Video by drwendyaesthetics

Your $92 hyaluronic acid serum could be doing almost nothing for your skin, but keep watching if you want to fix that. Hyaluronic acid or HA is a molecule your skin naturally produces and its role is to bind water and help maintain hydration. And you've probably been told that it hydrates deep in the skin and replaces what you lose as you age. In reality, most HA in skincare works on

the surface by pulling water into the top layer of your skin because the molecules are generally too large to get to the deeper layers. So they stay in the outer layer of the skin where they act like a sponge, drawing in and holding water at the surface, so on dry skin it can sometimes

be unhelpful. So what does the evidence tell us about the consistent use of topical HA? It's being associated with improved skin hydration and elasticity, temporary improvement in fine lines, support of skin barrier recovery, and possible anti-inflammatory effects. But what it can't do is meaningfully stimulate collagen production topically, and its effects are largely superficial.

So you can still use it in your routine, but make sure to use it right after cleansing, seal it in with a moisturizer and keep expectations realistic about what actually supports.