Shereene IdrissBoard Certified Derm, Founder and Chief Nerd

Retinol Serum Sticks?! #shorts

2 Oct 2023 · 1 min

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0:59

A short YouTube clip (Shereene Idriss) explaining serum sticks: the stick format doesn't inherently improve or reduce product efficacy—it's a matter of preference and sensorial experience. Serum sticks tend to be waxy and oil-based, so oil-soluble actives (e.g., retinols) are a better formulation fit; however, effectiveness depends on retinol type and concentration. Practical benefits noted: travel-friendly, not messy, and useful for targeted application.

Chapters

Serum sticks, does that mean the product works better if it's in a stick? To make a long answer short, no. It all basically boils down to preference and what you prefer in terms of like sensorial experience. Serum sticks in general, as you guys can see, a little bit waxy in nature because they are usually made up of oils and it's easier to get an oil into a stick sort of formula. And so when you're thinking of a serum stick, you want to have oil soluble active ingredients that work best with this type of suspension. And so retinols are oil soluble and so it's going to be a better fit to be in an oil based stick. But at the end of the day, the dose makes the poison, the concentration of the retinol and the type of retinol actually used in this product is what's going to actually dictate how effective it is. So is it better? No. Is it weaker? No. Is it different? Yes. And it honestly just boils down to what do you prefer and what works best for you. But it's fun, easy to travel with, not messy, and actually nice for targeted areas.