Your Skin Is Thirstier Than You Think
A love letter to hyaluronic acid, summer skin, and one of my favorite Eminence collections for bringing the glow back.
There is so much I love about summer skin.
The freckles that seem to appear overnight. A little more color in our cheeks. Bare shoulders. Less makeup. That beautiful glow that comes from spending more of our days outside.
But by this point in the summer, our skin has also been through a lot.
We've spent months in the sunshine, heat and humidity. We've been sweating in the garden, swimming in pools, sitting beside the ocean, traveling, layering on sunscreen, moving between ninety-degree afternoons and freezing air-conditioned rooms—and perhaps spending a little more time in the sun than we intended.
I know I have.
If you've followed me for any length of time, you know that during the summer I would much rather be outside than anywhere else. Whether I'm working in my garden for hours or spending a day at the beach with my family, sunshine is one of the things that makes me happiest.
My skin, however, sometimes has a different opinion.
After a long day outside, I can almost immediately feel when my skin needs something more. It can feel tight, depleted and thirsty, and the fine lines around my face suddenly seem a little more noticeable.
And that's usually when I reach for one ingredient in particular:
Hyaluronic acid.
I've personally noticed such a difference in my skin when I'm consistently using hyaluronic acid. My fine lines appear softened, my skin looks plumper, and everything simply feels more hydrated, supple and healthy.
There's a freshness to well-hydrated skin that is difficult to replicate with anything else.
And perhaps that's why I've fallen so in love with the Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Collection from Eminence Organic Skin Care.
Your Skin Can Be Oily and Still Be Thirsty
One of the biggest misconceptions I see as an esthetician is that if your skin feels oily—especially during a hot, humid North Carolina summer—it must already have plenty of moisture.
But oil and water are two different things.
Dry skin is generally lacking oil, while dehydrated skin is lacking water. That means even oily or combination skin can be dehydrated.
Dehydration can leave the skin looking dull or tired. It may feel tight after cleansing, become more sensitive, or make fine lines appear more pronounced.
And summer creates plenty of opportunities for our skin to lose water.
Sun exposure, heat, sweating, chlorine, saltwater, travel and hours spent inside air-conditioned spaces can all leave our skin craving replenishment.
So while we talk constantly about protecting our skin during summer—and SPF is absolutely non-negotiable—we also need to talk about replenishing it.
That's where hyaluronic acid becomes such a beautiful ingredient.
So, What Exactly Is Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic acid has become such a buzzword in skincare that I think sometimes we forget to ask a very basic question:
What actually is it?
First, despite having the word acid in its name, hyaluronic acid isn't an exfoliating acid like glycolic, lactic, or salicylic acid. It isn't there to peel or resurface the skin.
Hyaluronic acid—or HA—is actually a type of sugar molecule called a glycosaminoglycan, and here's the fascinating part: our bodies naturally make it.
It is found throughout the body, including our skin, connective tissues, joints, and eyes. In our skin, HA is an important part of the extracellular matrix—the environment surrounding our skin cells—and plays an important role in maintaining hydration, structure, and that beautiful plumpness we associate with healthy, youthful-looking skin.
In skincare, one of the reasons HA has become so beloved is its incredible relationship with water.
Hyaluronic acid is hygroscopic, meaning it binds water. You may have heard the popular claim that HA can hold "1,000 times its weight in water." Scientific literature does support its extraordinary water-binding ability, although I tend to care less about the impressive number and more about what that actually means when I look in the mirror: hydrated skin appears plumper, smoother, softer, and more luminous.
And this is something I notice dramatically in my own skin.
When my skin becomes dehydrated, suddenly every little line seems more noticeable. My skin can look tired and feel tight, almost as though it has lost some of its bounce. But when I'm consistently using HA and keeping my skin properly hydrated, those dehydration lines appear softened and my skin feels plumper, healthier, and much more supple.
It doesn't mean hyaluronic acid is magically erasing my wrinkles. Instead, I like to think of it as plumping the cushion beneath them with hydration. Topical HA has been studied for its ability to improve skin hydration and the appearance of signs associated with skin aging.
Here's where it gets even more interesting.
Not all hyaluronic acid molecules are the same size.
Think of HA as coming in different molecular weights. Larger HA molecules primarily remain closer to the skin's surface, where they can form a hydrating film and help reduce water loss. Smaller HA molecules can penetrate farther into the outer layers of the skin. That's one reason you'll increasingly see skincare formulas using multiple molecular weights of hyaluronic acid rather than relying on just one.
It's almost like watering a garden.
We don't simply want to splash water across the very top of dry soil and walk away. We want moisture to reach where it's useful, and then we want to create the right conditions to keep that moisture from immediately disappearing.
Our skin isn't exactly the same as soil, of course, but I think it's a beautiful way to visualize what we're trying to accomplish with hydration.
And there's another reason I've become increasingly interested in HA as I've gotten older.
Our skin's relationship with hyaluronic acid changes with age and environmental exposure. Research has linked skin aging and external stressors—including UV exposure—to changes in HA synthesis and degradation. That means hydration becomes something worth paying even more attention to as we move through our forties and beyond.
Maybe that's why I notice such a difference now when my skin is properly hydrated.
At forty, I'm not trying to make my skin look twenty again.
I want it to look like healthy forty-year-old skin.
Plump. Supple. Hydrated. Radiant. Alive.
And for me, hyaluronic acid has become one of those foundational ingredients that helps me get there.
And that's where Eminence gets really interesting.
Because simply putting hyaluronic acid on the front of a bottle doesn't tell us the whole story.
The molecular weight matters. The formulation matters. And the ingredients surrounding the HA matter.
That's one of the reasons I've fallen so in love with Eminence's Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Collection and its Botanical Hyaluronic Acid Complex.
What Makes Eminence's Hyaluronic Acid Collection So Unique?
This is where my esthetician brain gets really excited.
Hyaluronic acid is everywhere in skincare now. You can walk into almost any beauty store and find dozens of serums and moisturizers with HA printed across the front of the bottle. But simply having hyaluronic acid in a formula doesn't tell us the entire story.
The size of the HA molecules matters. The formulation surrounding them matters. And helping the skin hold onto that hydration matters, too.
That's what makes the Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Collection from Eminence Organic Skin Care so interesting to me.
At the heart of the collection is Eminence's Botanical Hyaluronic Acid Complex, which isn't simply one form of hyaluronic acid. It's a combination of multiple molecular weights of HA paired with marshmallow root extract, designed to approach dehydration in several different ways.
Think of it as layers of hydration.
Eminence uses low-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid, which the brand says absorbs into the skin to deliver deeper hydration, alongside medium-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid, which works closer to the surface to hydrate and help lock moisture in.
But perhaps my favorite part is the marshmallow root.
I originally assumed marshmallow root was included simply because it was another beautiful, hydrating botanical. But there's more to the story. Eminence says marshmallow root helps preserve moisture by having a preventative effect on hyaluronidase, an enzyme involved in breaking down hyaluronic acid. In other words, the complex isn't only designed around delivering hydration—it's also formulated to help preserve moisture within the skin.
I think that's such an important distinction.
We're not simply trying to make the skin feel hydrated for an hour after applying a serum. We want to support the skin's moisture barrier and help it hold onto that hydration.
And the rest of the collection builds upon that same philosophy.
Strawberry naturally contains salicylic acid, which Eminence uses for gentle exfoliation and brightening, while rhubarb provides polyphenols to support youthful-looking skin. The Hydrator adds panthenol (vitamin B5) to reinforce hydration and support the moisture barrier, plus plant sugars that Eminence says optimize the skin's moisture reserve. The Serum pairs the HA complex with cica for soothing hydration and moisture-barrier support.
Even the Strawberry Rhubarb Masque—the one I reach for after spending too much time in the garden or at the beach—takes hydration a step further. Along with the Botanical Hyaluronic Acid Complex, it contains shea butter and grape seed oil, which provide emollient moisture and support the skin barrier. So we're attracting water with HA while also surrounding the skin with ingredients that help nourish and support it.
That's what I love about this collection.
It's not just:
Hyaluronic acid = hydration.
It's more like:
Attract moisture. Hydrate at multiple levels. Support the barrier. Help preserve moisture. Gently smooth the skin. And bring back that healthy-looking glow.
And Eminence has some impressive testing behind its newer formulas, too. In an in-vivo study cited by the brand, the Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Hydrator increased hydration for up to 48 hours after a single application, while 98% of participants said their skin felt immediately hydrated.
For me, though, the numbers simply reinforce what I already notice when I use these products consistently.
My skin feels different.
It feels bouncier and more supple. The little dehydration lines that can make my skin look older seem softened. My complexion looks fresher and more luminous. And after those long summer days when I've spent hours sweating in the garden or sitting beside the ocean, the Strawberry Rhubarb Masque feels like giving my skin exactly what it's been asking me for.
Water. Nourishment. And the ability to hold onto both.
And perhaps that's what makes this collection feel so perfectly suited for summer skin.
We spend so much time thinking about what we need to protect our skin from during summer—the sun, heat, chlorine, saltwater and environmental stress—but we don't always think enough about what we need to give back to it afterward.
My Post-Sun Skin Ritual
One product from this collection has become an absolute summer staple in my own bathroom: the Strawberry Rhubarb Masque.
Anytime I've spent a little too long outside—whether I've lost track of time working in the garden or we've been at the beach all day—this is one of the first products I reach for when I get home.
I'll cleanse my skin, apply the masque, and turn it into a little at-home facial ritual.
It feels like exactly what my skin is craving after being outside: replenishment, nourishment and moisture.
The masque combines Eminence's Botanical Hyaluronic Acid Complex with ingredients including strawberry, shea butter and grape seed oil. The result is a creamy treatment designed to replenish dry-looking skin and leave it appearing soft, smooth and hydrated.
And I love the ritual of it just as much as the result.
There's something lovely about coming inside after hours in the sun, washing away the sunscreen and sweat from the day, putting on a hydrating masque, and giving my skin a few quiet minutes of attention.
It's a reminder that skincare doesn't always have to be about correcting something we dislike.
Sometimes it's simply about caring for the skin that has carried us through another beautiful summer day.
Here’s me in Beaufort, NC, just after finishing my morning skincare routine with the Strawberry Rhubarb Collection. No makeup—aside from a little mascara, I think—no filter, no filler, no Botox. Just healthy, hydrated, real 40-year-old skin. Fine lines, freckles, texture and all. And honestly, that’s the kind of glow I’m after these days.
Meet the Strawberry Rhubarb Collection
The Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Collection has become one of my favorite Eminence collections for creating that healthy, juicy, hydrated glow. And while the products work beautifully together, you certainly don't need all of them to benefit.
Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant
This powder exfoliant combines lactic acid with rice, chickpea and oat flours to gently remove buildup and reveal smoother-looking skin. The Botanical Hyaluronic Acid Complex adds hydration, which I love because we're exfoliating without forgetting about moisture.
Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Serum
If dehydration and fine lines are your primary concern, this is the concentrated hydration step I'd reach for. It combines the Botanical Hyaluronic Acid Complex with cica and other ingredients to support hydration and the skin's moisture barrier.
I especially love a hydrating serum underneath moisturizer because we're layering hydration rather than relying on one product to do everything.
My personal summer rescue treatment. It's creamy, nourishing and hydrating and has earned a permanent place in my post-garden and post-beach skincare ritual.
Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Hydrator
This lightweight gel-cream texture makes so much sense for summer when many of us want hydration without a heavy moisturizer. Eminence pairs its HA complex with panthenol and plant sugars to help support the skin's moisture barrier and moisture reserves. In an in-vivo study cited by Eminence, the product increased skin hydration for up to 48 hours after one application.
Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Body Lotion
Because our faces aren't the only skin exposed to summer.
This lightweight lotion brings the collection's hydration philosophy to the body with the Botanical Hyaluronic Acid Complex, panthenol, strawberry and aloe. It's especially lovely for arms, shoulders, décolleté and legs after long summer days outdoors.
Healthy Skin Doesn't Have to Be Perfect Skin
Maybe this is one of the things I've come to appreciate more as I've gotten older.
I'm less interested in chasing perfect skin.
I want healthy skin.
I want skin that is hydrated and resilient. Skin that has texture because real skin has texture. Skin that carries some evidence of the forty years I've lived while still being cared for beautifully.
And yes, I want the glow.
Hyaluronic acid has become one of the ingredients I consistently return to because I can genuinely see and feel the difference when my skin is properly hydrated. It looks fuller. Fine lines appear softer. My complexion feels more supple and comfortable.
It looks healthy.
And that, to me, is what beautiful skin is supposed to look like.
A Little Strawberry Rhubarb at The Tiny Spa
This love for the collection is also why you'll find Strawberry Rhubarb woven into our Summer Seasonal Facial at The Tiny Spa.
After cleansing and exfoliation, we apply the Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Masque as a cooling, hydrating treatment while you receive your hand ritual.
It's one of my favorite moments in the facial.
You've already begun to slow down. Your eyes are closed. Your skin is enveloped in this beautiful masque while your hands and arms are being cared for, and for a little while, there is absolutely nothing you need to do.
Just receive.
Because summer skincare doesn't have to mean aggressively correcting everything the season has done to our skin.
Sometimes our skin is simply asking for water.
For nourishment.
For protection.
For a little extra tenderness after a summer well lived.
So wear the SPF. Put on the hat. Drink your water. Enjoy the garden. Go to the beach. Swim with your children. Let yourself experience summer.
And when your skin begins to feel a little thirsty, listen to it.
Give it what it's asking for.
Because perhaps the secret to that beautiful summer glow isn't doing more to our skin.
Perhaps it's simply keeping it healthy enough to glow on its own.
In love & Gratitude,
Jamie
P.S. If your skin is feeling a little thirsty after a summer well lived, we'd love to take care of it. Our Summer Seasonal Facial was intentionally designed to cool, replenish and deeply hydrate summer skin and features the Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Masque as one of its most deliciously hydrating steps.
Or, if you'd like to bring a little of the ritual home, schedule a personal shopping appointment with us. We can take a look at your skin, talk about what you're currently using, and help you choose the Strawberry Rhubarb products that make the most sense for you.