Here’s What You Need for Beautiful, Healthy Skin

It’s an uphill battle to get your complexion looking its best, what with the many skin aggressors we face every day. The secret is in the hydration superpower of this moisturiser.

We’ve all heard the saying: Healthy skin is happy skin. Healthy skin looks fresh and radiant. It has a pretty inner glow, so your cheeks look rosy and your complexion clear. Skin looks plump and even-toned – and doesn’t feel taut, itchy or flaky. It’s the ultimate #skingoal. But obstacles get in the way of healthy skin. Dust and dirt clog pores and irritate sensitive skin. Toggling between Narnia-like air-conditioning and sweltering heat shocks skin, leading to dehydration and breakouts. And sometimes, just one night’s lack of sleep can cause your skin to protest the next morning.

One thing you can easily do to make your skin happier is to give it enough hydration. Water makes up around 60 per cent of skin, says a study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The water is held in the threads of keratin on the skin’s surface, and these threads are embedded among fatty acids and lipids, minimising evaporation.

That’s why a moisturiser is integral to your skincare routine. But not all moisturisers are made equal – some can’t hydrate all parts of your skin. Researchers at Kiehl’s understand this, so when the American apothecary brand set about reformulating its best-selling, cult Ultra Facial Cream – a Kiehl’s No. 1 bestseller globally – improving testing was first on its to-do list.

The brand says different areas of the face are hydrated differently. Some parts are normal, others dry, or even much drier. Standard clinical testing measures only one location on the face, giving an incomplete picture of its hydration needs.

Kiehl’s improved method of testing measures hydration at 60 facial points, from the forehead to the cheeks, jawline and other areas. And it doesn’t just test different parts of the face. The brand has also tested the moisturiser on multiple ethnicities and sensitive skin, and clinically demonstrated that the product is able to hydrate all skin types – from the driest to the most irritable.

Of course, a moisturiser is only as good as its formula and ingredients, which need to get into the skin, stay there to keep moisture in, and work gently. The new Ultra Facial Cream was five years in the making, with the brand discarding 114 previous formulations to ensure that the final product’s texture, application and performance would be perfect.

Kiehl’s has retained its two proven star ingredients from the original formula: glacial glycoprotein and olive-derived squalane. The power couple works to adjust the skin’s natural oilwater balance. Glacial glycoprotein captures moisture from the air for constant hydration, and squalane acts like an oil layer to prevent the captured hydration from escaping.

The tried-andtrue formula is able to plump up, smooth and soften skin with its lightweight cream texture that cocoons the face – even when it’s at its driest and dullest. The new Ultra Facial Cream is twice as hydrating as the previous version, and its hydration, too, lasts up to 24 hours.

Kiehl’s chemists are also aware of the growing concern about parabens and other ingredients that could sensitise skin. The new Ultra Facial Cream is now a cleanbeauty product made without parabens, carbamide (urea) and triethanolamine (a pH balancer). And by end 2019, the brand says, its entire portfolio will be paraben-free.

The new Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream costs $52 for a 50ml tub. A limitededition 125ml size is also available for $95, while stocks last.