Hyaluronic acid is not the flashiest ingredient in the world of cosmetics.
It is neither the newest one.
But whenever people are looking for an anti-aging solution, the acid comes into play.
Hyaluronic acid has been tested and tried, and it works wonderfully for your skin.
Many people are fooled by the word “acid”, but the reality is that hyaluronic acid is not harsh or skin-stripping at all.
The opposite is true, as HA has moisture-binding properties that can keep your skin hydrated and young looking.
What is hyaluronic acid?
The acid is a naturally occurring polysaccharide in the human body.
It is present in large amounts in the space between skin cells.
Hyaluronic acid provides moisture, plumpness, suppleness, and firmness to the skin.
Just think of babies for a moment.
Their skin looks so deliciously dewy and silky smooth, right?
Well, the reason for that is because they are born with very high amount of hyaluronic acid, keeping their skin smooth and plump.
The bad news, on the other side is that as we age, the amount of HA in our skin diminishes.
After the age of 40, this effect is even more visible.
Now, let’s be real and honest for a moment.
You can never get your baby skin back.
However, you can restore some of your skin’s hyaluronic acid content and give your grown skin a younger and fresher look.
When applied topically, HA can increase hydration, reverse free radicals damage and improve elasticity of your skin.
The best part is hyaluronic acid works on all skin types.
Possible Benefits
Hydrates your skin
The most important function of hyaluronic acid is to act as a moisturizer and hydrator for your skin.
The primary way in which HA helps is by reducing water loss.
Your skin aged due to sun exposure will look youthful and less sun-damaged.
Even hormone replacement treatments do this, because they increase the amount of HA in your skin.
Hyaluronic acid can help with all sorts of dehydration problem.
You can use it to eliminate dryness, dandruff, drooping eyes, drooping lips, and sagginess.
These are all problems associated with aging skin.
The reason is molecules in our skin lose their ability to retain water.
Reduce wrinkles
More research is needed in this area, but some studies have shown that HA can improve your skin’s appearance within six weeks.
Anti-wrinkle HA serums and creams can start to work within two weeks in some cases.
Dermatologists recommend prescription injections with HA content.
Same as with hydration, HA helps reduce wrinkles by offering moisturizing properties for our skin.
The result is finer skin texture and improved elasticity, which is how wrinkles disappear.
Help with sores and sunburn
Cold sores and mouth sores can be quite irritating and tricky to heal.
Most cold sore treatments for the lips contain some HA.
How the acid helps?
Hyaluronic acid binds to water, hydrating the skin and tissues within the mouth, and keeps skin junction tight.
By doing this, HA essentially helps bring nutrients to damaged tissues and controls inflammation in the mouth.
Lubricate achy joints
There are two primary reasons people use hyaluronic acid.
The first one is to help with skin problems, most notably aging skin.
The other is to provide relief for achy joints caused by osteoarthritis and similar conditions.
Found in al bones, HA connects tissues, joints, tendons, and cartilage structures.
By buffering bones and providing resistance to wear and tear, HA can lower the pain associated with all degenerative joint diseases.
Help for your eyes
Some studies have shown that hyaluronic acid can also help with eye conditions like cataracts.
Injecting HA into the eyes is effective when used during the cataract surgery.
Your eye surgeon will use it to make the procedure easier and increase the chances of a success.
How it works
It is worth noting that there are different sizes of HA molecules.
The size of the molecule is important, as the size determines the function of the HA molecules.
Larger molecules are usually found in healthy tissue and they help keep inflammation and dehydration under control.
Smaller molecules of HA can send distress signals to the immune system and raise inflammation to help with injury and wound healing.
How to use
Depending on what you need hyaluronic acid for, the usage is different.
For example, if you need hyaluronic acid for skin and eyes, here is what to do:
- Get some injections, they can be administered by doctors only. Talk to your dermatologist about recommendations on hyaluronic acid injections on your lips, skin, or eyes
- Try some hyaluronic acid cream, serum, or lotion. There is a wide variety of brands, and all contain different concentration of the HA molecules. The most effective have more than one size of hyaluronic acid molecules, since different sizes work in different ways
- If you want to treat dry eyes, you can found hyaluronic acid in liquid eye drop form. Use it three to four times per day for three months. Look for concentration between 0.2 and 0.4 percent
If you need to use HA for joint pain, you can try one of the following treatments:
- People with osteoarthritis can take 80mg supplements containing between 60% and 70% of HA daily for eight weeks
- For knee osteoarthritis there are several hyaluronic acid treatments approved
- Adults over 18 can take 50mg of HA one or two times per day orally with meals
- As with skin problems, you can talk to your physician for HA injections once a week to control pain
