"In addition to collagen and collagen-boosting peptides, I like hyaluronic acid, which draws moisture from the air and binds 1,000 times its weight at the cellular level, plumping up and tightening the skin," said David Pollock, a beauty chemist who's developed products for brands like Lancome and SkinCeuticals.
He noted that not all hyaluronic acids are equal, though, and that finding a top tier product is imperative.
"A number of brands claim a low molecular weight hyaluronic acid. Typically, that is what we call under 1 million daltons," he said. "This weight forms a film and hydrates the skin from the outer layer. I prefer a multi-molecular hyaluronic acid system, in which different molecule sizes are combined — going as low as the pharmaceutical grade below 10k daltons — so that it can be absorbed deeply within the lower layers of the skin."
Try NIOD's Multi Molecular Hyaluronic Complex ($48).