The Best Hydrating Serums for Dehydrated Skin (2024)

Hydration is key to a healthy glowing complexion, and when your skin loses moisture, it loses its radiance too. If you’ve been struggling with dehydrated skin this summer or all year round, we’ve tapped the experts for their favorite hydrating serums for dehydrated skin.

Featured Experts

• Heidi A. Waldorf, MD is a dermatologist in New York
• Joel Schlessinger, MD and Daniel Schlessinger, MD are dermatologists in Omaha, NE
• Nerida Joy is an esthetician and skin-care expert
• Amy Peterson is a medical aesthetician

Who Needs a Hydrating Serum?

Before we jump into the products, it’s important to understand just what hydrating serums are doing for your skin. According to esthetician Nerida Joy, “A dryer skin type needs hydrating serums all year long. For other skin types, a hydrating serum is particularly important in the cooler months, where the elements are harsh, such as snow and wind.Hydrating serums are also important when living in high altitudes where you have clean air (no pollution to filter the suns rays ) and in the dry desert, where humidity is almost non-existent.”

New York dermatologist Heidi A. Waldorf, MD adds that, while you don’t need a hydrating serum per say, they can be very impactful when used properly. “The reason to use a serum is generally to allow layering of products without a heavy feel,” Dr. Waldorf begins. “A serum feels light and works well for layering because it provides a high concentration of active ingredients without occlusives, the ingredients that seal actives in. A moisturizing serum is useful if your skin still feels dry after your current cream or lotion moisturizer but you don’t want the feel of something heavier. Remember, though, you must apply a cream or lotion over the serum to hold in the benefits.”

How Do Hydrating Serums Work?

“Hydrating serums with water-attracting ingredients like hyaluronic acid work by pulling water molecules from the air into the skin,” begins Omaha, NE dermatologist Daniel Schlessinger, MD. “While our body produces its own hyaluronic acid to keep skin hydrated and plump, we make less of it as we age, which in turn, causes skin to be more susceptible to dehydration. By incorporating a hydrating serum with hyaluronic acid or other humectants into your routine, you can replenish some of this lost natural hydration.”

So, if you’ve found your skin to be lacking hydration, plumpness and radiance as you age or just with the turn of seasons, here are some of our experts’ favorite hydrating serums for dehydrated skin to get your complexion back to its nourished, quenched state.

The 7 Best Hydrating Serums for Dehydrated Skin