Hyaluronic acid is the hydrating and plumping molecule your skincare routine needs. (2023)

Hyaluronic acid is undoubtedly one of the best knownSkin care ingredients, one that features in many of our favoritesfacial scrubs-You might even have tried an HA serum or two. But as we all know, just because something is popular doesn't mean it's effective.

It turns out there's a lot we didn't know about hyaluronic acid—like the difference between hyaluronic acid and sodium hyaluronate (a rock salt). Or how the “99% Hyaluronic Acid” serum you used is not 99% hyaluronic acid, but a mixture of hyaluronic acid and water. We know-Was?!So is hyaluronic acid worth it?

To help us decipher the skin benefits of hyaluronic acid (often compared to sodium hyaluronate), we have recruited experts to help us debunk some myths about hyaluronic acid.Read on to find out if this moisturizer can help.reduce wrinklesand whether it is worth adding them to yoursskin care line.

What is hyaluronic acid?

First things first – what exactly is Hyaluronic Acid? First of all, it is a molecule that occurs naturally in your skin as well as in the connective tissues of your body.Body. "Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring polysaccharide found in the human body," explains Kerry Benjamin, esthetician and founder of the best-selling Hyaluronic Acid Serum.stacked skin care. "It acts as a cushioning and lubricating agent for our joints, nerves, hair, skin and eyes."

According to board-certified dermatologist and founder of AVA MD's SKIN FIVE and AVA MD's full-service dermatology centers, Ava Shamban, MD, Hyaluronic Acid's primary uses and benefits are to help keep skin moisturized and lubricated. "It's a superstar for relieving dry skin," she says. "Hyaluronic acid is a moisture binder, which means it binds water in the cells and makes them 'plump'.

Cosmetic chemist and owner of a product development companybeauty of the kingdom of graceGinger King agrees, adding that the ingredient is incredibly powerful and therefore works as an incredibly powerful moisturizer. "Hyaluronic acid can draw moisture from the air and keep skin moisturized by retaining nearly 1,000 times its weight in water," she says. "So it's not just a moisturizer, it has the ability to hold in extra moisture."

You can even take hyaluronic acid as a supplement, but we recommend consulting a doctor beforehand. It is typically most commonly used as a topical treatment such as a gel serum or lotion, but it is also used for bulking injections.

Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid

The reason the beauty industry loves it so much is its seemingly magical ability to lock in moisture. Studies have shown that hyaluronic acid is incredibly good at binding water molecules.Dehydration is one of the main causes of skin aging, which is why this ingredient is a must when it comes to repairing the skin's moisture barrier.

• retains moisture: Hyaluronic acid helps replenish and retain cellular moisture, resulting in plump, hydrated skin.
• Reduces the Appearance of Wrinkles:Because dehydrated skin is one of the main causes ofFold, Hyaluronic Acid replenishes lost moisture and helps reduce the appearance of fine lines.
• Safe filling option:Since the composition of hyaluronic acid is so closely related to the substances in our body, it is well suited as a filler that does not cause much irritation. It can also add volume to areas like lips and cheeks that lose volume over time.
• Fast absorption:Unlike some skin care products, hyaluronic acid absorbs quickly into the skin, meaning you lose less product.
• Non-irritating:Hyaluronic acid is mostly non-irritating and safe to use on all skin types.
• Short-term injectable:When used as a filler, hyaluronic acid lasts about a year. It dissolves naturally, meaning you don't have to have the filler removed by a doctor.
• Multiple uses:Because you can apply hyaluronic acid topically, inject it, or take it as a supplement, there are many choices as to how and when you use it.
• Available at the counter:Unlike some super skincare ingredients, hyaluronic acid products are found in most beauty productsdrugstores.

Hyaluronic Acid vs. Sodium Hyaluronate

Here's the interesting part: hyaluronic acid has a counterpart called sodium hyaluronate. "Sodium hyaluronate is the salt form of HA and is a water-soluble salt that holds 1,000 times its weight in water," says Benjamin. "The ingredients are in salt form because they're more stable and less likely to oxidize."

Both hyaluronic acid and sodium hyaluronate are used in beauty products, and marketers refer to both as "hyaluronic acid" — but there are some key differences. That means sodium hyaluronate has a much smaller molecular size, which allows it to penetrate the skin better: "In skin care, there's a formula that uses molecular weight to determine how well products penetrate the skin," says Benjamin. "The lighter the weight, the more it can penetrate."

Do you know serums that claim to be made with 75% or even 99% hyaluronic acid? Put simply, they are not. "Sodium hyaluronate does not exist in pure form, but in solution form," explains Benjamin. "It reaches 1% to 2% of the solution, which is mostly water."

It gets better - Benjamin claims that when the solution has more 4 percent sodium hyaluronate, candry the skin. She illustrates this with an analogy: If you put too much salt on a sponge, the salt will pull the water out of the sponge and dry it out. Since sodium hyaluronate is a rock salt, too much of it can strip moisture from the skin, Benjamin says. She says that 2% is the highest concentration of hyaluronic acid you can put in a solution without drying effects.

As for those misleading percentages, Benjamin says there's no way to know exactly how much hyaluronic acid or sodium hyaluronate they're really getting in a product without taking it to a lab. "If a product was really made with 90% HA, it would be salt rock," she says. "It's not really 90 percent HA — it's 90 percent of the total solution, which is mostly water." She says the industry standard for hyaluronic acid is 1%, and sometimes 2% for over-the-counter products.In order to have a higher HA concentration than this, it is usually necessary to go to the office of a dermatologist.

Side effects of hyaluronic acid

There are generally no known side effects of hyaluronic acid - at least with the topical versions. But as King points out, hyaluronic acid is often used as a filler and as such can cause side effects. "There can be swelling," she notes. But because HA is so closely related to natural substances already present in the body, most reactions come from the injection itself, not HA.

If you choose to take Hyaluronic Acid, it has been shown to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and improve overall skin volume.Also, most people find that the supplement has no side effects.

Application and application of hyaluronic acid

For hyaluronic acid to actually penetrate the skin's surface when applied topically, it must be bioengineered to have a much lower molecular weight.Benjamin, who recently launched his own HA Hyaluronic Acid Serum ($130), claims chemists can do it while retaining the original moisturizing benefits.

Shamban adds that in-office treatments can help hyaluronic acid penetrate deeper into the skin. "For example, in combination with a Hydra Facial or SaltFacial, a serum is infused into the skin to penetrate smaller molecules better or more effectively than just being applied to the epidermis," she says.

If you want to use hyaluronic acid as a filler, it is better to get a medical opinion beforehand. Like topical HA, injectable HA mimics materials already present in our bodies. "Injecting an HA filler in gel form via a syringe into the different areas of our face, eyes or other areas is accepted and stays in the body and is used like our other cells as a 'partner' filler, making that area bulky" , says Raymond Douglas, board-certified oculoplastic and reconstructive surgeon in Beverly Hills and founder ofInternational Orbital Institute.

A tried-and-true skincare brand, Kiehl's Vitamin C Serum lives up to the hype. Made with 12.5 percent vitamin C and hyaluronic acid, it's proven to simultaneously tighten skin and promote radiance.

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid Serum is a rare compound of high quality and low price. It's a vegan formula with a touch of B5 for even more moisture retention and anti-inflammatory properties.