Eight ways to make skin look fuller
Plump is a word the industry has worn out, but the thing it describes is real and most people can see it change within a week. Skin holding water looks fuller. Almost everything below is a way of getting water into the surface or stopping it leaving.
Stop stripping it first
Nothing on this list works on a face that is being scrubbed and squeaked twice a day. Swap the foaming cleanser for one that leaves skin feeling soft rather than tight, and give it a week before you judge anything else. This is the step people skip and then wonder why the rest did nothing.
Apply to damp skin, not dry
A humectant pulls water from whatever is nearest. On damp skin that is the water sitting on your face. On bone dry skin in a dry room it can end up pulling from deeper down, which is the opposite of the plan. Pat, do not towel, and put things on while your face is still slightly damp.
Use a humectant nightly
Glycerin and hyaluronic acid are the two that matter and they are in almost everything, which is a sign they work rather than a reason to look past them. They draw water into the surface and hold it there. This is the single most direct thing on the list, and it is where a serum earns its place.
Put something over the top
A humectant holds water. Something slightly occlusive over it slows the water leaving overnight. Serum first while damp, then a moisturiser, in that order. Doing only the first half is the most common reason people say a hyaluronic acid serum did nothing for them.
Deal with the room
A heat pump running all evening will undo a decent routine. If your face feels tight in a warm lounge but fine outside, that is the room. Turning it down a couple of degrees, or a bowl of water near the heater, is a free change with a visible result.
Sleep, and sleep on your back if you can
Short sleep shows in skin flatness faster than almost anything. A side sleeper also spends hours pressing one side of their face into a pillow, which is where the morning creases on one cheek come from. Neither costs anything and both are noticeable.
Sunscreen, every morning
Not for how skin looks tomorrow, for how it looks in ten years. It is the only thing on this list that changes the direction of travel rather than the state on the day, and in this country it does more of that than anywhere else. It is also never marketed as a plumping product, which tells you something about how the category works.
Give it six weeks before deciding
The hydration part shows in days. Whether a routine actually suits you shows in about six weeks. Most people change products before they ever find out, then conclude that nothing works, which is the most expensive habit in skincare.