the.com/serum
Skincare's promise of science, sold by the dropperful, absorbed mostly by hope.
means A thin, fast-absorbing liquid used in skincare (or, in its original sense, the clear fluid left after blood clots) that's meant to deliver active ingredients deep into the skin.
from From Latin 'serum,' meaning whey or watery fluid — the thin liquid that separates from milk when it curdles. Latin passed it to biology, where 'serum' became the clear part of blood left after clotting (hence 'blood serum' and vaccines made from it). Skincare borrowed that clinical, laboratory-sounding word in the 20th century to describe its lightweight, concentrated liquids — trading whey for whey-adjacent gravitas.
- etymology
- latin for whey, the watery part of milk
- blood science
- plasma minus clotting factors equals serum
- marketing trick
- smaller bottle, bigger price, feels more potent
- actual potency
- higher active concentration than lotions, usually