Why you should be using Hyaluronic acid NOW!
Posted by Janet Stewart on
Hyaluronic Acid is not an acid even though it's called an acid. You get the AHA and BHA acids like salicylic acid, glycolic, lactic acid. Hyaluronic is not one of these AHA’s. Hyaluronic acid is actually a naturally occurring polysaccharide in the human body and it acts as a cushioning and a lubricating agent for our joints and in our skins and in our eyes.
Why we use it in cosmetic products is because it helps to prevent moisture loss. It's a Humectant, it's anti-inflammatory as well and has great water binding activity so it basically attracts water and keeps it in, which is a great thing when you obviously need to use it on your skin.
It's found in the middle layer of the skin, not in the top layer of the skin so it's a very powerful humectant that can bind a thousand times of its weight in water. It's really fun to formulate with, it's a powder so as soon as I add it to water and start to blend it, it literally swells up into gel and thickens! Older and dryer skin generally has lower levels of hyaluronic acid. If you are 50 years old you're going to have about half the amount of Hyaluronic acid you would have had in your skin when you were 25.
So hyaluronic acid (HA) won't penetrate your skin to increase the amount of HA in your stratum spinosum where it is found. It will however, make your stratum corneum feel nicer which is obviously the top layer. So if it doesn't penetrate our skin, does it do any good? Yes it does. Studies have shown that the application of topical Hyaluronic acid can form folds on our skin which helps to increase moisture and reduce moisture loss which is trans epidermal water loss, so obviously it helps to reduce that, it helps to speed up wound healing, it reduces inflammation, it decreases the formation of age spots it softens the skin and restores elasticity to the skin which can reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles.
One really great thing about Hyaluronic acid its very light and watery and its full of consistency it really packs a punch for such a light watery thing, it feels like a gel but it's an amazing ingredient so it's really great for anyone with acne prone skin who is averse to creamy oils and moisturisers.
The trick with Hyaluronic acid is to use it under your moisturiser because its a humectant, this means that it attracts water to it, so what happens is, if you are in a very dry and arid areas like say South Africa in the Karoo and you put hyaluronic acid on, it can actually “so they say” absorb the water from your body and basically let it go out. So what you need to do is make sure that you seal your Hyaluronic acid with a moisturiser. So you always put it under your moisturiser. If a moisturiser has Hyaluronic acid in it, it would already be sealing it in because it has an occlusive in it which makes it “seal” on its own.
Products that we make that contain hyaluronic acid.
Hyaluronic acid skin shot,
Plump up serum,
Super skin which is our anti-aging, intense moisturiser
Hydra refine which is an essence serum with glycolic acid and obviously hyaluronic acid in it.
Setting spray
If you have any questions let us know.