Aesthetic medicine has fallen in love with it. It’s highly effective, has no side effects and guarantees irritation-free skincare. Its usage doesn’t entail any risk whatsoever. The outcomes achieved are mind-blowing. Undoubtedly, hyaluronic acid is a skin and hair care master. Do you know it already? How does this youthful and deeply-hydrated skin expert work?
What is hyaluronic acid?
Hyaluronic acid is a polysaccharide. It’s responsible for holding water on dermis level and additionally – just like a natural filler – it fortifies collagen and elastin fibers. Hyaluronic acid fills in intercellular space and this is how skin remains supple, resilient and smooth. Additionally, due to its ability to draw water molecules, HA contributes to maintaining skin hydration by supplying deep skin layers with water.
It’s given a very responsible task to handle – keep skin flawless. This means that hyaluronic acid knows all the tricks to get you glowy, resilient, youthful face. The good news is that hyaluronic acid is produced in human bodies naturally. The bad news is that although its percentage in young skin is impressively high, sadly, it gradually decreases as we grow older. And this is why skin ages, looks dull, gets flabby and starts featuring fine lines that slowly transform into deep wrinkles.
This is one of the reasons why scientists decided to isolate hyaluronic acid so nowadays we can apply it in its transparent gel formula directly to skin. Naturally, HA is also included in various skincare products such as creams and serums in order to intensify their effectiveness and supply skin with doubled dosage of hydration.
Effects delivered by hyaluronic acid
The list of all the benefits offered by hyaluronic acid is really long. Here are the most important ones:
- Deals with skin roughness and smooths it out.
- Has an anti-age effect.
- Reduces wrinkles that appeared on face.
- Improves resilience and suppleness of skin.
- Increases skin resistance to damage.
- Prevents collagen and elastin breakdown.
- Regenerates and soothes skin.
- Helps other nutrients penetrate skin deeper.
- Improves skin absorption abilities.
- Evens out skin tone.
Hyaluronic acid and its types
Available in pharmacies and drugstores hyaluronic acid is an aqueous solution, yet sold in a gel form. There are also other forms of HA available, which are determined by the size of molecules that constitute it. Today the most common and at the same time the most effective form of hyaluronic acids is the one made out of molecules that differ in terms of their size. Each group of the molecules is responsible for treating particular skin parts. For example, the largest molecules don’t penetrate skin but reside on skin surface to create so-called occlusive layer, which plays a crucial role in preventing transepidermal water loss.
The latest and the most advanced form of hyaluronic acid is ULMW. Owing to its Ultra Low Molecular Weight, this form of hyaluronic acid displays the fastest and the deepest penetration abilities. This in turn helped it won the title of the best skin repair acid. It goes without saying that the smaller molecules are, the easier it is for the acid to reach all skin layers, even the deepest ones.
Forms of hyaluronic acids
Apart from having various molecular weight, hyaluronic acid is sold in numerous forms. Why is so? To make it easier for us to apply it. Take the gel consistency for example that is reportedly the least troublesome form of hyaluronic acid to apply to skin. In order to take the most of gel hyaluronic acid, you should always follow it with a face cream. In this way, you will prevent moisture from escaping through the epidermis. Other widely-recognized form of delivering hyaluronic acid to skin is through food supplements. This is how you allow your body to absorb the acid from the inside and transport it to all your tissues that need hyaluronic acid most. Surprisingly, when used systematically, such oral substitution creates impressive effects.
Finally, HA injectables make the third form of hyaluronic acid that deserves to be discussed in a separate paragraph. This cosmetic treatment quickly became incredibly popular and hyaluronic acid used as an all-natural dermal filler got far ahead of botox and botulin. Hyaluronic acid can be injected to all face parts including forehead, nose, cheeks and lips. Sadly, this beauty treatment might be found costly by some people, especially after realizing that the acid has to be systematically reinjected. The lifespan of HA injectables lasts up to 6 months.
Hyaluronic acid extra info
When is the best time to start searching for beauty products containing hyaluronic acid? To answer this question, you must realize that hyaluronic acid levels start decreasing after the moment you reach 25 years. Therefore, this is the best time to treat your skin with any chosen form hyaluronic acid. The most dramatic hyaluronic acid levels reduction occurs around 40 years of age.
This organic polysaccharide is a genuine marvel used for skin care purposes. It takes years off our faces and effectively brings our lost self-confidence back. Nowadays, cosmetic industry implements hyaluronic acid to almost any skincare product is launched – HA can be found even in facial toners. This allows us to keep our skin resilient and soft even during our daily beauty routine.
