Everything You Need to Know About Hyaluronic Acid
Many products contain hyaluronic acid—but what is this ingredient and what is all the buzz about? Is it really warranted? And why do certain ingredients work well with hyaluronic acid while others don't? We’re here to answer all these questions and more about this buzzy ingredient.
What exactly is Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic acid (or HA for short) is a naturally-occurring substance found in human skin. It's an essential ingredient in the production of collagen and elastin, two proteins that keep our skin looking young and healthy, as well as providing support to the skin's structure. HA is able to hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water.
As we age, these proteins begin to break down, causing wrinkles and other signs of aging. HA can be a great tool for helping to rejuvenate skin cells by helping them retain moisture. This makes it an excellent addition to any clean skin care beauty regimen.
Hyaluronic acid is a humectant—meaning it attracts water to your skin—which means that it can be mixed with most ingredients. You can also add it to your favorite face mask for an added boost of hydration. Although in the case of our favorite mask Refresh Mint - Exfoliating Moisture Mask, we already have hyaluronic acid in the formulation at a low molecular and high molecular weight. The Refresh Mint transforms a lackluster complexion into glowing, radiant and nourished skin.
What doesn’t mix with HA?
If you are of the mind to add Hyaluronic acid to your skin-care regimen, there are very few things to keep in mind: Hyaluronic acid works well with just about everything. Since Hyaluronic acid is used to smooth and moisturize the skin, it is great to use with harsher products to tone down irritation.
What Ingredients work well with HA?
When used together, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid can help to keep skin looking young and healthy as they fight free radicals and encourage cell turnover. This combination is especially effective when used in conjunction with other ingredients such as retinol or glycolic acid, which increase cell turnover even further.
One of our favorite skincare products with HA is our Super Lift Vitamin C-More Serum. It deploys three types of shelf-stable bio-available Vitamin C that brighten the skin tone and improve the feeling of firmness in the skin. We advise using this in your skincare regime to achieve a more revitalized, brightened appearance.
As stated above, HA is great for toning down harsh ingredients in products. Because of this, using HA after applying your Retinol will help maximize the benefits you receive from both products. As a reminder, Retinols should only be used at the end of the day due to the sensitivity that your skin receives from the products and should not be mixed together. Thankfully, you don’t have to worry about irritation with our time-release retinol, The Straight A - Advanced Gentle Retinol Serum. It was expressly formulated not to be too harsh and buffer the retinol with deeply nourishing agents.
Why don’t certain skincare ingredients mesh?
With the abundance of skincare products on the market these days, it can be difficult to find a routine that works for you. Some ingredients work well together, but others don't.
The reason is simple: some ingredients are incompatible because they have different molecular weights. For example, if you use a product with an alcohol-based ingredient and then apply a hyaluronic acid serum, your skin will look duller because the two compounds are incompatible.
You want to make sure that your products don't clash with each other when you add them to your routine.