Squalane and hyaluronic acid are two of the most talked-about hydration ingredients, and they are often presented as competitors. They are not. They do different jobs, and understanding the difference is the key to getting through a dry winter with comfortable skin.
What is hyaluronic acid?
Hyaluronic acid is a humectant, a molecule that attracts and binds water. Your skin makes it naturally. In skincare it usually comes in water-based serums, where it draws water into the outer layers of skin and gives an immediate plump, dewy feel.
What is squalane?
Squalane is an emollient, a lipid. Your skin makes a close relative, squalene, as part of its natural sebum, and production slows as you get older, which we cover in your skin makes squalane naturally. Squalane softens skin, smooths texture, and helps slow the loss of water from the surface. Ours is derived from Mediterranean olives.
What is the difference between a humectant and an emollient?
Think of it this way. A humectant brings water in. An emollient helps keep it there.
Hyaluronic acid adds hydration. Squalane protects it. Skin benefits from both, and most well-designed routines include something from each category.
Can hyaluronic acid dry out your skin in winter?
This is the part most people never hear. Humectants pull water from wherever water is available. In humid summer air, that includes the air around you. In the dry air of a heated Canadian home, there is very little moisture to draw from, so a humectant can end up pulling water from deeper in the skin toward the surface, where it evaporates.
Applied on its own and left unsealed, hyaluronic acid can leave skin feeling tighter in winter than before you put it on. If your favourite serum feels great in July and oddly drying in January, this is why.
How to use squalane and hyaluronic acid together
1. Cleanse, and leave your skin slightly damp.
2. Apply your hyaluronic acid serum to damp skin, so it has water to hold onto.
3. Follow with moisturizer if you use one.
4. Press two to three drops of squalane over the top to seal everything in.
The serum brings water to the skin. The squalane keeps it there.
Which is better for dry skin?
If you only want one product for dry winter skin, choose the emollient. A humectant without a seal can work against you in dry air. An emollient pressed onto damp skin holds in the water that is already there, even with no serum underneath.
For oily or combination skin, squalane is one of the lightest options there is. It absorbs quickly, layers well under makeup, and adds lipid support without heaviness.
What about richer oils?
Squalane is the lightest. If your skin needs more in deep winter, richer oils such as marula or argan do the same sealing job with more cushion. Our heating season guide covers how to adjust your routine as the weather turns.
