When you think of hydrating skincare products, what’s one of the first things that comes to mind? Were you thinking of a hyaluronic acid serum? Or maybe another hyaluronic acid product? That makes sense! Hyaluronic acid is a popular and well-known ingredient for skin hydration. And for good reason: it draws moisture to the skin and helps it retain that moisture.

But did you know hyaluronic acid isn’t the only ingredient that can hydrate your skin, add moisture, and help it look and feel more plump?
I’ve put together a list of hydrating ingredients that are excellent for softening, calming, and plumping your skin. Look out for these ingredients on your skincare label💧 👀

scrub me secret: A hyaluronic acid molecule holds up to 1000x its weight in water. This is one of the reasons it’s helpful for plumping skin and retaining hydration.

Ecotin

While it’s not a traditional hydrator like hyaluronic acid, Ecotin helps keep hydration in by helping skin maintain a strong, healthy barrier. Skin that is damaged or has a compromised barrier will not retain hydration like healthy, strong skin.
Ecotin is a short-chain amino acid, which technically makes it a peptide. But not the kind of peptides you usually hear about (the ones that help boost collagen and elastin), Ecotin plays a different role. Its main job is to support your skin’s natural barrier by defending against bacteria and unwanted microorganisms. It also helps protect your skin from environmental stressors, like those pesky free radicals floating around in polluted air. You’ll often find ecotin paired with hyaluronic acid, ceramides, or moisturizing ingredients.

Tremella Mushroom Extract

Mushroom extracts have great benefits for the skin. Tremella mushroom extract can hold 500 times its weight in water and can attract moisture to skin cells. This makes it perfect for skin hydration. Unlike hyaluronic acid, tremella mushroom extract contains anti-aging antioxidant properties as well as anti-inflammatory properties.

scrub me secret: In my opinion, reducing inflammation in the skin and body is one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves. Inflammation causes skin issues like redess, rosacea flare-ups, breakouts, and more and it causes various health issues. I love ingredients that are anti-inflammatory.

Beta Glucan

Beta-glucan is a skincare ingredient derived from various sources like yeast, fungi, and oats. It's becoming a popular ingredient in skincare because many are claiming it has better hydration and plumping benefits than hyaluronic acid. This ingredient can attract more moisture to your skin than hyaluronic acid, and it also creates a protective seal that locks in that hydration. Another benefit Beta-glucan has is its anti-inflammatory properties. Which you know I’m all about reducing inflammation for skin health.

Aloe

Aloe is a humectant, meaning it helps reduce the loss of hydration and moisture in the skin. Aloe has a high water content, making it perfect for infusing skin with hydration, and its humectant properties ensure your skin stays hydrated. It’s also a very calming ingredient, so it’s perfect for over-exfoliated, sun-burnt, or sensitized skin.

scrub me secret: How will you know if your skin is over-exfoliated? If your moisturizer burns when you apply it that’s a key sign you have stripped your skin barrier with too many acids, ASTRINGENTS, or physical scrubs. Other signs of over-exfoliation are bumpy feeling skin, skin that itches or burns, flaking or red skin.

Ceremides

Scientifically speaking, ceremides are indispensable lipids that naturally occur in our skin; they play a role in maintaining our skin’s barrier health and soft texture. When applied topically, ceremides help skin retain moisture, and they help to prevent skin damage that causes fine lines, wrinkles, and dehydrated skin. You’ll often find ceremides paired with other hydrating skincare ingredients like ecotin and hyaluronic acid, and mushroom extracts.

4 Of My Current Favorite Hydration Products

💧Well People Hydrating Eye Cream

You know when I saw this $18 eye cream had Tremella mushroom extract in it, I HAD to order. It has a lightweight gel feel, so it’s perfect for my AM skincare routine. This eye cream will hydrate and firm your thin, delicate, dehydrated under-eye skin.

💧Ology Essentials CBD Toner

This has been one of my favorite skincare items for years! You’ll find it listed in many of my past blog posts. Especially the CBD skincare blog post. This toner contains aloe and hyaluronic acid as well as CBD isolate. It’s a bit for viscous than a typical hydrating toner, making it a very hydrating feeling. The way this CBD toner reduces redness and helps heal breakouts is unreal!

scrub me secret: I also LOVE a facial mist. They are perfect for travel, camping, for my gym bag, and on my nightstand. You can mist underneath your hydrating skincare and also mist your skin throughout the day.

💧Indie Lee Daily Vitamin Infusion Serum

Yes, I am in a committed relationship with my Josh Rosebrook Vitamin C Complex; it’s my daily go-to vitamin C serum. But this serum contains vitamin C and ceramides as well as other skin-loving vitamins. This is a great item to layer over my more potent vitamin C serum to add more hydration and moisture to my AM routine. Or if you want, you can use your vitamin C serum in the AM and this Vitamin Infusion Serum in the PM. And a big bonus for those who don’t yet have a vitamin C in their routine but are also looking for a hydrating serum. This could check both boxes!

💧Herbivore Tremella Lotion

Herbivore has been a skincare line I have loved and trusted for many years. I believe this moisturizer is fairly new to their skincare line! It contains the hydrating tremella mushroom extract as well as a vegan hydrating complex that helps moisturize and prevent dehydration. It’s a hydrating but lightweight feel, so it’s great for all skin types.

scrub me secret: Drinking water doesn’t directly CORRELATE to more hydrated skin cells, but getting in our daily hydration does benefit our skin! Read this blog post linked here to find out why drinking water helps our skin look, feel, and function better.

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Beyond Hyaluronic Acid: Hydrating Ingredients Your Skin Will Love