It’s almost the time of year when skin starts to feel tight, itchy and dry. To prevent winter’s frigid temps, cranked-up heating and windy conditions from sapping your skin of much-needed moisture, try a hyaluronic acid product. Known for its hydrating capabilities, this unique acid offers a myriad of benefits for all skin types. Read on to discover:

• What is hyaluronic acid?
• What does hyaluronic acid do for skin?
• What are the best hyaluronic acid products?

What is hyaluronic acid?

If you’re not familiar with hyaluronic acid (also known as HA), you might be a bit confused. How can an acid hydrate my skin? Think of this smart ingredient not as an acid but more of a hydrating powerhouse that attracts and binds moisture to the skin. While hyaluronic acid is a polysaccharide (aka sugar) molecule that occurs naturally in the body, it does decrease as we get older, contributing to skin-aging such as wrinkles, fine lines, dryness and sagging skin.

What does hyaluronic acid do for skin?

There are two routes you can take if you want to harness the power of hyaluronic acid to rejuvenate and hydrate your skin, each with varying skin benefits:

Option one: injectable dermal fillers

Injectable hyaluronic acid products such as Juvederm or Restylane use tiny injections to introduce hyaluronic acid just beneath the skin’s surface. These injections help temporarily fill in wrinkles and create volume safely while also improving acne scarring, cheek depressions and lip volume. While injectable hyaluronic acid products are capable of increasing volume by filling in depressed areas, in many ways, they end up moisturizing from within and, ultimately, rejuvenating skin.

Option two: topical hyaluronic acid products

Topical HA products typically come in a cream or serum and while they also help plump the skin and fill fine lines, they primarily work to help attract and bind moisture to the skin for instant hydration benefits.

The best hyaluronic acid products

Most of our topical hyaluronic acid favorites are formulated to pull double-duty and contain the necessary ingredients to hydrate your face, while also protecting, rejuvenating and adding volume to skin. Luckily, we have options for all skin types and some of our staff favorites! Here are a few at the top of our list.

If you want to use a LovelySkin staff favorite, try LovelySkin LUXE Cellular Anti-Aging Peptide Serum.

This advanced anti-aging serum is a recurrent staff favorite for a reason. It not only contains hyaluronic acid to hydrate, firm and plump the skin right where it’s needed most, but it also uses peptides to repair cellular damage and rare Swiss Apple stem cells to protect skin cells and further fill in wrinkles. Finally, Persian Silk Tree extract helps diminish skin fatigue, so your complexion is left nothing sort of glowing and absolutely radiant. Nancy Schlessinger, our Vice President, uses this every night.

If you have dry skin, try SkinMedica HA5 Rejuvenating Hydrator.

This hydrating serum does so much more than simply moisturize dry skin – although it does that very well. It’s packed with five forms of hyaluronic acid to provide up to eight hours of continuous hydration while also helping skin replenish its natural supply of HA. Finally, VITISENSCE technology supports skin’s ability to stay hydrated while a peptide complex promotes collagen production for a plumper, more even and hydrated complexion.

If you’d like to extend injectable hyaluronic acid fillers, try SkinCeuticals Hyaluronic Acid Intensifier Hydrating Serum.

If you want to extend the results of your injectable HA fillers, this intensifying serum is for you. While it’s not a replacement for your moisturizer, this serum helps amplify skin’s natural hyaluronic acid levels by up to 30%. It’s formulated with 1.3% pure hyaluronic acid to bind moisture to the skin, 10% proxylane to defend against water loss, 2% licorice root to address discoloration and 0.2% purple rice extract to help preserve HA content in the skin. It’s ideal for all skin types and, with continued use, it can intensely hydrate the skin while reducing the look of crow’s feet and fine lines.

If you have mature dry skin, try TEOXANE RHA Serum Fundamental Revitalizing Concentrate.

If you’re searching for the richest form of hyaluronic acid out there, look no further. This revitalizing serum is formulated to hydrate and plump even the most mature of complexions with Resilient Hyaluronic Acid (RHA), the richest concentration of HA available. It works by forming a barrier on the skin’s surface to lock in moisture while vitamin B6, zinc, copper and amino acids nourish skin and protect against environmental stress. This is also a favorite of our mature staff, including Dr. Joel Schlessinger's mother.

If you have sensitive skin, try Replenix Hyaluronic Acid Hydration Serum.

Formulated with multiple forms of hyaluronic acid for intense hydration and advanced peptides to promote collagen production, this powerful, yet gentle formula helps bind moisture to the skin while helping maintain skin’s delicate barrier. Finally, it also contains a proprietary blue copper complex to moisturize, condition and reduce excess oil.

If you have oily or combination skin, try PCA SKIN Hyaluronic Acid Boosting Serum.

Formulated with a proprietary HA-Pro Complex that boosts natural hyaluronic acid production for hydrating and anti-aging benefits, this unique formula strengthens skin’s barrier and locks in hydration. Containing hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid for lasting anti-aging benefits, protective ceramides and niacinamide, this hydrating serum helps strengthen the skin barrier while preventing moisture loss.

If you have sun-damaged skin, try StriVectin Advanced Acid Hyaluronic Dual-Response Serum.

If your skin is dry and also showing signs of sun damage, this moisturizing serum is a must-have. The dual-chamber treatment features two formulas for multiple skin benefits. The first chamber contains six forms of hyaluronic acid to instantly hydrate and soften the complexion while plumping and softening fine lines. The second chamber contains a potent blend of NIA-114, a patented form of vitamin B3, which contains peptides and lipids to address sun damage while improving skin’s barrier function.

Which hyaluronic acid product do you always keep in rotation? Let us know in the comments below!