It may sound like something out of a chemistry set, but hyaluronic acid for skin and eyes is big news in the beauty industry. Here we’ll explain what it is, the hyaluronic acid benefits, and why you want to select skincare products with it in for smooth, clear skin.
What is hyaluronic acid?
For all you natural beauty lovers recoiling at the name hyaluronic acid, you’ll be happy to know that it is a natural substance. Our skin actually produces this, as part of what it does, in an effort to keep its moisture levels up and bolstered. The problem is, the environment, our age, and life in general makes our hyaluronic acid levels dip.
In short, hyaluronic acid is a sugar which holds water. It’s pretty clever in that it doesn’t just hold a thousand times its own weight in water, but it stops your skin losing that moisture to evaporation. We find hyaluronic acid in our skin and our joints.
Given how powerful it is, it makes sense that as our levels get depleted, we want to help get them back up again. You can help your body do this by eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, themselves bursting in antioxidants. However, more and more skincare products are including hyaluronic acid, as a natural ingredient, in their formulation. Just like our newly launched eye cream and toner. It gets it where it needs to go, with no hassle.
What does hyaluronic acid do?
Given our overview of hyaluronic acid, it’s no surprise that hyaluronic acid’s strength lies in its ability to hold hydration in your skin. The technical name for it is a humectant. It works beyond the instant moment of moisturising, but continues to keep skin moisturised and hydrated throughout the day, hours beyond when the moisturising cream was applied.
The good news is that hyaluronic acid is so long-lasting and powerful that you only really need it in one or two items of your skincare regime. That’s why we’ve chosen hyaluronic acid for eyes by including it in our eye cream. It’ll plump out the fine lines around the eyes, and help your skin look radiant and fresh. We’ve also included it in our toner, so the rest of your face can benefit from this super ingredient too.
Hyaluronic acid benefits
There are a huge number of hyaluronic acid benefits, including:
Hydration
Whether you’ve got dry skin or oily skin, your skin is only as healthy and ready to glow as it is hydrated. Oily skin can still be lacking in water-based moisture. Hyaluronic acid’s number one superpower is keeping your skin hydrated.
Minimises the signs of aging
We can’t run away from the effects of age on our skin. Younger skin can hold onto moisture more easily than older skin. It’s one of the core reasons why younger skin looks plumper and firmer. Hyaluronic acid helps to combat some of what your skin loses naturally through age. With hyaluronic acid for eyes and skin in moisturising products, it is anti-aging by bolstering your skin’s supply of the very thing that keeps hydration where it needs to be.
Long-lasting
Average moisturisers are all very well for the half hour or so after application. Then, your skin can go back to the same level of hydration it had before. As a humectant, hyaluronic acid acts like a sponge. It holds in the moisture in the top layer of the skin, and even draws moisture to it. The result is longer-lasting hydration than you experience from typical moisturisers.
Skin protection
Your skin has a tough job each day protecting everything inside you from the harsh impact of your external environment. Sunlight, pollution and lifestyle choices all take their toll on your skin, and your body through your skin.
The lipid (fatty acids) barrier of your skin is the first line of defence against the damage caused by daily living. This barrier serves to stop toxins passing through. It can only do this when it is well hydrated. Hyaluronic acid strengthens the lipid barrier. The effect is fewer fine lines and wrinkles, and protection against things such as dark spots.
With a strengthened lipid barrier, the skin is also better able to withstand the environmental effects it is exposed to. It doesn’t have to fight so hard.
This is really important, especially if you use non-natural products which can break down the lipid barrier. It’s always a good idea to choose skincare products which use a short list of ingredients, and ingredients which are natural.
Tighter skin
We tend to think of elastin as being the only thing that matters in terms of tight, young-looking skin. When we see sagginess, or our skin doesn’t bounce back, we bemoan our reducing elastin levels due to age. Elastin is important. But it doesn’t work alone. Hyaluronic acid helps to firm out the contours of your skin so that, even when elastin levels are reducing, you can still appear to have firm skin.
Smooth skin
Similarly, hyaluronic acid helps to make your skin feel smooth and silky, with a more even texture. It won’t be able to combat pitting scars from acne, but the micro crevasses that we all have will gradually lose their depth with regular hyaluronic acid application.
Universal
The benefits of hyaluronic acid are largely universal. Whether you’re 18 or 80, hyaluronic acid for skin will bring benefits and an improved look and feel. Well-hydrated skin is healthier skin and healthy skin looks good.
Eye wrinkles
It’s unavoidable, but the first wrinkles to put in an appearance are nearly always spotted around the eyes. An eye cream with hyaluronic acid, used twice each day, helps to minimise the look of wrinkles and slow down the creation of new lines. It will help promote skin cell regeneration, helping to prevent wrinkles and reduce them.
Hyaluronic acid has many benefits of its own, but it also acts as an incredible support squad. Combined with other skin-kind ingredients, such as vitamin C, it has the capability of really helping to ensure your skin is flawless, smooth and looks and feels as good as it possibly can.
So, whatever your skin type, consider using skincare products with hyaluronic acid alongside other natural ingredients, to boost this wonder element that lurks in your skin.