Essences 101
as usual, it's all about hydration
Can you please explain essences? When would I use an essence over a toner? Should I use both? So many people with beautiful skin praise essences but I’m not sure where to start.
I’m going to guess that by beautiful skin you mean skin that looks plump, bouncy, and glass like. The secret? Hydration. When your skin is hydrated, it reflects light. And that’s where essences can be supremely helpful, as they provide lightweight layers of hydration. But let’s back up a little. Here are a few key pieces of information that you need to know for this conversation to make sense.
All skin needs a balance of both water and oil to function. Our skin produces its own oil, which correlates to skin types. If you have dry skin, your skin produces less oil, if you have oily skin it produces more oil and so on.
Our skin does not produce its own water, so we need to add it topically (despite what celebrities may lead you to believe, just drinking water is not enough for “good skin”...all of your organs need water.) So, when we say skin is dehydrated, it lacks water.
All skin can be dehydrated and often is, because water is constantly evaporating off the surface of our skin. To prevent this, we need to use products that can attract, retain or trap in water – the exact needs of your skin will vary.
Moisturizers are a mixture of water and oil. Heavier creams have more oil and gels have more water.
We use moisturizers and oils to help trap and retain water, but in order for that to work, there needs to be water to trap in. If you have dry skin and feel like even the thickest creams aren’t helping, that’s because those moisturizers don’t have many humectants to attract water. If you feel like your skin eats your makeup that’s because your skin is taking the water from your makeup. If you have oily skin, your skin actually needs water to regulate oil production. Without it, your skin will produce even more oil to compensate. These are some of the scenarios in which an essence may help.
But what on earth is an essence? We have K-Beauty to thank for the emergence of essences in recent years. They’ve been used in South Korea for ages and are considered an essential skincare step. One of the traditional characteristics of an essence is the presence of fermented ingredients, which breaks ingredients down into smaller components. The most famous is probably SK-II Facial Treatment Essence, whose star ingredient comes from fermented sake.
However, as the skincare category continues to explode, the lines between different products get blurrier. Essences fall somewhere between toners and serums, which is also where they would go if using all 3 in a routine. Traditionally, toners are applied with a cotton pad, rebalancing the pH of your skin, removing excess residue and optimizing absorption of the next products. Serums, also water-based, are concentrated ingredients that can be readily absorbed. Essences are light and watery like a toner, but are applied with your hands and do contain some sort of active ingredient (often fermented, not always), like a serum. The concentration of active ingredients is very low, but overtime can contribute to brightening, plumpness, increased clarity and so on. The specific benefits of an essence can vary, but the overall, most important benefit is deep hydration because the water-like consistency allows it to quickly absorb. Because the primary benefit is fast absorbing hydration, some toners and mists may be used for similar purposes. Don’t get too caught up in the name, just focus on the end result.
The beauty of essences are how light they are, making them such an easy way for all skin types to add in essential hydration without feeling heavy. (Of course, you need to lock that in with some sort of moisturizer.) Their lightness also means that you can use more than one layer for even deeper hydration, still without the risk of feeling heavy or clogged. This method of using multiple layers, often referred to as 7 Skins, is my favorite way to use essences. While I have used up to 7 layers, I tend to stick to 2-3 layers morning and night. Shake a little in your hand, pat into your skin and give a few seconds to absorb. Follow with your serums, moisturizers and sunscreen. You’ll be amazed at how much more hydrated your skin feels and how luminous it looks.
The second benefit of essences is their ability to supplement your serums and other treatment products due to their low concentration of active ingredients. This treatment benefit is more prominent in some essences than others, such as SK-II.
I often like to mix and match essences to fit my skin’s needs. The ritual and intentionality is special. It’s quick but doesn’t feel rushed and I can immediately witness my skin being nourished. If you can’t tell, I’m a huge fan of essences. Here are some I recommend.
MAKE Beauty Micro Ferment Rice Essence – my everyday go-to for hydration and balance. I’ve gone through more bottles of this essence than any other.
Tatcha The Essence – a cult-classic and another long-time favorite for hydration, balance and softening.
Furtuna Micellar Essence – a neat 3-in-1 micellar water, toner and essence. You can use a cotton pad to wipe away or your hands to pat in. (Use JOLDEF for 20% off)
Naturium Alpha Arbutin Essence – the most affordable of the bunch. Alpha Arbutin is a precursor to hydroquinone, so overtime it can also assist with brightening. (For some reason this is no longer available on their site, but you can find it at Target.)
Royal Fern Phytoactive Skin Perfecting Essence – gently exfoliating and pore refining, features their patented Royal Fern Complex to protect against environmental damage. (Use JOLDEF for 20% off)
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence – as mentioned previously, another worldwide favorite and one of the original essences to break through the market. More clarifying than others, but not as heavy on hydrating, so would avoid if particularly dry, sensitive or prone to dehydration (if this is you but you want some exfoliation, try Royal Fern). It also has a noticeable fermented scent, which I personally don’t love.
Then I Met You The Giving Essence – I haven’t tried this personally, but I know it is beloved by many. Has a similar fermented filtrate to SK-II, in addition to niacinamide, red algae and black chokeberry, which give it a slight pink tint. Also has that fermented scent.
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xx,
Jolie
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