Hyaluronic acid, AKA HA, has been attracting a LOT of attention in skincare circles lately. Best known for its powerful (and proven) hydrating effects, it is now the most widely used cosmetic ingredient worldwide, with a projected global market of more than US$16 billion by the year 2030. Crikey!
But is the hype backed by science? Is it just a great moisturiser or can it do more? Before you spend your hard-earned $16 billion, it’s worth a quick check of the evidence to make sure you’re getting bang for your skincare buck. And that’s where we come in! We’ve been watching the HA research closely for years, and the evidence is changing…
What is HA?
Despite the name, hyaluronic acid is not actually an acid, but a complex sugar that occurs naturally throughout our bodies in places like our skin, joints and eyes. 50% of our total HA is in our skin.
In the skin, it’s the main component of the extracellular matrix - or scaffolding - literally holding it up! It can attract and hold 1000 times its own weight in water but also has other jobs in the skin such as:
- stimulating collagen and elastin production
- blocking the enzymes that break them down
- protecting against inflammation and UV damage
- helping with wound healing
What happens to HA as we age?
No prizes for guessing the news isn’t good ☹️ HA levels start dropping from around the age of 25 and by the age of 40 have dropped by a whopping 50%. By the time we’re 80, our HA is just about completely gone.
The evidence is mixed but it’s likely (and not hard to imagine!) this contributes to many of the signs of aging skin especially:
- increasing dryness and fragility
- increasing sensitivity and irritability
- thinning and loss of elasticity
- increasing fine lines and wrinkles
So what about HA in skincare?
- HA has been around in skincare for years as the main component in filler injections. It’s soft, gel-like consistency, and ability to attract & hold water, makes it ideal as a wrinkle and volume filler for a softer, more natural-looking result. It also rarely causes irritation or allergic reactions which is handy.
- HA in serums and creams has long been known to be an effective moisturiser, albeit one that can’t penetrate the outer skin barrier due to the large size of its molecules. Large (or high molecular weight) HA molecules work by locking in moisture on the surface of the skin. They do this by reducing transepidermal water loss (TEWL), the normal process that causes water to migrate from the skin’s deeper layers to the outer layers and then evaporate into the air. Putting high molecular weight HA on your face helps draw water up from the deeper skin layers into the outer drier layers and keep it there. It also draws water in from the atmosphere.
Recent research is suggesting it may do even more than that, such as having anti-inflammatory effects against UV damage and even upping your skin’s own HA production.
- Small to medium size HA molecules can penetrate deeper into the skin, so a lot of research is now focussed on finding out more about how they work and coming up with more effective formulations to harness their ability to:
o Improve the skin’s deeper hydration
o increase collagen and elastin in the skin
o improve skin thickness and elasticity
o reduce fine lines and wrinkles
o protect against inflammation and damage from UV radiation
o help the redness and itch of rosacea and dermatitis
o because they penetrate deeper, some irritation can occur
- Results are looking promising but more work needs to be done. Researchers are also looking at whether HA supplements taken orally may help.
- And in the medical sphere, there is a lot of interest in using HA to help in a number of areas, including wound management, treating conditions like arthritis, heart disease and cancer and even in tissue engineering. Fascinating!
How to use HA
- If you’re looking to add HA to your skincare routine, look for one that has a mix of molecular weights to get the most bang for your skincare buck. Patch test the ones containing low molecular weight HA just in case.
- HA is suitable for most skin types as it is generally well-tolerated. It is safe to use in pregnancy and breast-feeding.
- Daily use of HA is where the evidence sits. It can be used twice a day and can be layered under other products – it may even enhance the absorption of other active ingredients.
- Other ways to use HA include as dissolving microneedles which are actually made of HA – these can penetrate the outer layer of the skin delivering the HA and other active ingredients to where they are needed. These come as an adhesive patch to apply to targeted areas, such as crow’s feet around the eyes, and can be used at home, no need for expensive clinic visits!
And finally, watch this space (we sure are!), there will be plenty more to come as the research continues…