Can someone tell me once and for all the difference between a face oil and a serum, and if can only afford one, which is best?

[NoveltySlippers]

I have searched for this but I can't seem to find a definitive answer. I just want to do the usual thing (slow the March of time, maintain moisture).

Thanks!

This is all I'm trying to say: You can choose to use both but there is no need to. Despite all the hype and the fancy little bottles, both products do the same job.
In my opinion of course

No idea what the difference between a serum and oil is and have never tried a serum but I find that pure rose hip oil does wonders.

I agree with Squoosh - moisturiser on top - it doesn't need to penetrate the skin in my book it's just there to seal in the oils and balm ... I use Ren rose moisture defence oil or Balance Me radiance face oil AND Clarins blue orchid oil, and then neals yard rose balm...... Finally some moisturiser on top to seal it all in. My skin is the best it has ever been..... I always double cleanse with balm ...

I eat loads of oils too, plus lots of veg (not so much fruit because of the sugar) and of course lots of water.

Different things work for different people. I get hellish skin problems from oils and creams - cystic acne and major scarring. A water-based serum is acne neutral and just right for me, just enough moisture without clogged pores. For someone else, coconut or almond oil is the right answer to everything.

Cosmetics are marketed with lots of pseudoscience. Basically, what is in fashion and sells is also heavily marketed: if we buy more jars, someone is turning a profit. Serums come with claims that they contain vitamins and trace minerals and whatnot but it's questionable whether they are absorbed (if they were able to enter the bloodstream, you would basically be dealing with a drug with all ensuing regulation and testing involved). I do not believe the the claims about promoting skin growth. A serum just plumps up a bith the top layer of my skin. A light gel of water, alcohol and silicones is a great base for makeup and my skin seems worse if I skip the base layer. I like mineral makeup, but it seems to cause milia if I don't prep my face with something. The water soluble base layer seems to prevent this and makes it easier to remove the makeup as the pores are filled with serum and just a tiny bit of mineral clay...

I usually use a serum - my morning routine is to cleanse with a Clarisonic and then use a serum, eye cream and moisturiser. If I have more time I use a moisturizing mask instead, the sort that doesn't need to be removed but takes 10 to 15 minutes to sink in. The mask gives better results (=more glowing and better moisturised skin) but I don't alway have time.

OP, I feel the moisturizer seals in the oil so that my pillowcase doesn't get all the benefits . Grapeseed has all sorts of salubrious antioxidants and clarifying properties but it's a dry oil (astringent properties) so a moisturizer is a must for me. You MIT not need it if you're a youngster and/or have very oily skin.

I was wondering about getting a serum recently but I was put off when I checked the ingredients of about a dozen serums in Boots and the Body Shop. The main ingredient in all of them was silicone and I'm not a big fan of silicone in skin products.

I'm sticking with oil. I've got a nice Decleor one. It's too oily for daytime but it's good for nighttime.

So when your skins feels all nice and soft, is that actually the silicone?
Is it in other beauty products too?

Yeah, the silicone gives that silky feel and I think it diffuses light, thus blurring imperfections. It's the ingredient that makes primers work. A serum with silicone can double as a primer. At least Olay Regenerist daytime serum works that way.

I've tried a lot of different products in the last couple of years - trying to create a skincare routine that works for me.

I really like the Olay Regenerist serum and also use Hydraluron. None of the others (I've bought cheap and used samples of expensive ones but never invested) have made an appreciable difference for me.

I've tried 2 oils: Body Shop Vit E serum in oil and Clarins Blue Orchid oil. My skin looks wonderful using these. I'm now actually considering switching to some kind of supermarket cooking oil to see if that has a similar effect!

So in my sample size of 1, oils better than serums.

With a serum I always needed a moisturiser to help my dry and dehydrated, late 30s skin. With an oil I don't need extra although usually do during the day to add some SPF. Never add a night moisturiser.

The PP who asked about oils making you oilier? You need one for dry skin (I think that's what you said you had). It should actually help with the spots. IIRC spots are caused by your skin making too much oil which may be because you're using the wrong product and stripping your dry skin of its natural oils. Something like the body shop vitamin e oil may help as that's for dry skin.

Thanks, Fabulassie so what you're feeling is actually just a layer of silicone on the surface of your skin. Eww. And I suppose it's in foundation too....

Jeez I was sceptical before this thread but I'm even more so now.

Well personally I love silicones.

Silicone are in the majority of beauty products, I assumed everyone knew this. Looks at the ingredients list on your shampoo bottle. Anything that ends in '-cone' is a silicone.

Well I hadn't realised and like I said, I'd always thought I was pretty sceptical!

Why do you love them, Sqoosh? I'm not having a pop, I'm just curious.

FGS...my post was meant to say might not MIT. iPad has been possessed lately .

I don't understand why anyone would have a blanket thing against silicones in skin products. I have heard some people say that they break out if they use such products, but I think that's true of any and every skin care product or cosmetic. (Read the reviews on boots.com or makeup alley: a product can have two dozen rave reviews and then someone says it breaks them out.)

Silicone is a good medium for many cosmetics and moisturisers.

www.paulaschoice.com/cosmetic-ingredient-dictionary/definition/silicone

I just find silicones quite drying on my skin and I don't like the texture. I also avoid silicones in hair products because I follow the curly girl method. Silicones really weigh down and dry out curly hair.

The first line of that link nails why I feel uncomfortable: 'It feels like silk'. That's what sells the product, only it's not your skin or your hair that feels silky, it's a layer of silicone. In the meantime, your face could be going to hell in a handcart.

I've been using products on my face for 40 years, since I was 18 so I'm not averse to smoke and mirrors - I just think we should be clear that this is all it is. It's not nourishing your skin at all.

All I know is that my skin has improved dramatically since using serums to counteract dehydration. I will continue to use them as I notice the benefit as you no doubt will continue to tell me I'm wrong.

I like silicones in shampoo, can't stand silicone-free shampoo, makes my hair look like crap. I like having soft shiny hair. Love silicone primers, makes my makeup stay in place all day. Love silicone in foundation, mineral foundations on the other hand generally look awful.

Huzzah for silicone.

Silicone is the medium for the other ingredients. If skin can be "nourished" through topical applications of anything, then there's no reason that silicone will impede that.

So if you had red, dry, spotty bumpy skin...I know I sound a right catch!
What would you use on your skin? Since Liz Earle makes my skin angrier than ever these days?

I would stop cleansing for a few days.
Just water, unless you wear tons of make up.
My skin usually clears in a few days.

I personally have and use a la Roche posay calming serum or a Clarins one, but I can't promise they will work for you.
The French pharmacie brands are usually a safe bet.

Squoosh if I've offended you, I'm sorry. I said at the start that these were my personal opinions and I would be totally out of order to tell you you're wrong.

If I seem like a dog at a bone it's because I've had bad experiences with beauty products and came pretty close to wrecking my skin. It's a lot better now but very sensitive and I have to be really careful what products or brands I use. It's left me with a very low opinion of the beauty industry. I basically don't believe a word they say. That's where I'm coming from.

Marmalade when my skin flares up I keep it as simple as possible and use oil for all cleansing and moisturising. Not face oil just something from the grocery shelves e.g. almond, olive, wheatgerm or coconut oil. In fact this is what I use a lot of the time as I find it works as well as any fancy product.

Aargh have missed so much of this thread! Had guests this week and getting two mins to myself for mumsnetting impossible!

Thanks all for contributions. Have we come to a conclusion?

It seems that serums do just sit on the skin but some people like what they do to the surface, albeit temporarily.

Flo I really empathise. I have very tempermental skin myself - but only in the hormonal chin area and while I use oil everywhere else on my face can't bring myself to put any on my chin in case something awful happens

Hmm..... Just did some googling and found this:

m.huffpost.com/us/entry/1747283

Not oil vs serums, but oil vs moisturisers, and says a very interesting thing about moisturisers containing wax (not a good thing), in comparison with oils.