What it does
Hyaluronic acid pulls water toward the skin surface. Applied to damp skin and sealed with a moisturiser, it makes skin look plumper and smoother almost immediately. That is a real effect and it is also a surface one — it is hydration, not repair.
The common mistake is applying it to bone-dry skin in a dry room with nothing on top. In that situation a humectant can draw moisture out of the deeper layers and leave skin tighter than before. Damp skin, then a cream over it. Always.
Molecular weight marketing ("multi-weight", "low molecular") is mostly noise. Any well-formulated humectant step does the job, and glycerin does much of the same work for a fraction of the price.
In a routine
Layers well with
- Glycerin
- Ceramides
- Niacinamide
- Squalane
