Pump up the volume.
If you haven’t heard about Hyaluronic Acid or, as it’s sometimes called Sodium Hyaluronate, then perhaps now is the time to get yourself acquainted with this important substance.
Hyaluronic Acid (HA) is often added to moisturisers because of its ability to hold a whopping 1000 times its own weight in water. This ability means it attracts water to your skin, giving you an instant moisture boost.
It’s a substance that the body naturally produces and it’s the most widely used substance in injectable dermal fillers.
But what is it?
Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance in your body. It provides cushioning to your joints, lubricates your eyes and is a primary component in your skin. It gives your skin its structure and bounce. When you were a baby, you had tons of the stuff, and your skin was bouncy and beautiful.
Unfortunately, as we age, the amount of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) found in the skin begins to diminish, causing a lack of elasticity and flexibility.
In other words? Not so bouncy.
Where does it come from?
No to put you off or anything, but commercially produced Hyaluronic Acid was derived from rooster comb once upon a time. Still, these days most manufacturers will opt for something produced in the lab through a process of fermentation, with many skincare companies opting for the use of Sodium Hyaluronate as it has a smaller molecule and more readily accepted into the skin.
What’s it doing for your skin?
When applied to the skin, either via a moisturiser or just ‘straight-up’ in a serum formulation, it’s going to grab onto the cells on the surface of your skin and plump them up. So, if you’ve been feeling a bit dehydrated, Hyaluronic Acid can provide instant relief.
When it’s applied topically, the thing with Hyaluronic Acid is that it’ll begin to evaporate after a few hours.
It might help to think of your skin as a sponge that’s devoid of moisture. Once immersed in water, it plumps up, but the sponge will go back to its original state after a few hours left out of the water. Parched, dry and inflexible.
This is constantly happening to your skin, especially if you’re exposed to the drying effects of air conditioning, or you live in a dry climate.
So, even though Hyaluronic Acid is nice to have, it’s not the be-all-end-all many would have you believe.
Filling up with Hyaluronic Acid
There are other uses. When HA is medically injected into your lines and wrinkles via dermal fillers, it directly fills the space under your skin where a wrinkle has formed. Injecting the skin with HA directly into the dermis will stimulate collagen, so you get a little more than just filling in your lines. The strength and structure of your skin will improve over time. Bonus!!
If done correctly by an experienced injector, the results can be awe-inspiring and sometimes HA can be injected over a large area of the face to improve its volume and plump up areas where the face has become a little hollow, those areas where the natural fat pads under the skin have begun to diminish. Areas like your cheeks or under your eyes.
Again, I repeat, if it’s done correctly, the results can be very pleasing and even though most cosmetic doctors will tell you the results only last up to 9 months or so, often the results last much longer, especially if you continue to look after your skin and maintain your body’s water equilibrium.
So is it helping you or not?
Anything that instantly plumps the skin up will help the look and feel of your skin, and the more protected your lipid barrier is, the less likely your skin is going to dehydrate.
But, Hyaluronic acid (HA) alone will not be enough. As water-loving as HA is, you’re going to need to combine it with natural lipids found in essential fatty acid compounds to replicate the skin’s natural matrix. If you’re using a hyaluronic acid serum alone without an occlusive moisturiser, then you may find the hyaluronic acid will draw up moisture from your skin, leaving you with more dehydration than you intended.
Think of it as a quick fix but not a cure for dehydration.
For more information and solutions on the best moisturisers adding valuable lipids to your skin, you may like this article: In search of the perfect moisturiser.
And now you?
How’s your skin feeling? Are you pinning all your hopes on a Hyaluronic Acid serum to boost your skin’s natural water/lipid composition and feeling a little letdown? I’d love to hear from you, and if you liked this post, why not scroll down and share it with your friends?
See you next time,
