Hyaluronic acid goes on first, on damp skin, and a pea of balm goes on last to hold that water in. A ceramide cream sits between them if you use one. By day, sunscreen covers all of it, because a tallow balm doesn't screen UV and adds nothing to your SPF.
Hyaluronic acid holds water at the surface, and the balm is a fat layer that slows the loss of that water. That's why it goes on last.
I run our wear tests here, which means every recipe spends weeks on my skin and the family's before it gets a label. The balm I'd put last is Bare Silk ($34 as of October 5, 2026). Grass-fed suet tallow leads its five ingredients. There's no humectant in it and no ceramide, so it won't stand in for a ceramide cream if your skin wants one.
What job does each layer do?
A 2016 review by Sethi and colleagues sorts moisturizer ingredients by job. Humectants pull water up from the deeper skin into the top layer, and from the air in humid conditions. Occlusives sit on top and physically block water from leaving. A tallow balm is an occlusive, and it's also what the review calls an emollient, a lipid that leaves skin softer and smoother.
Ceramides do a different job. They're the main lipid in the mortar between your skin's outer cells, and a 2019 review by Kahraman and colleagues puts them at 30 to 40% of those lipids by mass. Cholesterol and free fatty acids sit beside them in about a 1:1:1 ratio.
| Layer | Its job | When it goes on |
|---|---|---|
| Hyaluronic acid serum | Holds water at the surface | First, on damp skin |
| Ceramide cream | Adds lipids the barrier is built from | Second, if you use one |
| Tallow balm | Slows water loss, softens | Last at night, under sunscreen by day |
| Sunscreen | Screens UV | Over everything, by day |
The sunscreen row follows the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), which says to put sunscreen on after your other skin care and beneath your makeup. Its sunscreen FAQs want the screen on dry skin 15 minutes before you head out. So in the morning, give the balm a few minutes to settle before the screen goes over it, and don't skimp on the screen.
Does hyaluronic acid need damp skin and a seal?
You'll read that hyaluronic acid pulls water out of your face when the air's dry. I couldn't find a study that measured that on human skin in dry air, so the research on that exact claim is thin. What the reviews do say is narrower. Hyaluronic acid is a water-binding humectant, and a 2021 review by Juncan and colleagues says it can bind water up to 1,000 times its volume.
Sethi's review explains the catch. It calls humectants "a double-edged weapon," since they draw water from deeper skin into the top layer, where it's easily lost to the air. That's why they're mostly paired with an occlusive. Juncan's review points the other way for the big molecule: high molecular weight hyaluronic acid forms a film that reduces evaporation from the skin.
Either way, the fix on your bathroom counter is the same. Press the serum into skin that's still damp from washing, and once it's sunk in, seal it with a pea of balm. Sethi's review says occlusives work best on slightly dampened skin. The AAD's dry skin advice agrees: moisturize while your skin's still damp from the shower.
Can a balm stand in for a ceramide cream?
It can't, because a tallow balm like Bare Silk carries no ceramide and no humectant. Kahraman's review says ceramide levels drop as skin gets drier. It covers creams that carry ceramides to help restore barrier function from the outside, and it cites one that improved hydration and cut water loss compared with placebo.
What a no-water balm replaces is the occlusive at the end, the layer that holds everything in. If your skin likes a ceramide cream, keep it and wear both. The cream goes on first, since a cream carries water, and a pea of balm goes over it once it's settled. Our post on what a barrier cream is sorts the drug kind from the cosmetic kind, and we read two drugstore creams beside a balm label by label.
Who needs every layer, and who needs one?
Dry winter skin is where every layer earns its place, and the seal matters most. Sethi's review lists low humidity among the factors behind dry skin, and humectants only draw water from the air when it's humid. In a dry room, the serum's water comes from your own skin. The AAD suggests keeping showers to five to ten minutes in warm water and running a humidifier in the bedroom while you sleep. It also rates ointments and creams above lotions for dry skin.
An oily summer face sits at the other end, and it may want one layer, or none. Humid air gives a humectant water to draw on, so a light hyaluronic acid serum under sunscreen can be enough by day. At night, try half a pea of balm on damp skin, only where it's tight. Give it two weeks, and stop if new bumps appear.
Between those two faces, let the way your skin feels an hour later decide how many layers you wear. If it's tight, add the serum underneath. If it's shiny by noon, skip the balm in the morning and keep it for night.
Which jar goes on last?
For the seal step, the jar I'd hand you is Bare Silk. The Unscented original has no essential oils or fragrance, and since the suet's nearly scentless, it smells like nothing under a serum or a screen. It's poured dense, so a pea goes a long way. It helps repair the moisture barrier and relieves the feel of dry, tight skin, and that surface job is all it does in this stack. It's cosmetic care, not a treatment. Your provider's plan comes first, so if a dermatologist picked your cream or serum, keep it. Whichever way you layer it, the 60-Day Skin Test gives you sixty days with the jar, and if your skin disagrees, we refund it.
The jar for this job is Bare Silk ($34). Subscribe to two jars and a third rides free, and every subscription takes 25% off the first delivery.
Questions we hear
Can you use hyaluronic acid with tallow?
Yes. They do different jobs: hyaluronic acid is a humectant that binds water, and a tallow balm is a fat layer that slows water loss from the surface. Put the serum on damp skin first. Once it's sunk in, press a pea of balm over it as the seal, and put sunscreen over both by day.
Does hyaluronic acid go on before or after moisturizer?
Before. The serum goes on damp skin, and the moisturizer or balm follows to hold that water in. A 2016 review of moisturizers by Sethi and colleagues explains the order: humectants draw water into the skin's top layer, where it's easily lost to the air, so they're mostly paired with an occlusive on top. The American Academy of Dermatology also advises moisturizing while skin is still damp.
Can hyaluronic acid dry out your skin?
The claim's common, and I couldn't find a study that measured it on skin in dry air. The reviews describe something narrower. Humectants draw water from deeper skin into the top layer, and from the air in humid conditions, and that water escapes easily if nothing seals it. A 2021 review adds that large hyaluronic acid molecules form a film that reduces evaporation. One habit covers both: press it into damp skin, then seal it with a pea of balm once it's sunk in.
Do you need a ceramide cream if you use a tallow balm?
Not always. A tallow balm softens skin and slows water loss, and it carries no ceramides. If balm alone feels like enough, it's enough. If your skin still feels dry and tight, a ceramide cream underneath adds the lipids its outer layer is built from. Ceramides make up 30 to 40% of those lipids by mass, a 2019 review by Kahraman and colleagues says, with cholesterol and free fatty acids beside them.
Go deeper
Our guide to using a tallow balm gives amounts for every part of you. Slugging with tallow covers the heavier night version of the seal step, and the barrier primer goes deeper on the barrier's lipids and filaggrin. If you're new to tallow on skin, start with the beef tallow for skin guide. Tallow with tretinoin and Accutane adds a prescription to the stack, and tallow on oily skin covers the thinnest layer of all.
Sources
- Kahraman E and colleagues (2019). Recent advances on topical application of ceramides to restore barrier function of skin. Cosmetics 6(3):52.
- Sethi A, Kaur T, Malhotra SK, Gambhir ML (2016). Moisturizers: the slippery road. Indian Journal of Dermatology, volume 61, issue 3, pages 279 to 287.
- The American Academy of Dermatology (2026). Dermatologists' top tips for relieving dry skin, page last updated January 2, 2026. AAD.
- The American Academy of Dermatology (2023). Dermatologist-recommended skin care for your 20s, page last updated February 23, 2023. AAD.
- The American Academy of Dermatology (2025). Sunscreen FAQs, the academy's answers page, last updated February 11, 2025. AAD.
- Juncan AM and six colleagues (2021). Advantages of hyaluronic acid and its combination with other bioactive ingredients in cosmeceuticals. Molecules 26(15):4429.
Aspen is the co-founder of Craft Tallow and runs the wear tests: every recipe goes on her skin and the family's for weeks before it gets a label. Questions? Reply to any email from us; it lands with one of us.