What's the difference between Water Lock vs. Hydration Cream?Updated a year ago
The differences between Water Lock and Hydration Cream may not be obvious at first.
To keep it simple, we’d put it this way:
- Hydration Cream is an ideal daily moisturizer that boosts all skin functions, for long-term renewal and hydration, along with soothing, anti-aging, brightening, and clarifying effects.
- Water Lock is the ultimate emergency solution for dehydration, thanks to its ability to fully lock moisture into the skin. It’s a mild and moisturizing formula that suits all skin types and can also be used for daily hydration.
If you’d like to understand the two products in-depth, here are the differences explained factor by factor:
Main benefits
When reduced to their simplest functions, both Water Lock and Hydration Cream are moisturizers that help the skin retain water, but their benefits go beyond that.
Water Lock’s key benefit is its ability to lock water into the skin. It combats the worst dehydration and prevents transepidermal water loss to the greatest extent possible. We developed it as an alternative to Vaseline or Aquaphor - products that work similarly, but are also kind of greasy and may contribute to breakouts in some users (especially if the skin isn’t totally clean). It also seals actives into the skin, to maximize the benefits of active ingredients like retinol and vitamin C in the short term.
The Hydration Cream’s key benefits stem from its ability to improve the skin’s functions on a molecular level, thanks to niacinamide. It encourages the skin’s natural ability to retain moisture to fortify the skin barrier, soothes and calms the skin, minimizes the look of pores, offers an anti-aging effect, and overall boosts texture, tone, and clarity. It still offers plenty of moisture for daily use, but in the long term, it creates a real skin transformation.
Key ingredients
The Hydration Cream and Water Lock both contain a hybrid of essential moisturizing ingredients that work together to deliver and keep water in the skin.
The difference is that Water Lock’s balance of ingredients skews towards heavy-hitting occlusion with dimethicone, dimethicone crosspolymer, squalane, vegan beeswax, and more. Alone, these molecules are considered partial occlusives. However, when formulated together, they form an impenetrable yet flexible mesh that inhibits water loss to an incredibly high level.
The Hydration Cream’s balance of ingredients skews heavily towards renewing ingredients, and especially niacinamide. Niacinamide has a diverse range of skin benefits: It’s anti-aging, brightening, soothing, helps with oiliness, makes pores look smaller, and it encourages the skin to produce more healthy barrier lipids to stay hydrated and strong. We’ve used it at 5% - the perfect amount for science-backed results but with fewer irritation risks. The other star ingredient is hyaluronic acid, which you’re probably already familiar with. It’s a humectant that pulls water into the epidermis, for a balanced level of direct hydration.
Texture and feel
The two moisturizers feel incredibly different on the skin. Hydration Cream is a classic moisturizer - it’s bouncy, luxurious, and creamy. It feels particularly beautiful around the eye area where it sinks in readily, leaving only a hint of moist glow at the surface.
Water Lock is a little more unique, with a fluid, gel-balm texture that spreads over the skin easily as it starts to “melt”. Because of the silicones, it’s very silky and non-greasy, and it leaves the skin with a primer-like demi-matte finish.
Who it’s for
Our Hydration Cream is generally best for those with normal, combination-dry, and combination-normal skin, especially if you’re interested in seeing renewal, anti-aging effects, and improved skin tone.
You might want to skip it if you already use a high-percentage niacinamide serum or if there are already multiple products in your routine that contain niacinamide. If you have oily skin, you may also find that the Hydration Cream leaves you with more sheen then you like.
Water Lock is best for anyone with more urgent dehydration. It works beautifully for ALL skin types, from the very dry to the very oily and anyone in between. Using a larger quantity will help when your skin needs serious TLC, while a smaller amount can provide regular moisturization. Because it’s mild and inert, anyone can benefit from Water Lock.