14 of the best hydrating serums to get skin looking plump and smooth
Just like your body needs water, your face needs a hydrating serum. We selected the best for every skin type and need
Any products in this article have been selected editorially however if you buy something we mention, we may earn commission.
Skin feeling particularly parched after the summer? Thankfully, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to quick relief in the shape of a hydrating serum. Designed to replenish water, as opposed to oils, in the skin, it’s one of those skincare products that is absolutely universal. That’s because every skin, including the oiliest skin types, will be dehydrated at one time or another, and in need of something that will trap precious H2O in your dermis.
For dry skin types, these drops of long-lasting moisture are a brilliant and often necessary boost under moisturiser: they add a fast-absorbing layer of hydration that is locked in by any cream for all-day comfort. You can even top a hydrating serum with an anti-ageing one (like a vitamin C or peptide serum) before topping with moisturiser. The hydrating serum will help you age-defying serum penetrate better for faster and more visible results.
For oily skins, a hydrating serum may be all that’s required, keeping moisture levels topped up and perhaps adding some barrier-boosting ingredients without adding any more oil. There are even hydrating, oil-free SPF serums available, so you never have to go with skin’s two greatest requirements: moisture and UV protection.
What’s in a hydrating serum?
A good hydrating serum will major on humectants: molecules that trap and hold water in the skin’s top layers. Famously, hyaluronic acid can hold 1000x its weight in water, but there are many brilliant humectants that all have slightly different USPs, and a good hydrating serum will have a number of them. Examples are glycerin, panthenol, urea, sorbitol, propylene glycol and aloe vera.
Because pouring water into a leaky sieve is inefficient, many hydrating serums will also have barrier repair ingredients such as ceramides, cholesterol, essential fatty acids, lactobacillus ferment and ectoin. Non-oily yet able to help plug gaps in a damaged lipid barrier, these make your serum work harder and help calm skin that’s irritated through a lack of moisture and protection.
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ingredients are another oft-seen edition, to create an all-over skin health-boosting hydrator. But whatever the mix of ingredients, these serums are always super-lightweight, non-greasy and ultra-absorbent. Here are the best quenchers of the lot.
The best hydrating serums for every want and need
For quick-fix hydration:
Straightforward and light, these viscous, unscented drops (double your dose for very dry skin) have all the gold-standard ingredients for a serum that hydrates while supporting your skin barrier.
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Best for oily skin:
CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum, £23
More of a gel-cream than a liquid serum, it’s unscented and has soothing panthenol alongside other humectants and ceramides. Possibly a bit too light for very dry skin.
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The instant-glow serum:
Allies of Skin Beta-Glucan & Resveratrol Advanced Hydrating Serum, £84.00
Milky and pearly, this leaves skin aglow, calm and deeply hydrated thanks to hefty doses of antioxidant resveratrol and carnosine, healing ceramides and soothing beta-glucan.
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For pigment-busting hydration:
Anua 7+ Rice Ceramide Hydrating Barrier Serum, £24
Has pigmentation-fighting ingredients, honey for nourishment and rice for barrier-support in a clear, unscented, liquid texture sinks in instantly but leaves skin soft.
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The fast-soothing hydrating serum:
The Inkey List Ectoin Hydro-Barrier Serum, £15
Another liquid-y gel-cream, this leaves skin feeling smooth and silky and is powered by ectoin, which aside from supporting the skin barrier has fast-acting soothing powers to leave severely dehydrated, irritated skin calm and comforted. As with all Inkey List products it’s designed for sensitive skins so is unscented.
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The one-and-done SPF hydrating serum:
Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Moist Sun Serum SPF50+, £17
A gel with ‘active’ bubbles that melt into skin, this leaves skin feeling and looking juicy but not oily while shielding it with a serious broad-spectrum UV protection complex. There goes another excuse not to wear daily sunscreen.
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For everlasting moisture:
Tursian P-3 Ultimate Hydration Serum Concentrate, £125
This has an uncommonly high concentration of active ingredients that quench, repair and protect, including stem cells, restorative plant extracts and ten peptides, and explains the price tag. The bright colour comes from the algae and botanicals and unlike some other hydrating serum, the moisture hit really lasts.
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Best for rosacea and redness:
Sensilis skin Rescue [Serum SOS], £44
This clear, scented serum hydrates instantly, calms in half and hour and promises to push back redness and rosacea by 20 per cent in a month, thanks to a complex of proven soothing agents.
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The bronzing hydrating serum:
Self Glow by James Read First Light TT Serum, £32
A liquid, silky texture that immediately smooths, hydrates (thanks to three weights of hyaluronic acid) and leaves a subtle bronzed glow, it then goes to work on retaining moisture in the skin while developing and gentle tan thanks to plant-based DHA. Quite the multitasker.
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The plumping hydrating serum:
La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum, £45
Rich in glycerin and panthenol (the more fashionable hyaluronic acid is in there as well), this clear, scented serum gives immediate plumpness that even somewhat smooths fine lines for a bit.
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The plant-powered brightening hydrator:
Wildsmith Radiance Light Serum, £85
Milky and silky, this relies on proven complexion brighteners like niacinamide and a host of biodynamically grown plant extracts to do away with dullness while infusing skin with moisture and a gentle botanical scent.
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For multi-level hydration:
Belif Super Drops multi-7 Hyaluronic Hydrating Serum, £26
Has no less than seven types of hyaluronic acid to not just hydrate the skin surface, but quench deeply as well in order for the moisture to last. Scented with essential oil extracts, it also has barrier boosters and herbal actives.
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Best for eczema-prone skin:
E45 Hydrating Facial Serum for Dry and Sensitive Skin, £16.99
A thick-ish, unscented gel, this relies heavily on algae to hydrate and soothe. There’s a mild stickiness at first, pointing to a formula that will have more staying power than others, but it eventually sinks in well and leaves no residue. Effective even for very dry and eczema-prone skin
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The healing hydrating serum:
Paula’s Choice 7% Ectoin Booster, £43
Another ectoin bomb with a hydrating blend of squalane, jojoba seed oil and humectants, this comforting milky hydrating serum (‘7 per cent Ectoin Milky Hydrating Serum’ is what it is called on retail sites despite that not being the name on the pack – very confusing) is a great choice for dry skins in need of some healing and TLC.
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