Last year, I shared my favorite (of all time!) moisturizer with Well+Good readers: Comfort Zone’s Hydramemory Cream. And apparently, y’all were convinced, because the Italian dream cream sold out on multiple sites.
And trust me—I get it. Despite receiving a bounty of free skin-care products to test and review, this is one item I’ve spent my own money on again and again. So now, it brings me great joy to be the first to tell you: This deliciously hydrating, deeply quenching moisturizer just got a major upgrade.
Hydramemory Cream already delivered intense, long-lasting hydration in a sorbet-like texture using macro hyaluronic acid and fair-trade moringa oil. But apparently that wasn’t enough for the wizards over at Comfort Zone, who decided to tweak the formula to target some of the root causes of dehydration. And after using it every day for the past two months, all I have to say is, WOW. Keep reading to find out why.
Why is our skin so dehydrated?
Dehydration, in all its forms, sucks (… if you’ve ever had a hangover, you know exactly what I’m talking about). In the case of your skin, not only can it be painful and uncomfortable, but it can lead to loss of elasticity, acceleration of skin aging, inhibited abilities to recover from skin lesions or rashes, and aesthetically, a loss of that plump, angelic, radiant glow.
There are a number of different factors, both internal and external, that impact your skin’s ability to retain moisture (like the environment, your diet, and your sleeping habits), which explains why nearly 60 percent of people report experiencing dry skin at some point throughout the year. One of the most notable skin stressors though, is shifts in humidity Many of us experience humidity changes throughout the seasons and even the day (like, going from a humid outdoor area to indoor air conditioning or heating), which saps the moisture from our skin.
“Every time we have these microcirculation changes, it’s shocking to the skin,” says Eve Merinville, director of research and development at Comfort Zone. She explains that these climate variations inspired some of the updates to the Hydramemory formulation—because many of us undergo multiple humidity changes per day, it’s important for our moisturizer to help our skin adapt and regulate. Epidermal homeostasis in a jar, so to speak.
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Additionally, stress can have an impact on how well your skin stays quenched. “When you experience regular, consistent, and high levels of stress, the skin produces stress molecules,” says Merinville. “This has a huge impact on the health of your skin—the normal processes are altered, and it disrupts cellular regeneration.”
With the new Hydramemory formula, Comfort Zone is trying to mitigate the effect that all of these stressors have on your skin to allow your body to naturally retain moisture and regain its optimal balance.
How the new Hydramemory Cream targets that dehydration
Though this new and improved formula can’t do away with all of the actual stresses in our lives (can you imagine?!?!), it can help with how they show up on our skin. And, as you’ve probably gleaned, that starts with a whole lot of hydration.
“We have to get hydration right,” says Merinville. “If we do this, it sets the base for wonderful visible results, preventing premature aging, taking a proactive approach to prolonging the youth of our skin.”
It starts with prickly pear grown in Puglia, Italy
The desert plant’s “ability to hold moisture and protect cells in dry environments” was the inspiration for the formula, says Merinville. This extract “binds and clings to water so it does not evaporate out of the skin.”According to the brand’s research, prickly pear extract “increases keratinocytes factor by 39 percent,” thus “improving the health of the skin barrier and its ability to retain water.”
Then comes macro hyaluronic acid and betaine
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is beloved by skin pros for its ability to attract and retain water. With the combined force from sugar beet-derived betaine—which protects cells and regulates their water exchange (hello, adaptability!)—your skin is better able to weather the weather.
Best supporting actor goes to squalene
Taking the formula’s hydrating properties to the next level is squalene. The brand uses a form of the ingredient derived from squalene and olive oil, which according to the band, “mimics and reproduces elements naturally present in the skin to ensure the protection of the skin barrier.” Honorable mention in this category goes to shea butter and glycerine, which add even more moisture to the mix.
What happened when I tried it
The sensory experience
It’s difficult to explain the Hydramemory Cream’s sorbet texture without sounding like I’m exaggerating, but I promise I’m not—it really is that good. Upon application, it feels as though all the cells in your face are taking a deep, refreshing drink of water after wandering through the desert. And can you even imagine anything better on your super-dry skin?!
So what sorcery helps make this cream feel so dang special? “Nature has the ability to do things in a magical way, and we try to reproduce that by combining raw materials in a way that improves the efficacy of absorption with a super-fresh, sorbet-like texture—you can feel it sponging into the skin,” explains Merinville.
In other words, this ‘biomimetic’ texture is designed to replicate the experience of something that happens in nature, and—somehow, miraculously—is even better than before. There’s a bit more heft and fluffiness, delivering additional richness without any extra weight.
The results
According to a trial conducted by the brand, testers saw a ten-time improvement in their skin’s ability to retain water in different weather conditions after using The Hydramemory Rich Sorbet Cream. It also delivers an immediate 70-percent improvement in the skin’s moisture levels. Obviously, I had to try it for myself.
The first time I used it was at the Comfort Zone lab in Puglia, Italy. The team used a high-tech piece of dermatological equipment called a “skin analyzer” to measure the moisture levels of my absolutely-parched skin before and after a facial treatment with the Hydramemory Rich Sorbet Cream. Immediately following application, my skin’s moisture levels improved by about 70-percent—which mirrors the results from the study.
Over the past two months, I’ve used Hydramemory Rich Sorbet Cream every single day so I can give you a real, long-term review.
The biggest takeaway for me is that I’m not uncomfortably dry in between applications. I went from being a bit more dependent on moisturizer to ‘holding my own,’ epidermally, so to speak. More importantly, my skin feels genuinely healthier. It’s really retaining moisture better than before, despite being on seven flights, in different climates, with air conditioning and central heating, humidity, lack of humidity, etc. And this is reflected aesthetically, too. In sum: it’s next-level good, and deserves the same permanent spot in your skin-care routine as it’s earned in mine.
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