I'm having a love affair with all things Hyaluronic Acid related at the moment. Regular moisturiser just wasn't cutting the mustard - all winter I've had a bizarre dry patch of skin at the top of my nose which is bugging the life out of me.
Even my normal solution of plastering on loads of moisturiser still wasn't sorting out the lizard like skin I was carting around. I am still applying a shedload of moisturiser but I'm either using products that contain Hyaluronic Acid or wearing HA serum underneath.
Hyaluronic Acid is the ultimate quick fix for dehydrated skin (even if you've got oily skin you can still get dehydrated). The Acid part of the name scares the life out of people but relax: this is not an acid at all. Its a glycol that occurs naturally in the body, so its not something anyone will be allergic to. It's basically a humectant that attracts up to 1000 times its own weight in water - your skin will be instantly hydrated and look plumped up and fresher.
Episilk Pure Hyaluronic Acid (€45-€65 30ml)
I was all excited about this. Pure HA! How good could it get? But when I started to use it and read about it I found that the word "pure" here is slightly misleading: pure HA can't be applied to the skin, it needs water so it can spread and be absorbed. But this product is probably as pure as it gets - it contains only two ingredients - HA and de-ionized water. Dampen your face and splash a few drops of the serum onto your palm and pat it into your face and neck to trap the moisture.
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The product itself looks just like water, it feels weirdly like dry water (I know that seems to make no sense but it's the best way I have to describe it) and doesn't activate until moisturiser is applied over the top. To be honest I tried this for about a week and wasn't that impressed. My flaky patches remained flaky and I didn't feel noticeably hydrated. For something that costs this much money I would have expected more.
As they say in Come Dine With Me: TAXIS!
Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Gel (€45- €65 30ml)
Now we're talking. Oddly the extra ingredients seem to make this work much more effectively than the purer version. This is the HA serum that really made a difference and I will go so far as to say I heart it with all of my being. It's clear and quite a liquid gel, but the addition of more skin friendly ingredients combine with the HA to create a serum that my skin absolutely loves and drinks in. Really effective and a pleasure to use. This is the one I'm sticking with.
Have you been trying out HA serums or moisturisers? Which ones do you rate?
READ MORE: we love Indeed Labs Hydraluron and check out the Hyaluronic Acid category.
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Stockists: do a search online for the best prices, they vary considerably.
