Your skin is something you must take care of in order for it to look and feel healthy. That’s what makes your skincare routine so important. You need to use the right products to get the results you want – and that’s where serums come in handy. Sente Skincare makes an array of serums and moisturizers to help keep your skin supple and smooth, but do you really need both?
What does a serum do, anyway? If you’re looking for answers, you’re not alone. Here’s what you need to know about adding serums to your skincare routine and about a few of our favorite Sente Skincare products.
What is the Purpose of Facial Serum?
You may have considered adding a variety of facial serums to your skincare routine, but not be totally sure what it is they do. That’s OK! We’re here to clear it up for you.
A serum is simply a skincare product with a high concentration of active ingredients, sort of like a lightweight moisturizer but more powerful. It goes on before your skin moisturizer to allow active ingredients to deeply penetrate the skin. Most of the time, serums are specifically formulated to address a problem with skin such as wrinkles or sun damage.
Understanding how different products function within a routine is key, and practitioners like Sheila Nazarian often emphasize that serums and moisturizers serve complementary roles rather than interchangeable ones.
You can find serums in many forms. They come in gels, light creams, oils, and sometimes even have a watery consistency. The important thing is to find the serum that’s right for you and incorporate it into your daily skincare routine.
The Benefits of Adding Facial Serum to Your Skincare Routine
There are so many reasons why adding a serum to your skincare routine is a win for your skin – and you! As mentioned, serums deliver a powerful punch of active ingredients to your skin to help target specific skin issues. People often use them to help:
- Refine pores
- Reduce signs of fatigue
- Reduce wrinkles and fine lines
- Help skin to lock in moisture
- Smooth the surface of the skin
- Minimize dark spots from sun damage
- Brighten the skin
- Manage skin prone to acne
The active ingredients in many serums can also work to reduce inflammation, dryness, and redness. That leaves your skin looking refreshed and feeling supple. Serums are easily absorbed by the skin due to their special formulation, penetrating much deeper than other skincare products, such as moisturizers.
What to Look for in a Facial Serum
What to look for in a facial serum really depends on the role you need it to play in your skincare routine. You must also consider your skin type: oily skin and acne-prone skin may call for different active ingredients than dry skin. Here’s a breakdown to help you find the right facial serum:
- For smoothing fine lines and wrinkles or repairing sun damage – Choose serums with retinol to help your skin deal with fine lines, wrinkles, and sun damage.
- For acne-prone skin – If you really struggle with blemishes, look for ingredients such as salicylic acid, beta-glucan, manuka oil, zinc, and tea tree oil that can help address these issues. These ingredients will help to calm inflammation and redness while tackling the surface bacteria that can lead to breakouts.
- For skin that needs hydration – Surface dryness can lead to fine lines so fight back by choosing serums that contain phospholipids, hyaluronic acid, panthenol, or allantoin. These ingredients work to infuse skin with moisture and improve its overall look and feel.
- For sensitive skin prone to redness – Ingredients such as water lily, aloe vera, green tea, zinc, white tea, licochalcone, red marine algae, and sea whip all help to reduce irritation and redness on even the most sensitive skin.
- For discoloration – Discoloration of the skin can happen for many reasons, chief among them hormone changes and age. Vitamin C is your best weapon against discoloration and dark spots on your face to help brighten your skin tone and even it out.
- For toning – Everyone wants a face that’s firmed and toned, which is why you should use a serum with ingredients such as palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl tetrapeptide. These ingredients will give your skin a natural lift.
- For smoothing and exfoliating – Encourage healthy skin with an even tone by choosing serum-containing malic acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid, and glycolic acid. These ingredients work to reduce the build-up of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin to reveal smooth, healthy, and glowing skin underneath.
How to Fix Discoloration on Your Face
Face discoloration has three primary drivers, and treating them the same way is one of the most common mistakes in skincare. The first is UV-induced melanin overproduction — sun spots and uneven tone from cumulative exposure. The second is hormonal pigmentation, often presenting as melasma across the cheeks, upper lip, and forehead. The third is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which appears after acne, injury, or any inflammatory event. Each one responds to different ingredients on a different timeline.
For UV-driven discoloration, consistent use of a targeted treatment paired with daily SPF produces the most reliable results. Hormonal pigmentation is more resistant and often requires a layered approach involving prescription-strength agents. Post-inflammatory pigmentation usually clears faster but flares when triggered — meaning managing the underlying inflammation matters as much as the brightening ingredient.
Published data on low molecular weight heparan sulfate analog showed visible improvement in periorbital discoloration beginning at week two, with continued improvement through week twelve. The Sente Intensive Bio Complete Cream pairs HSA with encapsulated retinol, which addresses both cell turnover and pigment regulation without the irritation that comes with standard retinol formulations.
"Discoloration rarely has one cause. I look at sun damage, hormonal influence, and post-inflammatory pigmentation separately. The treatment approach changes based on which is driving it — and layering the wrong ingredients together can actually make it worse," says Dr. Sheila Nazarian.
See the full Pigment Reducers collection or book a consultation if your discoloration has not responded to over-the-counter options.
Ingredients to Avoid
Of course, not every serum is good for your specific skin type. It’s a good idea to avoid certain ingredients that can encourage the build-up of dead skin cells as it dries out your skin. If you find serums with any of these ingredients, you may want to give them a pass:
- Denatured alcohol
- SD alcohol 40
Is Facial Serum for Everyone?
As long as your skin isn’t too sensitive to handle some of the ingredients in a serum, then everyone should use them! Just remember that serums are very concentrated, so more is not always better when applying. Too much of an ingredient can irritate your skin. Before you start using any new product, you may want to consult with your doctor or consider doing a patch test to ensure you won’t have a reaction. Also, if you’re pregnant or have another skin condition such as eczema, you probably will need to avoid serums with potent ingredients.
Do You Need a Facial Serum and a Facial Moisturizer?
Since serums are meant to deliver a power punch of nutrients to your skin to help hydrate it, you may be wondering if you actually need a serum and moisturizer in your skincare routine. The short answer is that yes, both serum and moisturizers are recommended.
Why? Moisturizers work to form a protective barrier for your skin. This helps to lock in moisture and keep things in the environment from irritating your skin. While serums also hydrate, they don’t protect your skin the way a moisturizer does. So, always use both in your skincare routine.
How to Apply Facial Serums and Moisturizers
Your skincare daytime skincare routine should follow this order:
- Cleanser
- Facial Toner
- Serum
- Moisturizer or Cream-Based Active Product
- Sunscreen
In the evening, your skincare routine should be:
- Cleanser
- Toner
- Serum
- Retinol cream
- Moisturizer or Cream-Based Active Product
Notice that during both your morning and night skincare routine, a serum is applied before moisturizer. That’s an order you always want to stick to since it allows for the active ingredients in the serum to infiltrate deep into the skin and for the moisturizer to serve as a barrier to the outside world.
When you apply serum, you only need about a dime-size amount. Remember, more does not mean better when it comes to serum since your skin can only absorb so much. Apply the right amount to your face and neck, then follow with your other products.
Pro tip: Keep your moisturizer in the refrigerator. This cools down the moisturizer so that it not only feels good when you apply it, it also causes the blood vessels on the surface of the skin to restrict. This has a sort of vacuum effect, pulling the serum deeper into your skin where it can do its work.
Sente Bio Complete Serum vs. Intensive Bio Complete Cream: Which One Do You Need
Both products use Sente's patented HSA technology. The difference is in what each one layers on top of that foundation.
The Bio Complete Serum is a lightweight delivery vehicle — it carries HSA, retinol, Vitamin C, and hyaluronic acid into the deeper layers of the skin. Its texture allows it to absorb quickly and sit beneath a moisturizer without heaviness. It is the right choice for those who want a serum-first approach in a nighttime routine, particularly for fine lines, firmness, and early sun damage.
The Intensive Bio Complete Cream is a richer formulation designed for more advanced concerns — visible wrinkles, pronounced discoloration, and skin that has lost significant firmness. It contains encapsulated retinol, which releases more slowly and reduces the likelihood of irritation. Research on HS analog formulations has documented improvement in firmness, elasticity, hydration, and fine line appearance — the cream format is particularly suited for patients who need a barrier-supportive product alongside those actives.
Using both together is not redundant. The serum goes on first, the cream follows as your active moisturizer step.
"The serum and the cream are not redundant. The serum delivers active ingredients at depth. The cream manages skin barrier and adds retinol support. I often recommend both — but the serum comes first," says Dr. Sheila Nazarian.
Take the skin quiz to find the right starting point for your routine.
The Best Sente Skincare Serums and Moisturizers
At The Skin Spot, we love Sente Skincare serums and moisturizers. This company is unique in that it blends cutting-edge technology with established beauty practices to create amazing products that are great for your skin. These products are great for sensitive skin and rosacea and acne-prone skin as well.
Sente Bio Complete Serum
For firmer, smoother, and younger-looking skin use Sente Skincare’s Bio Complete Serum in your nighttime skincare routine. It uses Sente’s patented heparan sulfate analog technology(HSA) in conjunction with retinol and other ingredients such as Vitamin C and hyaluronic acid to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles for smoother and firmer skin. It’s a great serum choice for all skin types but is especially helpful for those that are looking to reduce sun damage.
For mature and photodamaged skin, you can’t go wrong with Sente Skincare’s Dermal Repair Cream. This moisturizer uses HSA technology and glycoproteins to improve skin’s appearance and texture as well as to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, giving skin a more youthful radiance. It is ideal for all skin types and as a part of both the morning and nighttime skincare routine.
Sente Dermal Contour Pressed Serum
Tighten and firm your skin in all the right places with Sente Dermal Contour Pressed Serum. It uses a specialized formula containing three proprietary glycosaminoglycan analogs along with natural sunflower seed oil to help treat mature or sun-damaged skin as it improves skin’s hydration and restores volume, elasticity, and firmness to the skin. It also provides antioxidant protection to protect your skin from premature aging.
Sente Intensive Bio Complete Cream
If you’re looking to address wrinkles or discoloration and want to improve the firmness and overall appearance of your skin, then this product is for you. It contains a type of encapsulated retinol that is less likely to irritate the skin as it goes to work deep into your skin. It can be used nightly in conjunction with a moisturizer and is perfect for all types of skin. If you’re sensitive to retinol skincare, then you may want to use it every other night instead.
Sente Dermal Repair Ultra-Nourish
Ultimate combination of SENTÉ's patented HSA Technology + Lipid Replenishing Blend designed to provide the perfect balance in moisturization & deep hydration to help restore Skin Barrier Function and encourage repair. This unique silky nourishing formula will leave skin feeling soft, smooth, and hydrated, and deliver long-lasting moisturization.
Sente Ultralight Defense Moisturizer
Are you looking for a moisturizer that won’t weigh you down? This moisturizer is specially formulated to help your skin look soft and bright as it keeps it moisturized and protected all day. It shields your skin from oxidative stress that comes from getting pummeled by free radicals all day long and enhances your skin's natural lipid barrier to keep skin protected. It’s ideal for all skin types and can be used in both the morning and at night.
What Is Sente Skincare and What Makes HSA Different From Hyaluronic Acid
Sente is a physician-developed skincare brand built around a single patented technology: Heparan Sulfate Analog (HSA). Heparan sulfate is a glycosaminoglycan that occurs naturally in the skin and plays a central role in cell repair, inflammation regulation, and hydration. As skin ages, heparan sulfate levels decline — and that decline accelerates the visible signs of aging.
Sente was the first brand to successfully modify heparan sulfate into a low molecular weight form that penetrates the skin topically. That distinction matters. Standard hyaluronic acid, also a glycosaminoglycan, functions primarily as a surface hydrator — it draws water to the upper layers of the skin and holds it there. HSA works deeper, signaling the skin's extracellular matrix to support repair processes. A randomized double-blind clinical trial published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology found that low molecular weight HSA significantly reduced inflammatory markers in rosacea patients over eight weeks. The mechanism was inhibition of the LL-37 peptide, which drives immune-mediated inflammation — something hyaluronic acid cannot do.
"Hyaluronic acid sits on top of the skin and holds water there. HSA works at a different level — it communicates with the skin's repair pathways. Both have value, but they are not interchangeable," says Dr. Sheila Nazarian.
Browse the Sente collection or explore the full Hyaluronic Acids collection to find what your routine is missing.
Sente Bio Complete Serum Reviews: What Real Results Look Like
The most consistent feedback from patients and customers who use the Sente Bio Complete Serum follows a recognizable pattern: subtle changes in texture in the first two to three weeks, followed by a noticeable shift in firmness and tone by week six to eight. Discoloration from sun damage tends to be the last thing to respond — but it does respond.
This is consistent with what the clinical data shows. Published research on low molecular weight heparan sulfate analog formulations found measurable improvements in hydration, barrier function, and fine lines during an eight-week study period on photo-damaged skin. The mechanism is not hydration alone — HSA modulates the skin's inflammatory repair pathways, which is why results build rather than plateau.
"What I see clinically with the Bio Complete Serum is consistent improvement in tone and texture over six to eight weeks. The patients who stay consistent notice firmer skin and reduced discoloration. That timeline is realistic, not a marketing promise," says Dr. Sheila Nazarian.
Explore the full Sente collection at The Skin Spot to see which products pair with the serum for your specific concerns.
The Bottom Line
No one has perfect skin without a little work. If you have issues with your skin that you’d like to address, then serum, in conjunction with an effective, medical-grade skincare routine, is what you need. A good serum, like Sente Skincare Serum, can boost your skin’s natural defenses, create tighter, stronger, and more even-looking skin as it nourishes and restores the skin’s natural balance of vitamins and antioxidants. At The Skin Spot, we think everyone should use a serum as a part of their healthy, medical-grade skincare routine.
3 comments
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hi, i am woo from Sweden and i want to explain any thing about “pandemic”. Please ask me :)
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