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Ingredients

Powerhouse Ingredient: How Hyaluronic Acid Transforms Your Skin

SkinStore Editors
Writer and expert11 months ago
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Hyaluronic acid is a skincare ingredient favorite. It is used in everything from in-office treatments to topical serums and creams. The powerful humectant holds up to 1,000 times its weight in water, making it a magical solution for dry skin. Even though hyaluronic acid is naturally found within the skin and helps support the skin barrier, using it in skincare products allows the skin to attract and hold water for a hydrating agent and plumper-looking skin. Best of all, hyaluronic acid is compatible with all skin types, so everyone can benefit from the dewy factor.

Table of Contents:

What is Hyaluronic Acid?

Hyaluronic acid is a natural lubricating and moisturizing water-binding substance found in joints, connective tissues, and skin. Hyaluronic acid hydrates by attracting water to the area. It's an excellent moisturizer for the skin, but that's not all it can do. The skin-safe acid can also help minimize the common signs of aging and plump up the skin, making fine lines and wrinkles less noticeable. Using hyaluronic acid for skin hydration helps draw water into the skin to plump and hydrate it, mitigating the effects of natural hyaluronic degradation with age. However, maintaining healthy levels of hyaluronic acid can improve skin health for added plumpness, volume, and hydration.

As the skin ages, the amount of natural hyaluronic acid in it (and the body) starts to decrease. Introducing skincare products with hyaluronic acid can restore lost moisture in the skin, helping to reduce dryness and dullness and giving a soothing effect to fine lines and wrinkles.

While hyaluronic acid benefits for skin are most noticeable on dry skin, it can also be used on oily, sensitive, and acne-prone skin types. Because hyaluronic acid is a humectant, it gives the skin resilience and a firming effect when used in creams, lotions, and serums. And unlike other types of hydrators, hyaluronic acid is non-comedogenic, so that it won't clog the pores. That's why people with acne love the non-irritating ingredient. Every skin type can benefit from hyaluronic acid.

What Does Hyaluronic Acid Do for Your Face?

Products that contain hyaluronic acid for face can provide multiple benefits to the skin, including:

  • Increasing surface hydration
  • Protecting the skin barrier to reduce dryness, flakiness, and rough-feeling skin
  • Plump up wrinkles and fine lines by increasing the skin’s moisture content
  • Restore volume to the skin when used in injectable form and administered by a dermatologist

One of the several benefits of hyaluronic acid, when used regularly on the face, is that the ingredient can penetrate well into the skin, allowing the body and skin to make good use of it. The lower the weight of the hyaluronic acid, the better it can penetrate the skin.

Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid for Skin

The main benefit of hyaluronic acid is its ability to retain moisture in the skin. All skin types need moisture to be healthy. Not only is moisture a fundamental component of the skin, but when the skin is well hydrated, wrinkles and fine lines are less obvious, the skin is better equipped to heal itself, and the cells replenish and turn over faster and more efficacious.

Naturally, hydrated skin, which is easily achieved using hyaluronic acid, also helps to improve the skin's elastic and youthful glow. That's because hyaluronic acid is known to bind 1,00 times its weight in water. It can hold onto water molecules better to keep the skin moisturized and fresh, dewy, and youthful. Hyaluronic acid skin benefits include the ability to hold onto extra moisture, making dryness a thing of the past.

Hyaluronic Acid Serum Benefits

Applying any product with hyaluronic acid to the skin is better than skimping on the ingredient altogether. Still, there's reason to believe that the benefits of hyaluronic acid serums are greater than those of creams or lotions. That's because the molecular size of the acid can be smaller and lighter in these formulations, allowing hyaluronic acid to penetrate the skin better. Some of the more notable hyaluronic acid serum benefits include hydration, anti-aging effects, increased skin elasticity, wound healing, and limiting the appearance of wrinkles and lines.

How to Use Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid is an easy-to-use skincare ingredient. You can incorporate it into your routine as a cleaner, serum, or cream. Most people use a hyaluronic acid serum (it's an easy way to incorporate the ingredient into the skin) about once per day, either in the morning, at night (use heavier creams before bedtime), or both, but if the results start to taper off, you may want to scale it back to a few times per week. Applying hyaluronic acid to clean damp skin rather than dry skin is best because it will help the ingredients penetrate better, perform optimally, and lock in hydration.

Since hyaluronic acid plays well with other skincare ingredients, you can use it alongside antioxidants, vitamins B5 and C, glycolic acid, and retinoids. Combining hyaluronic acid with other skincare ingredients can help boost their effects. Then, to lock in the benefits of hyaluronic acid, layer on moisturizer and sunscreen. You’ll want to make sure to use hyaluronic acid serums when the weather changes to keep the skin well hydrated.

Hyaluronic Acid Side Effects

Hyaluronic acid is a safe and well-studied ingredient that works for all skin types. But there's always the potential for side effects regardless of the safety of a product of ingredient. Typically, hyaluronic acid doesn't cause adverse reactions, but some products with the ingredient may also contain preservatives, which can be bothersome and instigate rashes and other problems. Skin prone to experiencing rosacea or eczema should always patch test hyaluronic acid before using it to ensure it does not irritate the skin.

The Bottom Line

Hyaluronic acid is a tried-and-true ingredient that prevents moisture loss and keeps the skin hydrated. Incorporating hyaluronic acid serums into your beauty routine is easy, and they can also be used daily to allow the skin to reap the benefits of plumper, smoother, more youthful-looking skin with fewer lines and wrinkles. Overall, the ingredients are safe and harmless, and the benefit of increased skin hydration is the biggest plus.

Check out our selection of the best products to find the perfect hyaluronic acid serum for your skin type.

SkinStore Editors
Writer and expert
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Our team of beauty experts cover everything from skincare to makeup, picking out the most effective products from the best brands and latest trends. Stay up to date on everything beauty with the SkinStore blog, and find all your essentials in one place.
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