Showing posts with label Hyaluronic Acid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hyaluronic Acid. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

What is Hyaluronic Acid?

What is Hyaluronic Acid?

What exactly is Hyaluronic Acid? In looking for a natural skin care product I was a bit confused by the terminology. Hyaluronic Acid is usually referred to as Hyaluron or Hyaluronate. It is commonly used in anti-aging formulas and cosmetic fillers because of its "unique ability to hold water." Like collagen, hyaluronic fluid is produced by the human body, but there are differences.

The major difference is that collagen and hyaluronic acids are not water-attracting liquids, they are more solid. Collagen is a protein which our bodies synthesize and stores. Hyaluronic Acid, on the other hand, is a semi-solid organic substance. It tends to pool with other substances in our bodies, especially our bodily fluids, as well as our bodily tissues. This results in a dryer than usual facial skin.

There are many cosmetic serums and facial moisturizers that contain hyaluronic. Most of them contain either dimethicone or dimethoxyethanol. Dimethicone is a greaseless, silicone-like substance commonly used in plastic make-ups while dimethoxyethanol is petroleum jelly like substance found in Vaseline and other petroleum based products.

My preference is to use hyaluronic because it has a dual function. Hyaluronic Acid primarily acts as a "moisturizer" while providing additional moisture to the skin. However it also provides a thick emulsion that locks in moisture within the skin. This emulsion is what I feel best for fine lines and wrinkles. In fact, any good anti-wrinkle serum will contain some form of hyaluronic Acid.

The other function of hyaluronic is to prevent the evaporation of water from your skin. We all know that as we age our skin becomes more dehydrated. Hyaluronics keeps water locked in and out of your skin. This allows for more moisture to be retained which can help reduce aging signs. In addition, because hyaluronic has a thick consistency it can provide a very stable moisturizer.

The reason we have water is because H.A. molecules are larger than water molecules. We cannot see hyaluronic at the molecular level, so we cannot measure its density. But we can measure the thickness of the "thickness" of H.A. molecules by using a laser scanning machine.

As a biotechnology consultant working with the skin types described in this article, you probably already know that you need H.A. to be effectively promoted in both the pharmaceutical and cosmetic markets. Hyaluronics can be introduced through oral intake as well as topically applied topically. You may have seen an advertisement or two for products containing hyaluronic as part of their ingredients. Most cosmetic companies use these types of products for their anti-aging creams and lotions.

Now back to the original question: what is Hyaluronic Acid? Benjamin says, "It's actually a very simple substance...you just need to find someone who's manufacturing it properly." So that's our answer to the mystery of what is Hyaluronic Acid. It is an incredibly dense molecule, so dense in fact that only highly skilled and incredibly rich people are able to actually absorb it into their skin tissue. It is so dense that it will hardly ever be passed through your skin pores, so even if you absorb it topically it will never be available to your skin.

Hyaluronic Acid is a very simple molecule so any skincare routine involving the application of such a highly dense product will not greatly increase the amount of HA available for use by your skin. If you are looking for a way to increase your hyaluronic acid levels just to increase your vitamin b5 intake dramatically. That's right, don't eat more vitamin b5 - instead get more of the substance's other components. Hyaluronic Acid is found almost exclusively in formulas featuring certain types of collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid polymer. The amount of these ingredients in a typical formula featuring these compounds will be enough to significantly raise your HA production rate.

There are also a number of other substances that are commonly included as ingredients in formulas designed to increase the levels of Hyaluronic Acid in your skin. One of the most popular of these is Phytessence Wakame, which is a Japanese kelp that has been used for centuries to prevent the loss of hyaluronic acid. Another common filler used in cosmetics products is called Eyeliss, which is another kelp that works best if its molecular structure is identical to that of the skin's own. It contains a unique ability to make the water in your skin stay perpetually hydrated, something that has huge implications for firming the skin and keeping it young. Other artificial preservatives like parabens and sulphates are also included as natural ingredients in eye serums and facial care products because they too are capable of forming a protective layer of hyaluronic acid on the surface of the skin.

A natural compound like Eyeliss will work much better than its modern counterpart, the chemical preservative known as parabens, at penetrating deeply into the skin and neutralizing the activities of harmful free radicals. This results in a moisturiser that is both more effective and far less damaging, than its paraben-filling equivalents. For this reason, many cosmetic companies have been using Eyeliss as an ingredient in their anti-wrinkle and under-eye creams for years now. The results they achieved using Eyeliss, and by using a hyaluronic acid-fortified moisturiser containing Eyeliss, can be remarkably similar to those achieved with a high quality substance like Phytessence Wakame.