Humectants are hygroscopic ingredients, meaning they are able to attract and retain water molecules from their surrounding environment.

Humectants are commonly found in moisturizers and other hydrating skincare products. However, there are a few caveats about when to use and when to avoid using humectants in your skincare routine.

Find out more about how humectants work, examples of humectant ingredients, and when to use them here.

To find out if humectant moisturizers are right for you,

Humectant moisturizers grab water and bind it to the skin's surface.

They can temporarily plump fine lines and wrinkles and give skin a dewy glow.

Here are examples of humectant moisturizers:

Hyaluronic acid serums are the best humectant moisturizers.

Humectants work to hydrate and temporarily plump your skin by drawing in moisture from either the deeper layers of your skin to the surface or from humid air to your skin. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a great example of a humectant — HA molecules can bind to and retain up to 1,000 times their molecular weight in water!

However, if you are in a dry climate where there is little moisture in the air available for humectants to pull into your skin, using a humectant on its own can actually cause dryness. This is because the humectant ingredients will absorb water molecules from the deeper layers of your skin and pull them onto the surface, where they can eventually evaporate. To prevent this, pair humectant ingredients with occlusive ingredients, which act as a physical barrier between your skin and the outside environment, thus sealing moisture inside.

Humectants are also a type of emollient, which smooth and soften the skin. During the desquamation process, when new skin cells push old, flaky skin cells from the surface of your skin, emollients like humectants help to smooth the rough edges of these flaky cells to create a smoother and more uniform appearance.

There are two types of humectant ingredients: natural and synthetic. Both types can be found in a wide array of skincare and personal care products, including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hair products, lip balms, and soaps. The specific humectant ingredients that are chosen for use in a given product depend on many factors, including the purpose of the product, how the humectants will interact with other ingredients, and others.

The 3 most commonly used humectants in moisturizers are:

1. Hyaluronic acid
2. Glycerin
3. Aloe vera

Glycerin is a particularly interesting humectant (to me), because it is one of the only ingredients used in skin care that is capable of traveling through the aquapourin channels between skin cells. This ability allows glycerin to hydrate hard to reach layers and cells in the skin that other humectants could simply never reach. 

Another interesting fact about glycerin is that it is the primary humectant component of honey!

Some common naturally-derived humectant ingredients include:

Hyaluronic acid

Aloe vera

Honey

Glycerin

Alpha hydroxy acids, such as glycolic, lactic, and phytic acids

Examples of common man-made humectants include:

Urea

Heparan sulfate analog

Propylene glycol

Gluconolactone

No coconut oil is considered an occlusive ingredient.

Coconut is also comedogenic.meaning it clogs pores!

Coconut oil does hydrate the skin, but not because it soaks water towards itself. Instead, coconut oil has saturated fatty acids that prevent water from evaporating off of the skin, while simultaneously providing a small concentration of unsaturated fatty acids which are capable of repairing the skin barrier.

Squalane is an oily substance that is an example of an occlusive ingredient.

Squalane and squalene are not humectants. They are considered emollients.

Emollient is a fancy way of saying it makes things look shiny!

Humectants make excellent ingredients in moisturizers, cleansers, and other hydrating skincare products. If you are a dry Baumann Skin Type, use products that pair humectants and occlusives to both draw in moisture and keep it sealed within your skin rather than evaporating into the air through a process known as transepidermal water loss (TEWL).

If you have very dry skin or struggle with conditions like eczema that cause itching and flaking, use a barrier repair moisturizer that contains ceramides, fatty acids, and cholesterol. These are lipids (fats) that your skin naturally produces on its own to maintain a properly functioning skin barrier. However, if your skin does not produce enough of these lipids in the proper ratio, your skin barrier will be damaged and will not be as effective at holding onto moisture as it should be.

The best way to know if you need a humectant moisturizer is to shop by your Baumann Skin Tyoe.

In some specific instances, humectants should be avoided or limited.

If you live in a dry climate and have dry skin. In this case, humectants should always be paired with occlusive ingredients like argan oil, jojoba oil, or beeswax to ensure your skin does not lose moisture. Using humectants on their own in a dry climate can worsen dryness and flaking.

When using eye creams to diminish puffiness. Under-eye puffiness is caused by fluid retention in that area. You do not want to use humectants in this instance, as these ingredients will draw in more moisture and make puffiness worse.

When using lip balm. Look for a lip balm that contains a mixture of humectant and occlusive ingredients — not humectants on their own. Lip balms that contain only humectants can cause your lips to become “addicted” to lip balm, as these ingredients will actually dry your lips out over time, causing you to continuously reapply the product to pull in more moisture.

Humectant ingredients have temporary results and do not repair a damaged skin barrier.

Humectants are useful hydrating ingredients that are generally best used in conjunction with occlusive agents to not only draw in moisture but also seal it within your skin.

To find the best skin care routine for your skin type- match your skin care products to your Baumann Skin type