MECCA COSMETICA Hyaluronic Acid Hydration Serum Review

The concept of a purely hydrating serum didn’t really exist until hyaluronic acid became the ingredient du jour in, if memory serves, 2018. As so often happens in the beauty world, suddenly an ingredient takes hold of our collective conscience and we all became instantly and utterly obsessed. In the case of hyaluronic acid, it seemed that the obsession was for good reason – it is true that the HA molecule holds 1,000 times its weight in water, which sounds like the ultimate in hydration, right? Well, kind of.

Though HA is not an acid in the usual exfoliating skincare definition, it is still not an ingredient every skin can tolerate. (Mine certainly can’t when my barrier is compromised, and in those circumstances applying almost any HA serum will instantly make my skin sting.) it can also sometimes do such a good job of drawing in surrounding water that, if not formulated correctly, it will need to be applied before or after certain carefully considered products to ensure you don’t end up with skin more dehydrated than you started with.

So no, it is not the be all and end all when it comes to hydration, despite what we are often told. Old fashioned and unsexy ingredients like glycerin and squalane are excellent hydration helpers and much more well-tolerated, and thankfully started being ‘re-recognised’ when HA ushered in the overall excitement about skin hydration.

Ultimately, whether HA is worth using on your skin really does depend on the formula. Unfortunately, just looking at a product’s ingredients list doesn’t always tell us how well the product works, so hydrating serums are a bit of a minefield of trial and error.  Annoying as it may seem, a lot of these types of serums are going to have more impact on general skin health and everyday upkeep than they will be producing actual visible results… but I am happy to report I have found one that does. And, at $55, it’s not at the tippy top end of skincare spending, either.

Allow me to suggest Mecca Cosmetica’s Hyaluronic Acid Hydration Serum. It contains three forms of hyaluronic acid, each of which works via a slightly different mechanism to attract and bind water to the skin. What makes this formula more exciting, though, is that the second ingredient after the standard water is niacinamide. Unlike HA, in my book, this is an ingredient to get properly excited about. Also known as vitamin B3, this powerhouse strengthens skin’s barrier, is a powerful antioxidant, helps skin retain appropriate water and oil levels and also reduces inflammation.

And the serum itself? Housed in a blush pink glass dropper bottle, the clever formula glides on in a pleasingly silky-not-silicony way. As soon as it makes contact with the skin, it feels instantly hydrating (though not in that infuriating way where it sinks in immediately and disappears, as many HA serums do) and never irritates. Best of all, as soon as I apply it, my skin looks and feels plumper; an effect that increases with continued use and one I missed when the bottle eventually ran dry. This is a real winner.

Product sample/purchase info:

Mecca Cosmetica Hyaluronic Acid Hydration Serum received as gift with purchase. Available to purchase at Mecca (link here)