Expert aesthetician, Jennifer Adell, gave valuable lessons on how to layer Clara’s New York serums and creams.
Layering is applying layers of ingredients in a specific order to give your skin the nutrients it needs to ✨glow✨ Clara’s New York is an aesthetician favorite for layering because we have simple, single ingredient serums and creams that make layering easy to do!
Click HERE to watch a sneak peak of our lesson! And check out some Q&As below that Jennifer has shared with us.
Q: Why is layering so popular?
A: K-Beauty brought more popularity to layering our skincare and people love the idea of flooding their skin with ingredient rich active ingredients to target skin concerns.
Q: What is layering important?
A: If you don’t apply your skincare products in the right order you could prevent them from being fully-absorbed, which means they won’t be as effective.”
While it may seem like it doesn’t matter what goes on first, the order makes a difference in how your skin handles what you feed it.
Q: What are the most important skincare ingredients to layer?
A: Many people don’t realize that some ingredients when layered together can cancel each other out or worse – cause harmful skin reactions. The best partnerships are ingredients like hyaluronic acid, vitamin c, peptides, collagen with exfoliating ingredients like aha and bha’s. Retinol can be used with all of these with the exception of vitamin c and exfoliating acids.
Q: What is the difference between a serum and a moisturizer?
A: Serums are active ingredients that target a specific concern and are designed to penetrate the skin. This happens quickly because they are not diluted with moisturizing agents. After applying a serum you rarely have anything remaining on the skin after application. A little goes a long way.
Moisturizers on the other hand lock in hydration, create a physical barrier and help the skin retain moisture. They have larger molecules which means they don’t penetrate as deeply as serums. Moisturizers can be incredibly simple to chock full of anti-aging ingredients like peptides, squalene, ceramides which work harder at targeting specific concerns. They are even more effective when paired with result driven serums.
Q: What is the difference between water based and oil-based serums?
A: Water based serums absorb easily into the skin and are often preferred if being used under makeup. Think of hyaluronic acid and vitamin c- both are water soluble meaning they are easily able to pass through the skin barrier. Same is true for certain acids like glycolic or lactic acid.
Oil based serums can add a lot of extra hydration. They can also protect your skin barrier and lock in moisture at the end of a regime. There is a lot of misconception about oil-based serums. They CAN be used on any skin type, including oily to balance out the oil production in skin.
Q: How should we layer?
A: A good rule of thumb is to think of layering from thinnest to thickest. If the goal is the get these active serums deep into our skin we want to maximize each ones efficacy. So applying them from thinnest to thickest is best. If the serums are the same consistency, then address in order of skin concern. Let each serum absorb before applying the next.
Q: Anything else to know about layering?
A: A tip I share with my clients and audience is to press serums the first serum you apply into the skin rather than rubbing it in. You will not go through your product too quickly this way and also ensure you are leaving room for the next serum or product you are using to penetrate best.
Q: How to store serums?
A: Serums are designed to deliver maximum results in high concentrations. You want to protect the integrity of these actives by keeping them stored in a cool, dry place. If your bathroom is hot , bright and humid I recommend keeping them in the fridge or getting a skincare fridge.
Q: Why are Clara’s New York serums better?
A: Clara’s New York has done and incredible job of taking all the guess work out of how to layer serums. They have high quality, skin specific serums that all work synergistically. They have a road map when purchasing their super six together which lays out exactly how to layer them AM and PM. I find the questions I’m asked the most is around how and when to apply different products. Clara’s lays it out for you in their AM/PM steps but also in the description of each product. You completely understand what the serum is and why you are using it. And what’s so great is after you’ve layered your serums- you have the supporting moisturizers to follow. You can certainly mix up your brands of serums if you want too but what I love about Clara’s is you don’t need too. They have been formulated to work together addressing any skin concern you may have.
