Knowing how to use hyaluronic acid for skincare can drastically improve your look. Discover its anti-aging, hydrating, and plumping benefits for all skin types.
You’ve likely heard that hyaluronic acid is a vital skincare ingredient for anyone who hopes to slow down time and preserve their youthful, buoyant skin—which is essentially everyone.
As more benefits of hyaluronic acid are realized, hyaluronic acid serum has become an increasingly popular product for its anti-aging, hydrating, and volumizing effect on all skin types.
Natural hyaluronic acid is an essential component in skin hydration; it can retain 1,000 times its weight in water.
In 1934, the hyaluronan molecule was discovered in the biological makeup of cattle. It was later realized that the hyaluronan molecule exists naturally within humans, too.
Around the 1960s, the biological benefits of hyaluronic acid started rising to the surface. Hyaluronan was initially used to repair skin tissue and damaged joints, and was later popularized for its transformational cosmetic benefits.
This magic molecule, hyaluronic acid, naturally repairs and rejuvenates the skin by boosting collagen production, retaining moisture, increasing the rate of cell turnover, and restoring skin elasticity. Because these benefits are key to youthful, revitalized skin, hyaluronic acid became a critical ingredient in many anti-aging, anti-dry-skin, and anti-wrinkle products on the market.
Hyaluronic acid is a naturally present molecule in our bodies, located within collagen fibers and connective tissues. This molecule is synthetically replicated in skincare products to promote cell regeneration and moisture retention, and to reduce wrinkles and fine lines in all skin types.
Hydrates the skin.
First and foremost, hyaluronic acid is known for its ability to retain water molecules and lock moisture in the skin. Although many hydrating ingredients tend to over-hydrate the skin, leaving it greasy or oily, hyaluronic acid provides just enough moisture to leave the skin in a state of optimal hydration.
It is immensely hydrating as it prevents water evaporation from the skin. Transepidermal water loss, or TWL, describes the process by which the body loses water that evaporates from the surface of the skin into the atmosphere. Hyaluronic acid successfully mitigates this TWL process, retaining a substantial amount of moisture in the skin.
Plumps skin texture.
As we age, the skin starts to lose its volume and fullness. Aging skin will sag or droop naturally if it’s not supported with ingredients and lifestyle habits that promote elasticity and collagen production. Elasticity is responsible for the full, or plump,appearance of our skin, especially around the cheeks, lips, jaw bones, eyelids, and eyebrows.
With time, elasticity in the skin decreases and the skin becomes thinner through a process called elastosis. As the body’s natural elastin deteriorates over time, skin can start to appear discolored and “leathery”. Overexposure to the sun can cause this process to advance rapidly.
By protecting your skin from the sun and understanding how to use hyaluronic acid in your skincare regimen, you can retain your skin’s natural, youthful volume.
Reduce wrinkles and fine lines.
Similarly to its plumping effect, hyaluronic acid fills in fine lines to smooth the skin and reduce wrinkles. By increasing elastin and collagen production in the skin, hyaluronan encourages resilient, supple skin tissue to emerge.
Collagen gives our skin its natural firmness, and moisture gives skin its desirable resilience. Because two of the leading causes of wrinkles are dry skin and a lack of collagen production, the exceptionally hydrating and collagen-boosting nature of hyaluronic acid makes it an ideal anti-aging, anti-wrinkle treatment.
Lessens redness.
Hyaluronic acid works similarly to Tulsi, a sacred Indian herb that increases the body’s resistance to stress and reduces inflammatory processes. Because hyaluronic acid is a powerhouse hydrator, it creates a barrier on the skin. This barrier helps the skin to heal faster and consequently reduces redness and inflammation.
Many people also use a hydrating face oil with Tulsi Complex in their daily routine to lessen inflammation, protect the skin, and reinforce the skin’s natural radiance.
Pairing hyaluronic acid with ingredients like vitamin C and retinol can boost its magical effects, leaving your skin firm, radiant, and happily moisturized.
Vitamin C
Known for its ability to repair damaged skin cells, vitamin C is an antioxidant that protects the skin from harmful free-radicals. (Scientifically speaking, free-radicals are atoms that are missing an electron. Because electrons are intended to pair up with other electrons, when there’s a missing electron, atoms become unstable and try vigorously to attach to other atoms. This hunt for another atom damages our cells, which can cause wrinkles, visible signs of aging, and certain diseases.)
Vitamin C helps to combat these free-radicals, preventing undesirable consequences on the skin. This ingredient, similar to hyaluronic acid, also boosts collagen production and elastin in the skin. As hyaluronic acid and vitamin C are both powerful anti-aging ingredients on their own, when they work together, they can be a major key to brightening the skin for a brilliant complexion.
When you know how to use hyaluronic acid with products like a Vitamin C booster, you can expect to experience skin that’s full, smooth, and moisturized.
Retinol
Retinol is a skincare ingredient highly touted for its restorative effects on the skin. This ingredient aids in the reparation of damaged skin cells by increasing cellular turnover to reveal the youthful layers of skin below the surface.
As this component works to shed the dull layer of cells on the surface of the skin, retinol promotes the generation of new, firm skin cells that emerge to replace the damaged, old cells. Retinol is a highly effective, highly potent ingredient that reduces visible signs of aging, evens skin pigment and reduces acne. Similar to hyaluronic acid benefits, the benefits of retinol extend far below the surface.
As a result of retinol’s powerful potency, the skin may become dry or flaky when it’s introduced to retinol. For this reason, understanding how to use hyaluronic acid with retinol to alleviate dryness can help your skin to regenerate youthful, healthy skin cells without flaking.
Natural retinol serum used with (or without) hyaluronic acid can deliver a renewing action that reduces the appearance of wrinkles and imperfections.
When you’re learning how to use hyaluronic acid, look for ingredients that complement the benefits of this ingredient. Use natural components that work to repair skin cells, increase cellular turnover, and lock in moisture.
Be sure to use hyaluronic acid serum on damp skin to enforce optimal hydration, and include a Vitamin C booster to amplify the restorative benefits of your hyaluronic acid serum.
Hyaluronic acid in our bodies naturally dwindles with age. This process is unfortunately unavoidable, but there are precautions you can take to retain as much natural hyaluronic acid in your skin as possible.
Healthy habits paired with a proper understanding of how to use hyaluronic acid can reduce the visible effects of a bustling city lifestyle.
Once the transformative benefits of hyaluronic acid were popularized, this molecular ingredient flooded the skincare shelves—and rightfully so.
Hyaluronic acid serum is an ideal skincare product to introduce into your daily regimen if you wish to boost your skin’s elastin and collagen production to preserve your natural, radiant youthfulness through the years.
In a fast-paced world, it’s important to slow down and prioritize your skin health by solidifying a healthy skincare regimen. Know how to use hyaluronic acid to nourish your skin and treat it with kindness.