The secret to unlocking healthier and younger looking skin
WORDS: RHIANNON DERBYSHIRE
A lot of common skin gripes are actually down to dehydration. Is your skin sagging, or does it feel less elastic? Has it lost its bounce, or does it look dull and dry? Dehydration could be the problem.
While it’s tempting to jump to high-potency retinoids or even fillers at the first signs of wrinkles, we’d recommend incorporating a high-powered hyaluronic acid serum first. A powerhouse hydrator, able to hold 1,000 times its own weight in water, hyaluronic acid (HA) is like a big glass of water for thirsty skin.
HA is generally a friendly ingredient and is unlikely to clash with any active ingredients. This also makes it a brilliant buffer, cushioning your skin from any potential reaction from harsher ingredients like retinol or exfoliants. In short, there’s no downside to incorporating hyaluronic acid into your skincare routine – you’ll have plumper, smoother and generally happier-looking skin just minutes after application.
Complexion booster
While the name is slightly misleading (it has 0.5% HA – the 3% refers to the percentage of actives in the formula), this is a brilliant buy. It’s a booster serum, meaning it can be mixed with your other formulas without clashing.
Simple 3% Hyaluronic Acid + B5 Serum, £7.95, Superdrug
Beauty team favourite
This is a global bestseller for good reason – it works. You can feel your skin drink it up, and it makes an instant difference to wrinkles. While a bit more of an investment, it is the gold standard HA, recommended by experts and loved by every member of our beauty team.
Vichy Minéral 89 Hyaluronic Acid Serum, £27.60, lookfantastic.com
Look out for
DIFFERENT FORMULAS: HA is available in endless skincare options and is even creeping into haircare, but we’d advise using it in a serum. These sink deeper into the skin and have the biggest impact.
POTENCY: Most dermatologists recommend a concentration of 0.5-2% of hyaluronic acid in serums to make them effective. Don’t panic if your buy of choice doesn’t reveal its levels – if you’re noticing your skin looking smoother and plumper, it’s working.
TEXTURE: Some HA serums can feel a little tacky on the skin. While not too noticeable – especially if you follow on with a day cream – some people
