8 best polyglutamic acid products that hydrate thirsty skin

Best for: Dry skin

Nothing we’ve ever tried has improved the condition of our dry skin like Oskia’s Isotonic serum. The brand’s products are formulated with bio-available or cellular nutrients and actives that are like nutrition for the skin, helping it be the best version of itself. This serum contains its biomimetic hydra complex – 16 minerals, amino acids and vitamins – as well as a super-hydrating combo of glycerin, glacial water and hyaluronic and polyglutamic acids.

You’ll also find niacinamide, oat ceramides and vitamin B5 in the ingredients list, which all support barrier function, as well as calming bisabolol and horse chestnut. It’s like a week of eating healthy for your skin in one dose.

Best for: Budget

The Inkey List is a relatively new disruptor brand that offers ingredients-focused formulations at affordable prices. Its polyglutamic acid serum is the only product we could find that puts PGA front and centre. While other serums contain PGA with other ingredients, this is a great way to isolate its effects. It’s a thick, clear serum with great slip that immediately relieves dryness and tightness, and leaves skin soft and silky. A great base for make-up.

Best for: Dull skin

Melatonin may be the hormone that helps regulate your sleeping and waking cycle, but applied topically it has been shown to help your body neutralise free radicals and to support the cells that produce collagen and elastin. As well as this ingredient, Zelens’s serum also contains peptide and ceramide complexes, hydrating hyaluronic and polyglutamic acids, niacinamide for clearness and evenness, and a polyhydroxy acid – gluconolactone – for texture, among other things.

It’s an ingredient list that justifies the price. The formulation is light and absorbs beautifully, leaving behind a soft glow, and skin is brighter, smoother and better rested by morning.

Best for: Tired, irritated eyes

This jewel-like little pot contains a light, gel eye cream that’s cooling and relieving on first application; we love it on tired irritated eyes. It uses liposomes, which aren’t an ingredient but rather a delivery system that are tiny lipid sacs that hold ingredients while they penetrate the skin and then release them after the liposome is absorbed. The ingredient list features, of course, glycerin and hyaluronic and polyglutamic acids, for a soft, comfortable and hydrated eye area.

Best for: Mature skin

This, from the Hungarian skincare brand, contains retinal – not a typo, but a vitamin A derivative that requires only one conversion to retinoic acid, meaning it works incredibly quickly on the skin. Also on the ingredients list are bakuchiol, a gentle retinol alternative that helps stimulate collagen production and reduce fine lines, glycerin, hyaluronic acid, jojoba oil and polyglutamic acid. Its sunshine yellow formula spreads thinly and easily, leaving behind a light tackiness, and skin is baby-soft to the touch come morning.

Best for: Midday refresh

We’ve long been sceptical about the use of mists in skincare, as so much product is dispensed into the air rather than directly on to your skin. But we’ve come to love this for a light, refreshing dose of moisture, whether on bare skin or over the top of make-up to refresh it during the day. It has a very fine spray and a mouth-watering watermelon scent, due to the huge concentration of watermelon in the ingredients (84 per cent, top spot in the list), as well as hyaluronic and polyglutamic acids, glycerin, amino acids and pumpkin seed oil.

Best for: Irritation and redness

Contained in this dressing table-worthy bottle are what the brand calls “Charlotte’s magic 8” – a blend of eight peptides, vitamins, aloe vera, hyaluronic acid and flower oils and extracts – plus a brilliant trio of ingredients: vitamin C for clearer, brighter skin; niacinamide to help with even tone and improve the appearance of pores; and, of course, polyglutamic acid. It’s a fairly thin, milky serum that spreads easily and evenly and absorbs leaving no tackiness. Over time, we saw a good reduction in redness and irritation.

Best for: Fine lines

This uses an unusual foaming delivery system so the product immediately feels light and airy on skin. Three different sized molecules of hyaluronic acid combine to offer penetration at different levels of the skin, along with brightening oxygen and, of course, polyglutamic acid. It gives a bright, fresh, plumped-up look to the skin and the appearance of fine lines is reduced. Although on first application it does have a slight shaving-foam smell, this fades quickly.