The Skin Nerd: Do you have dry skin? Here's one ingredient that will boost hydration

Our moisture reserves can be low this time of the year, but there’s one ingredient that we can rely on to help.

The SKin Nerd's picks for a Dry Jan skin pick-me-up

Who is getting involved with Dry January this month? Each year, many of us resolve to abstain from drinking alcohol for the whole of the first month of the year - whether that’s to rebalance after a festive season of indulgence or just to start the new year feeling fresher. 

Alcohol can have many detrimental effects on the skin including triggering dehydration and inflammation, so it’s a worthy cause whatever the reasons behind it, but all this discussion of dryness has led me to reaffirm an area of yours that should never be left dry – your skin!

Firstly, puns aside, it’s important to understand that dry skin and dehydration are different. Winter weather can contribute to feelings of both (which adds to the confusion), but as a rule, dry skin is a skin type that you are born with, while dehydration is a skin condition that can affect anyone with any skin type. 

Put simply, if you have dry skin, you are lacking sebum (aka oil, the skin’s natural moisturiser) and if your skin is dehydrated, you’re lacking water content.

Winter is a tough time for our skin. When our skin is exposed to environmental aggressors such as harsh weather, our skin barrier can weaken and become more permeable. A compromised skin barrier allows more moisture to escape which leads to dehydration. 

A weakened barrier will also allow external aggressors to enter more easily, which could lead to further issues including sensitivity, irritation and inflammation. Dehydration also occurs more frequently as we get older as our skin’s supply of hyaluronic acid and ceramides starts to deplete from our mid-twenties onwards.

An important thing to consider is to retain our natural moisturising factor and reduce any transepidermal moisture loss. This is important because our natural moisturising factor gives our cells at the stratum corneum their ability to bind with water and is solely responsible for the regulation of water in the superficial areas at the top layer of the skin. 

Unsurprisingly though, the presence of natural moisturising factor is diminished by age and exposure to, or incorrect use of, alkaline products, (this includes heavy soaps, which can be particularly drying on the skin.) To protect against this, ensure that you use skincare products with nourishing ingredients that give hydration back to the skin and keep these levels topped up, such as niacinamide, ceramides, glycerin or hyaluronic acid.

Hyaluronic acid is what I describe as a Rock Star ingredient. It is a humectant which works to draw and anchor water into the upper and lower layers of skin. Hyaluronic acid can be thought of as a water reservoir, as each molecule holds 1000x its weight in water! 

Key benefits include the power to replenish lost moisture and keep the skin hydrated, the ability to plump up ‘drinkles’ (the nerdie term for dehydrated fine lines), the capability to smooth skin texture and it can also help to speed up wound healing. It’s also suitable for every skin type, with results you can see immediately – what's not to love hey? 

Thankfully, our skin’s supply of hyaluronic acid can be “topped up” through topical skincare and so here are my picks for a Dry Jan skin pick-me-up.

Medik8 Hydr8 B5 Liquid Rehydration Serum 

(€52.45, medik8.com)

 This serum contains multiple molecular weights of hyaluronic acid along with vitamin B5 to restore moisture and banish dullness from dehydrated skin. Use daily after cleansing to smooth and plump up the complexion.

Skingredients Skin Veg Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum 

(€55, skingredients.com)

 Award-winning and a skinfluencer favourite, this hero hydrator contains low molecular weight (5kDa) hyaluronic acid to deeply replenish the skin alongside Pro-Collagen Peptide – which has been clinically proven to reduce the depth and appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and those “drinkles” I mentioned earlier. Better still, this has been ocular tested, meaning you can use it around the eye area too.

The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid Serum 

(€9.49, boots.ie) 

A great budget buy which contains 2% multi-molecular hyaluronic acid and 2% Matrixyl 3000™ peptide to deliver hydration across multiple levels of the skin.

ASAP Skincare Super B Complex 

(€66, theskinnerd.com)

 This bestselling serum contains crosslinked hyaluronic acid, which provides five times the moisturising power and 50 times the moisture-retaining properties of traditional hyaluronic acid to boost skin hydration. It also contains another skin hero - niacinamide (Vitamin B3) - to boost collagen production and reduce pigmentation.

IMAGE Skincare Ageless Total Pure Hyaluronic Filler 

(€83.70, imageskincare.ie) 

A truly fabulous serum, this potent formula contains six forms of lower and higher molecular weight hyaluronic acids to rapidly smooth away the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Apply three drops (one to forehead, one to each cheek) and gently smooth it across the face and neck, morning and night.

Nerdie note

Be wary if you are in a dry climate. Hyaluronic acid works by binding moisture from the atmosphere to it and so If there is little to no moisture in the atmosphere, some people find that the moisture in their skin can be drawn out of it. To mitigate this, follow with a moisturiser or additional hydrating serum.