This Youth to the People Moisturizer Cured My Fear of Rich Creams

At the ripe age of 25, I'm having a quarter-life skin crisis. I've sworn up and down my whole life that I have ultra-sensitive, oily skin. It's not that oily skin doesn't need hydration — in fact, it's quite the opposite. "By balancing the water in the skin, you'll have a better barrier, which can help to control oil production,"  New York City-based dermatologist Doris Day previously told Allure. Proper hydration is essential but because my skin was irritable and nitpicky for so long, I avoided anything with the words "rich" or "cream" in the name and stuck to light, airy formulas I felt like I could trust. In the past, anything heavy or too hydrating was a recipe for disaster for my skin. 

But over the last few months, I've noticed new dry patches of skin, plus a couple of lines on my forehead that definitely weren't visible pre-pandemic. It was clearly time to try something new, which is why I got my hands on a jar of the Youth to the People Polypeptide-121 Future Cream.

The Future Cream ended up on my personal radar when it won a 2022 Allure Best of Beauty Award in our Clean category. Seeing a heavy-duty face cream being described as "bouncy" piqued my attention. It was like seeing a bowl of pasta described as "refreshing" — didn't seem likely, but I'd be damned if I wasn't going to try it and see for myself.

According to the brand's website, the Future Cream "replenishes critical moisture for up to 24 hours and helps visibly firm, reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles, and strengthen the skin's moisture barrier." The formula contains peptides; rice, flax + pea plant proteins; and ceramides. As an avid reader of skin-care ingredient lists, I know all about the hydrating powers of ceramides. However, I was totally clueless about how peptides function in a moisturizer, so I reached out to a couple of dermatologists for clarity.

According to Carmen Castilla MD, an NYC-based board-certified dermatologist, "Polypeptide-121 is a chemically synthesized portion of a naturally occurring protein in the skin: collagen molecule 21." She noted that not all peptides are created equal, and that "the role of a peptide in skin care is dependent on its molecular size and chemical structure."

James Y. Wang MD, Los Angeles-based board-certified dermatologist and founder of Metropolis Dermatology, pointed out that collagen molecule 21 ​​"can help boost overall skin health and help fight additional damage to the skin barrier." Dr. Castilla speculated that due to this particular peptide's large size, it likely decreases transepidermal water loss by acting as a humectant, or a substance that attracts and retains water. "The nice thing about peptides in skin care is that due to their similar chemical structure to naturally occurring proteins, they tend to be biocompatible and not cause allergic reactions," she added.

But what's really fascinating about peptides is their ability to boss your skin around. Let Dr. Castilla explain: "Peptides function as messenger molecules; generally speaking they instruct cells what to do." Different peptides have the power to instruct your skin to do different things. In this case, Dr. Castilla suspects that the "tetrapeptides" in the Future Cream stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, and noted that "increasing collagen, elastin or another extracellular matrix would improve skin elasticity, fine lines/wrinkles, and hydration."

When you apply this moisturizer, it essentially takes on a commanding role and demands that your body create more beneficial ingredients for your skin. It's kind of touching when you think about it — Future Cream is looking out for you.

The first time I took the Future Cream for a test run, I was pleasantly surprised by the airy, whipped texture. It absorbed quickly and didn't leave me feeling like I had a film across my skin that would sit there for hours before disappearing. The morning after I first applied it before bed, I woke up shocked by how glowy and even my complexion was. Instead of looking like I'd hit snooze on my alarm seven times, I looked like I had been up for hours and took the time to apply a balmy highlighter to the high points of my face — minus the pillow lines across my cheek.

The Future Cream quickly became a staple in my skin-care routine and earned a permanent spot on top of my dresser. I even noticed that with continued use, the lines on my forehead became definitely less noticeable. After introducing a hydrating serum from Merit into my lineup and even experimenting with adding drops of face oil to my moisturizer, I can safely say that Youth to the People's Future Cream has converted me — I'm not afraid of heavy-duty hydration anymore.

I wasn't the only Allure staffer to have a transformative experience with this moisturizer. Associate beauty editor Annie Blay tended to stick with water creams or gel moisturizers before giving the Future Cream a shot. "The peptide-filled moisturizer manages to be lightweight, creamy in texture, and intensely moisturizing all at the same time," she writes. She also found that the formula doesn't leave her skin greasy and that her fine lines were less pronounced over time.

Priced at $64 a jar, this moisturizer is a bit of a splurge, but it will last you a while even if you apply it day and night. I've been using it consistently for three months and have barely gone through one-third of the product — and I'm not applying it conservatively either.

The bottom line? Youth to the People's Polypeptide-121 Future Cream is worth the hype. You simply can't beat this elite combination of deep hydration, skin plumping, and fine-line-diminishing treatment. The Polypeptide-121 Future Cream retails for $64 at youthtothepeople.com and sephora.com, so do yourself a favor and let those little peptides start working for you.

More on skin care:

• TikTok's "Blood Cleanse" Trend Is BS at Best
• The 22 Best Face Serums for Every Skin Type
• 17 Brilliant Skin-Care Sets to Gift This Holiday Season

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