The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA: How to Layer

In 1959, Jacobi and colleagues put a name on something skin had been doing quietly for as long as there has been skin. They called it the natural moisturizing factor. It took decades more for skin biologists to work out the twist, which is that the moisturizer is made by the skin itself, largely from the breakdown of a protein called filaggrin in the outer layer. Amino acids, PCA, urea, lactic acid, salts and sugars: the ingredients of your own hydration, listed like a lab report.

That is why I keep coming back to The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA. The brand says it was founded in 2016 by Brandon Truaxe on the idea that skincare should be "effective, honest, and accessible," and this cream is that idea in a tube. Its page lists sodium hyaluronate, arginine, sodium PCA, lactates, glycerin, urea and allantoin. It reads like a biology textbook, not a fairy tale, and the brand says it replenishes the skin's own factors without feeling greasy.

The trick is to choose the texture, not the hero. The Daily Moisturizer with Hyaluronic Acid is the starting point, and the brand says it suits all skin types. Beta Glucan is the lightweight gel, oil-free, for warm weather and oilier faces. The PhytoCeramides Rich Moisturizer is for dry skin, and the Rice Lipids + Ectoin Microemulsion is the other option for dry days. Then the serums: Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 with ceramides, Marine Hyaluronic Moisture Lock and Amino Acids + B5 are the hydrating layers that go under any of them. The Inulin Body Lotion takes the same idea below the neck.

One rule: match the oil to the season, not to your mood. Squalane and the light oils go year-round, and the thicker ones come out when the heating goes on.

The Ordinary's 100% Plant-Derived Squalane is the easiest of the group, a single ingredient you can use on the face, the ends of your hair or a dry elbow. The Cold-Pressed Virgin Marula Oil and the Organic Rose Hip Seed Oil are the two richer oils, and I would use them at night, a few drops warmed between the palms and pressed on. The Multi-Active Delivery Essence for Hydration is the step I would put before any of them.

The Squalane Cleanser is a hydrating makeup remover that feels calm to me, and the Saccharomyces Ferment 30% Milky Toner is the softer kind of toner, a milky one you can pat on after cleansing. The Squalane + Amino Acids Lip Balm is the small one that ends up in every coat pocket. And the Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA Scalp Serum carries the same hydration idea up to the scalp, a part of the routine people forget.

A pairing I like: milky toner, the Multi-Active Essence, then the Daily Moisturizer, then two drops of squalane on the driest patches.

What I would skip: rose hip or marula oil on a humid summer evening. Squalane alone does the job.

Start with your climate, not the shelf. If your skin feels tight in an air-conditioned office, you want a water cream. If it feels tight in a cold apartment, you want a richer cream. The rest is preference.

Gel creams are the light end. DAMDAM's Ginkgo Light & Bouncy Water Cream and S.NATURE's Aqua Squalane are the two I would reach for in a heat wave, and belif's The True Cream Aqua Bomb, with hyaluronic acid and niacinamide, is the plump, springy one. Dezi Skin's Agua Fresca Thirst Quenching Gel-Creme is the one with the funniest name and, honestly, the most fun texture to use. DAMDAM's Mochi Mochi is the more plumping of the two from that brand.

Dermalogica's Pro-Collagen Banking Water Cream and Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Peptide Plumping Gel-Cream both sit toward the treatment end of the moisturizer aisle. innisfree's Vitamin C Brightening Refillable Gel Cream is the one for a morning routine that wants to look brighter, and the refill means one less jar to throw out.

A pairing I like: use a gel cream as your morning moisturizer, and keep a richer one like the PhytoCeramides version for night. Two textures, one routine, and you stop debating in front of the mirror.

What I would skip: a rich cream under makeup in summer. It will slide by lunch.

Try this: apply a hyaluronic serum to damp skin, right out of the shower, and seal it with a cream within a minute. Hyaluronic acid holds water, but it needs some water to hold, and the cream keeps it in.

Glow Recipe's Plum Plump is the one with the best name and a friendly, springy feel. LANEIGE's Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum is the light one for oily or humid weather. Dr. Barbara Sturm's Hyaluronic Serum is the pared back one, and Dermalogica's Circular Hydration Serum is the one to try if you want a simple layer under your cream.

Then the glow. Danessa Myricks's Yummy Skin Glow Serum and MERIT's Great Skin Instant Glow Serum both pair hyaluronic acid with niacinamide, and both are the sort of thing you can wear on their own on a low-key day. Joanna Vargas's Daily Green Hyaluronic Acid Serum is the greenest name on the list, and Dr. Dennis Gross's DermInfusions Fill + Repair adds a repair angle.

A pairing I like: The Ordinary's Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 from the first grid under any of these, then the moisturizer of your choice. You end up with hydration in layers.

What I would skip: piling three hyaluronic serums on dry skin in a dry room. One serum, a cream, and a humidifier will do more.

I think the most persuasive moisturizer is the one whose ingredient list reads like biology. The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA does not need a story. It simply gives your skin more of what it makes anyway.

So I would begin with the Daily Moisturizer, add a gel cream if the weather turns warm, and keep a hyaluronic serum for damp-skin mornings. If your skin runs dry, move up to the PhytoCeramides cream at night. Patch test anything new, as the brand asks, and change one thing at a time. Jacobi named the thing in 1959. You only have to use it. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together BYOMA Moisturizing Gel Cream and What Gel Nails Actually Do To Your Natural Nails.