there. The key is to apply them after cleansing in order from thinnest (essence) to thickest (oil). Good luck!