I'm Always Skeptical of Skin Supplements, But This One Really Surprised Me

Welcome to Deep Reviews—your one-stop destination to discover the absolute best products and brands the beauty industry has to offer. The Who What Wear staffers you already know and trust will research, test, and review the market's most sought-after and buzzed-about products to see which formulas (of the hundreds up for consideration) are worth your hard-earned money and attention. You can expect honest, uncensored feedback and no-BS recommendations our hard-to-please testers endorse without reservations.

The majority of our Deep Reviews will feature our editors' honest, ultra-hot takes on entire product categories or multiple products from a particular beauty brand, but every so often, we'll sprinkle in a special single-product format called Honestly, I Love It. As the name suggests, these reviews will home in on one standout beauty formula our editors can't shut up about. This time, I'm highlighting the hydrating supplement that gave my skin a serious glow, Ritual's HyaCera ($43).

Skin supplements can be tricky. There are a lot of products in this category that don't quite hit the mark, and before you know it, you've spent $100+ on something that doesn't exactly do much for your skin. Because of this, I was on the fence about trying Ritual's HyaCera formula. What led me to give it a go, though, was Ritual's reputation. The brand holds itself to an incredibly high standard, sharing only the highest-quality ingredients and formulas created by its team of leading scientists.

After giving HyaCera a try for a few months, I can honestly say that I saw a huge difference in the quality of my skin. I'm talking improved hydration levels, smoother skin, and an overall glow. Sound good? Then you'll definitely want to keep reading. I'm sharing a bit more about my experience taking this supplement, what's in the secret sauce, and a word about the formula directly from the brand. Keep reading and learn all about it.

The above photos were taken three months apart. To be honest with you, I took HyaCera long before writing up this review but didn't stay consistent with it. I started taking it again three months ago and wondered why I ever stopped. I started to notice a big improvement in my skin's hydration levels after two months. I've been dealing with some skin barrier damage (ugh) for a while, so I was excited to see if this formula would help repair it. While you do see results, I think it's important to keep in mind that this is a supplement, and visible results might take a little longer to show up.

I'll explain a bit more about the key ingredients in this formula in a minute, but I definitely can say that I noticed my skin felt a lot less dehydrated after the two-month mark. It's also important to note that you have to stay consistent to really see a significant improvement. Luckily, you only have to take one a day, so it's not a huge inconvenience or commitment.

Not only does HyaCera aim to rehydrate the skin, but it can also help improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Transparently, I do get a bit of Botox in my forehead, and I don't have many other fine lines and wrinkles, so I can't speak to that aspect, but I did notice that my skin now looks brighter, healthier, and a lot more hydrated.

Now, let's get into what's in this magic little pill. The brand's VP of scientific and clinical affairs, Mastaneh Sharafi, PhD, RD, offered up a bit more about the ingredients in this formulation. "We were highly skeptical of creating a product for this category," she said. "We reviewed numerous ingredients but either found ingredients with clinical studies that were poorly conducted or ingredients with no clinical support at all. It was hard to find something that was truly validated by our standards. After extensive research, we selected Hyabest and Ceratiq because they had human clinical evidence to support their efficacy, met our standards for traceability, and were ingredients we felt confident putting to the test in our own clinical trial.

"Hyabest is a hyaluronic acid with a lower molecular weight, clinically studied to promote glowing and moisturized skin and included at a studied dosage of 120 milligrams. Ceratiq is a sustainably harvested plant oil extract containing glycolipids and ceramides to support the reduced appearance of wrinkles and fine lines and to promote hydrated skin included at a clinically studied dose of 350 milligrams."

Sharafi also spoke about what makes this formula unique. "Creating effective products goes beyond selecting science-backed ingredients but actually thinking about how those ingredients work once they are inside the body," she explains. We intentionally formulated HyaCera with our novel capsule-in-capsule technology designed to help maintain ingredient integrity of the two-in-one formula by acting as a barrier system to keep the inner dry ingredients separated from the outer oil. While looking at different formats for this product, we explored the gummy format, but it proved challenging because we were working with a lower-molecular-weight hygroscopic hyaluronic acid. We then pivoted to using our nestled capsule technology, which protected both of the ingredients. A win-win for the consumer and for stability."

Another thing I appreciate about Ritual is that the brand conducted its own clinical trial to explore the efficacy of HyaCera. Sharafi said, "Selecting evidence-based ingredients has always been a priority for Ritual, which is why each of our ingredients have their own clinical studies, and they are separated within the capsule so their integrity is intact. However, conducting a gold-standard clinical trial on the finished formula for HyaCera takes that commitment one step further.

"This clinical study not only reaffirms our dedication to producing high-quality products but also ensures that our customers can trust in the validated benefits of HyaCera. It also provides robust scientific evidence on the efficacy of a skin supplement, a category that previously has had limited clinical support. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, widely acknowledged as the gold standard in human research, spanned a duration of 12 weeks. Participants were 63 healthy women and men ranging in age from 26 to 64. Multiple skin-related assessments were made at baseline, four weeks, eight weeks, and 12 weeks after the commencement of the supplementation protocol. At 12 weeks, results include a 356% reduction in crow's-feet wrinkles within 90 days when compared to placebo [and] a 290% increase in facial skin smoothness within 90 days when compared to placebo. More HyaCera participants reported an improvement in skin elasticity, glow/radiance, fine lines and wrinkles, and general signs of aging."

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