Comparing Hydrating serums

[ngochuyen92]

Hi, I've noticed there's a new hydrating serum in your shop, namely Botanical Hydrating Serum. I would love to try it. I live in Europe and my skin usually gets dehydrated. My face is often flaky and my pores are clogged, which leads to breakouts. I'm using Philosophy Purity to cleanse my face twice daily. I thought of changing to a milder cleanser but decided to try a hydrating serum first to see if things get improved. Can you give me a comparison of your hydrating serums?

Thanks a lot

[JenW]

Unfortunately, I can't determine how they will work for you. They all come down to personal choice, and for different reasons.

Before Botanical Hydration Serum: For me personally, I use the Green Tea & Aloe as I have small breakouts from rosacea. I did find the Oatmeal Serum a little more hydrating than GT&A, but it did nothing for my other skin issues. The Rose Serum was plenty hydrating, but the smell was just a bit off-putting for me personally. Since I am scent sensitive, I won't likely use a product that smells funny to me if there are other reasonable alternatives. It was so long ago, that I might try the Rose once again to see if it addresses my current issues better than what I am using. Skin does change as we age.

I do like the Botanical Hydration Serum, but I still use the Green Tea & Aloe, too. It was not a replacement product for me. I use the GT&A for general hydration and to calm my skin (it is very sensitive at this point and getting worse with rosacea). I usually mix a few drops of a high quality oil (Seabuckthorne Seed Oil in my case) with the Botanical Hydration Serum in my hands before applying, and I use it in place of a traditional moisturizer. I guess if I had to pinpoint the difference for how they work for me, the Green Tea & Aloe works better for immediate hydration, and the Botanical Hydration Serum works best for long term. However, if forced to pick one or the other, I would probably go GT&A. So glad I don't have to choose!

Hopefully, more will chime in with their experience. Skincare is so individual. In your case with international shipping, I would buy one of the bigger 2 oz serums (Oatmeal, Rose, or GT&A) and a sample of the Botanical.

[ngochuyen92]

Thank you so much for your answer,

As far as I know, this is the order of the serums when it comes to hydration grade: Botanical-Oatmeal-Rose-Green Tea & Aloe. Can you tell me if I'm right or not? Due to the fact that my skin gets dehydrated easily, I just want to find the most hydrating serum. About other skin issues, I will probably try other kinds of treatment.

You also said the G&A's results were immediate but not long term. Does that mean I will have to reapply it several times during the day?

And if possible, can you help figure out my skin type? I'm not sure about that My skin has somewhat enlarged pores, is acne-prone, get dehydrated and flaky easily, but can also get a little bit oily (which I think due to the dehydration)

I'll really appreciate your help

[JenW]

Your order for level of hydration is correct on average. There is still variation from individual to individual or we would not offer them all. Also, the clogged pores you mentioned would lead me to recommend Green Tea & Aloe.

The issue of GT&A not lasting is mostly just the way I currently use it. Any hydration serum will need some kind of oil/moisturizer counterpart to make it last. Usually, I don't use the GT&A with oil, but I have in the past and it worked well and lasted. Those with oilier skin should consider pairing the hydrating serums with Hemp Moisturizer.

For your skintype, I would say dehydrated oily. There is a chance it will stop over producing oil if you add a hydration serum to your routine. As to the flaking, do you exfoliate? What else do you use in your routine? Flaking can happen from being dry, not well exfoliated, reacting to an ingredient, or being over processed/treated.

I still recommend samples in order that you can really find the one that works best for you.

[ngochuyen92]

Thanks JenW for your reply,

My current routine is:
Cleanser: Philospophy Purity
Hydrator: Clinique Moisture Surge Intense(doesn't seem to last long)
Moisturizer: Trilogy Vital Moisturising Cream
Exfoliator: Alpha Hydrox 12% Souffle(for normal to dry skin - which I ude every night, due to the instructions on their website, does help me with me acnes)
Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (used every other day)
Masks: Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque(1-2 a week)
Korres Yoghurt Moisturising Mask or Dermalogica Multivitamin Masque
Olay Regenerist Microdermabrasion (I use it every 2 weeks)

Can you help me figure out what's right and what's wrong in my routine?

Thanks in advance

[JenW]

I am not sure how to fix it, but the thing that jumps out at me is that you are probably over exfoliating. I know you probably do so because of the flaking. I would probably choose either manual exfoliation or chemical. Manual mostly works on the surface; chemical can work on the surface (AHA products) or the pore (BHA products). I know you are thinking the Alpha Hydrox product is helping with the acne, which it could be, but it is more of a surface exfoliant. For a chemical exfoliant that works on the pores, you need to consider something with BHA (look for salycilic acid or black willow bark extract....our BHA Toner would do the trick every other day at first in the pm, and be sure to use a good sunscreen). Hopefully, the flaking will improve by adding a hydrating serum and going a little easier on the exfoliation.

If anything, I would try to simplify.
Cleanse, Treat, Hydrate, Moisturize.
Treat can include exfoliation or application of actives. Try exfoliating one way or the other every other day and no more. The masks are probably fine as they are.

[ngochuyen92]

Thanks Jenw for being so helpful. I will definitely try the products you've recommended

[ngochuyen92]

By the way, I haven't seen the Oatmeal Serum for a while. Was it taken down to be reformulated? Can you tell me when it's back? I wanna try ordering samples of the hydrating serums to see which will suit me most.

Thanks a lot:)

[JenW]

I am checking on the Oatmeal Serum. It is a holiday in the US today, so hopefully we will know by early Wed.!

[JenW]

Oatmeal Serum is back up!