Can you use a combination of two serums at the same time?

Serum is one of the care products that can maintain the beauty and health of facial skin. Each type of serum has different active ingredients with their respective uses. When you have multiple skin problems, you can actually use more than one serum. However, can you use a combination of two or more serums at once?

Can you use a combination of two facial serums at once?

Serum is different from moisturizer. According to Dr. Abigail Waldman, lecturer in dermatology at Harvard Medical School, serum formulations are highly concentrated and designed to penetrate the skin quickly.

This makes the serum work quickly and optimally to solve the skin problems you are experiencing. So, can you use a combination of two serums at one time?

Actually this is fine. However, its use cannot be arbitrary. Because each serum contains active ingredients, formulations, and different reactions to the skin.

Carelessly mixing two or more serums, which are also called layering, can irritate sensitive skin.

Therefore, you must know exactly which product to use. The key to using more than one serum at a time is to combine the active ingredients in them.

A safe way to combine serum for many skin problems

Not all serums can be used at the same time. For example, two products that contain acids should not be combined because using them will increase the risk of skin irritation.

Apart from the active ingredients, another thing that needs to be considered is the formulation. A more liquid serum must be used first for complete absorption. Meanwhile, serum that is thicker or contains oil should be used afterwards.

You also should not use more than 3 serum products per use. The reason is, too much product can also make absorption not optimal and the risk of irritation is higher.

The combination of the two serums should be avoided

The serum that is combined must be in accordance with your skin problems. But in principle, pay close attention to the active ingredients. Certain ingredients can cause problems when used together, such as:

Vitamin C and retinol

Vitamin C serum functions as an antioxidant that can help fight skin damage from the sun and pollutants. Apart from that, vitamin C also helps disguise dark spots and stimulates collagen production to reduce fine lines.

Meanwhile, retinol and retinoids are vitamin A derivatives that can disguise brown spots and fine lines. However, these active ingredients can make your skin more sensitive to light.

Vitamin C and retinol only work optimally at different pH levels. Vitamin C is formulated to be at a pH less than 3.5 while retinol works best at pH 5.5 to 6.

Therefore, you should use vitamin C and retinol separately, for example, morning and evening. Do not use a combination of these two serums at one time.

AHA or BHA and retinol

Alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) and beta hydroxy acid (BHA) are compounds used to exfoliate. These two active ingredients are also used to even out facial skin tone.

While retinol is used to treat acne and reduce brown spots, fine lines, and wrinkles.

When used together, these two types of active ingredients can cause extremely dry skin. Very dry skin is not only prone to peeling, but also experiencing redness and irritation.

Therefore, the combination of two sera between AHA and retinol or BHA and retinol is not recommended to be used together. Use one of them alternately in the morning or evening.

Benzoyl peroxide and retinol

Serum containing benzoyl peroxide and retinol should not be used at the same time. This is because the combination of these two products can eliminate the effects of each other.

Also, retinol should not be used with products that contain acids such as vitamin C because it can irritate the skin.