Recently I was sent a bottle of Herbal Dynamics Hyaluronic Acid 62% Hydrating Serum.  As anyone who reads my skin care reviews knows, I am a huge fan of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) in my skin care products. My skin reacts really well to it.  

I know I have often gone on at length about the benefits of Hyaluronic acid, but as a quick recap, hyaluronic acid plumps skin and helps to erase fine lines.  For me it has also helped reduce the depth and distinction of the line across my forehead that I usually refer to as The Stress Crack. This year has seen it grow quite a bit and I am using every means at my disposal to reduce it.  I doubt anything that is noninvasive will ever actually erase it, but I can work towards making it look more like a surface crack and less like the grand canyon.

Truthfully, The Stress Crack doesn’t bother me all that much, but I do find it is the place where I see the most change in products.  If they work, then it is going to show there first.  So while I may need several months to see a serums effectiveness on the fine lines around my eyes and mouth, if a product is going to do something I can see the start of results on The Stress Crack in only a few weeks. It makes it the perfect litmus test for line shrinking skincare.

For those of you who have never heard of Herbal Dynamics they are, according to their website: Where nature meets science: Paring the finest botanical ingredients with cutting-edge science. Their products are also sulfate free, paraben free, cruelty free and phthalate free.

I recently tried their Cacao and Chamomile Detoxifying Clay mask and absolutely loved it.  The mask pulled deeply buried clogged pores to the surface that I was pretty sure a vacuum couldn’t touch. The link will take you to my full review of that mask actually, if you are interested. It is going to be one I will use for quite some time to come. So you will be hearing about it anytime my skin needs a detox.

But beyond the products they offer, they have their blog.  Oh my darlings, if you are interested in skincare, finding out more about how your skin works, what sorts of foods to eat for your type of skin’s optimal health or about layering different types of serums, I highly recommend checking out The Botanical Blog. It has some amazing information that will really help you make good choices for your skin.

But back to the Hyaluronic Acid 62% Hydrating Serum. I’m sure many of you are thinking, hydrating serum, hmmm, not just Hyaluronic acid then? Good Catch. This isn’t purely Hyaluronic Acid, but before we look into the ingredients, let’s find out what we should expect from the product.

According to the website…

Powerful, proven ingredients in the HD Beauty Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum are carefully combined to promote plump, youthful-looking skin and minimize fine lines. Hyaluronic acid, aloe and botanical extracts hydrate skin on a cellular level and aid the skin’s natural moisture retention process, promoting a healthy glow and elasticity.

Hydrates and plumps to soften fine lines, Soothes and calms irritation, Antioxidants repair and restore, Fights inflammation and redness and Supports radiant, smooth complexion.

Apply to face and neck after cleansing and toner, before moisturizing. Use morning and night.

Full Ingredients List: Aloe barbadensis (Aloe vera) gel*, Hyaluronic acid, Vegetable glycerin, Fucus vesiculosus (Bladderwrack) extract*, Sodium PCA, Anthemis nobilis (Chamomile) flower seed extract*, and Vitis vinifera (Grape) seed extract*.  

*Organic/ All natural / paraben free. Not tested on animals. Made in the U.S.A.

Herbal Dynamics Beauty

Okay so let’s take a deeper look at that ingredient list.  As you can see Hyaluronic acid is the second ingredient listed. I am perfectly fine with that and as we’ve already discussed it is the ingredient that plumps skin and targets fine lines. I’m glad it is so high on the list as it means that it really is included in a high concentration.

So first, up is Aloe Barbadensis or good old Aloe Vera Gel. Aloe Vera and I are long time pals.  Growing up there were always aloe plants around the house and we used them on everything from sunburns to minor skin irritations and even bug bites.  I still keep an aloe plant in my house and have ever since I left home.  Last spring when I got a really bad burn on my legs I used it to slather the burns.  It helped when few other things did. It is a plant that has a boatload of vitamins and minerals and does a fantastic job soothing skin. It is not greasy in the slightest and can generally be used by pretty much all skin types. Clearly if you have an allergy to aloe you can’t use it but anyone else, no matter how sensitive their skin usually can. It is a great plant to have around and a great ingredient to see kick off a skincare product.

Right after the Hyaluronic Acid is listed vegetable glycerin.  As I was not as familiar with it as I am with Aloe I had to look it up.  According to Heathline:

Vegetable glycerin may lead to better skin health by helping soothe skin irritation, protect against infection and promote wound healing. Studies show that applying glycerin-containing products may protect your skin against irritants and microbes, as well as soothe inflamed or wounded skin.

Healthline

I can definitely see the point of having that in this serum

Bladderwrack extract was something I had never even heard of and so I again had to go in search of details. Again I found myself on the Healthline Website.  I’ll be honest it is one of my favorite websites for searches on ingredients.

Early research has shown that the antioxidants in bladderwrack, namely fucoidan, promote collagen synthesis in the skin, which may help improve the look of cellulite, increase skin healing, and delay premature skin aging.

Healthline

Sodium PCA is naturally occurring humectant that boosts the effectiveness of Hyaluronic Acid by pulling in moisture. It actually holds several times its weight in water, and binds moisture to cells. Its kind of like a turbo boost for the hyaluronic acid.

Chamomile flower is something that routinely crops up in skin care as well as my mother’s collection of herbal teas.  At the first sign of a sore throat she broke out the chamomile tea and added a slice of lemon and a drizzle of honey. It was actually quite effective in making a sore throat less sore. It is actually a tie between chamomile and peppermint as the scent of winter in my family house growing up ad both were grown and dried in large batches for use when winter colds hit. While this serum doesn’t use the honey or the lemon, it has chamomile aplenty. Chamomile sooths irritation and calms inflammation and redness. It is what makes it good for both skin and sore throats.

And that brings us to the final ingredient in the list, Vitis vinifera (Grape) seed extract.  Grapeseed extract is another item that crops up in a lot of skincare, especially items designed to target aging. It is a potent antioxidant and is chock a block full of naturally occurring AHAs for a gentle exfoliation and toning.

And that is the ingredients list.  I know, take a second and count it up.  It is only seven ingredients.  However in their own way each of them is quite the powerhouse. It’s like hyaluronic acid joined some sort of skincare gang.  Admittedly, I don’t think it would be a violent gang. It seems like a gang that would encourage a dance off with its rivals and then offer a cleanser and fluffy towels to its opponents at the end of the dance battle.

Leaving skincare gangs aside, I have been using this serum every morning and evening since its arrival which was almost exactly thirty days ago (I think it might be 28).It is an interesting product.

First, it comes in a clear plastic spray bottle and is a clear liquid serum.  I was surprised that the bottle was clear plastic as I would have thought it needed to be kept away from direct sunlight.  I hid the bottle behind my toner so it wasn’t in direct light.  I have no idea if it needs to be kept away from the light but I will say that I really like that I can see the amount of product left in the bottle. That is usually not the case with serums and they often come in dark colored bottles. 

After a month of twice a day use, I am about a third of the way through the bottle. So one of these small $20 bottles will last for three months. That breaks down to about $6.67 per month of use. It is a spray bottle which I really like as it does keep the air away from the product and it makes it easy to dispense. 

I generally found that I needed two pumps for my face each time I used the serum.  So four pumps per day. You can, if you want push the pump down slowly and pump a smaller amount of product instead of pumping all the way down.  So if you found you needed one and a half pumps, for example, that is easy to do with this pump.  It sounds silly to say but I really like being able to decide exactly how much product I want to use.

And you know I sniffed the product as soon as it came out of the pump.  It has no discernable scent. So for all those who dislike scent in their skincare, this might be something to try.  There is no scent at all. 

In the hand, the serum feels like Aloe.  If you have ever used an aloe based product, you know the feeling, it is like a gel that quickly melts into liquid.   When applied to the face at first the two pumps feels like too much product.  However it sinks in fast and leaves your face feeling oddly dry.  Not like it has dried out but like your skin got greedy and cleared out the all you can eat buffet. I thought at first that I needed more and I applied a third pump but the third pump just sat on the skin as my skin was full.  I also thought I might get away with less so I tried one pump and it didn’t feel like enough so I then applied the second pump and my skin was happy again. Your skin might be a little different, but my skin wanted exactly two pumps of product.

I will say that in addition to the semi melting gel feeling, this serum has something else in common with aloe. If you have ever rubbed aloe on damp skin then you are familiar with the way it can momentarily look soapy. This serum does the same thing.  I generally wash my face, dowel it dry and then brush my teeth. That way my skin has time to dry completely.  If there was water on my face (or hands) when I applied the serum then my hands or face would get slightly sudsy before the serum meted in.  That is just the action of water meeting aloe and it fades away quickly.

So what was the result of using the serum twice a day for a month?

I have noticed my skin feels pumper and more hydrated.  Since I am still walking outside for much of my exercise, I am constantly getting slapped around by the winter wind and I really think this serum helped to calm the redness from wind burn. As for The Stress Crack, I can see a lessening in its depth.  It is a minor topographical gorge rather than the Grand Canyon.  Is it gone?  No, but it really wasn’t going to be gone, especially not in a month’s time. 

However after a month of continued use, I can see definite improvement in both it and my fine lines.  I appreciate that. Feel free to zoom in if you want a closer look. I also appreciate the improved hydration and the calming of the redness that this product provides as well. Is it a miracle in a bottle? No, but it is a really good product and one I will continue using because I am sure I will see continued improvement in my skins texture the longer I do use the Herbal Dynamics Beauty Hyaluronic Acid 62% hydrating Serum. It may not cause time to go into full retreat, but it is slowly pushing back the line.

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