The honest self-care

Meahwhile it is not possible to think about skin care without coming across hyaluronic acid (pronounced hi-ah-lew-ron-ic).

But:

Simply going to the drugstore and buying anything with the label hyaluronic acid will get you nowhere.

Just because it says hyaluronic acid doesn’t mean that it actually contains an effective active ingredient.

You will spent money on it, without getting any result. And that leads to you being frustrated.

So let’s look at what you need to know step by step.

1. What is hyaluronic acid?
2. Why use hyaluronic acid in skincare?
3. Long hyaluronic acid chains are not very effective.
4. Mid-length hyaluronic acid chains are a better choice.
5. Low-length hyaluronic acid is the best choice.
6. How to find the the right hyaluronic acid product.
7. Hyaluronic acid injections for wrinkle reduktion.
8. Are food supplements containing hyaluronic acid worth it?

1.What is hyaluronic acid?

Hyaluronan or hyaluronic acid (HA) is a substance your body produces naturally. Among other substances, it fills the space between your body cells.

In combination with water, it forms a gooey mass.

It is a multiple sugar (polysaccharide) consisting of long chains of repeating double sugar units (I know this sounds complicated, but you will need this information later to find the right care product).

The separate chains attract each other and form a close-meshed network.

HA can bind very large amounts of water to itself and store it in the skin tissue.

This way a “gel cushion” is created which makes the skin look smooth and plump.

The other way around, the skin appears drier, flabbier and less supple when the responsible skin cells produce less HA.

2.Why use hyaluronic acid in skincare?

HA production decreases during the natural aging process.

However, harmful environmental influences such as UV rays or smog are also responsible for the decrease of HA. It’s because those cells that produce HA are being damaged.

By adding HA from the outside, the lack of HA can be balanced.

BUT: The HAs used in cosmetics differ in their effectiveness!

3.Long hyaluronic acid chains are not very effective.

Long HA chains (high molecular weight) can’t penetrate the skin barrier because they are too big.

The HAs remain on the surface and form a thin film ON the skin.

It’s not like there isn’t any benefit from this. The HA-layer on your skin surface keeps the moisture inside the skin so it doesn’t dry out.

However, you will not achieve a plumping effect this way.

Also, this moisurizing effect lasts only for a very short time.

As soon as you wash your face, touch your face or sweat, the hyaluronic-acid goes-off.

Now this is the point where you need to be aware that low-price drugstore products only contain the long chained hyaluronic acid.

If you only want a product that feels good on your face and has a short term moisturizing effect, then go for it.

But if you really want to achieve an improvement of your skin texture, then you need to spent a little bit more of your money and look for quality products.

4.Mid-length hyaluronic acid chains are a better choice.

A long-term padding effect is achieved with HA chains of medium length (low molecular weight).

Since the substance particles are smaller, they are absorbed by the skin into the deeper layers.

The hyaluronic acid particles remain in the intercellular space, bind water and increase in volume.

This makes the skin appear plumper and wrinkles are reduced.

The surrounding cells are supplied in moisture, so that their cell metabolisms can run optimatically and their liefe span is increased.

Like all biomolecules, hyaluronic acid only has a certain lifespan.

Because of this you need to apply this kind of hyaluronic acid on a regular base to maintain the anti aging effect.

5.Low-length hyaluronic acid is the best choice

Then there is oligo hyluronic acid and nano hyaluronic acid.

This HA-chain is very low in length. The small particles can penetrate the skin barrier and reach deeper layers of the skin.

So if you use oligo hyaluronic acid, you will have a long-term plumping effect.

HA which is located in the incercellular space in your low skin layers, is effective for up to several months – depending on how much hyaluronic acid there is.

This type of HA is only found in very high- quality products.

6.How to find the the right hyaluronic acid product

If you are searching for a hight quality product with focus on hyaluronic acid, don’t let just the price influence you.

Sometimes it is only the marketing strategy to put a price tag with a high number on a product to make it look high quality.

People accept the price believing the product is good.

In Germany we have the saying “ What costs nothing is worth nothing“. Don’t let that put you off.

You need to ignore the avertisement.

Search for products that are explicitly described with oligo hyaluronic acid or nano hyaluronic acid.

7.Hyaluronic acid injections for wrinkle reduktion

This may be an option for you if you want really fast results.

Wrinkle injections with hyaluronic acid are injected into the skin to plump up volume loss of certain skin zones and reduce wrinkle depth.

And because the amount of hyaluronic acid is higher than what you would achieve with cosmetics, its plumping effects last up to 2 years.

You need to find a specially trained doctor (dermatologist or surgeon) to perform the injections.

You should also be aware that this treatment is quite expensive.

8.Are food supplements containing hyaluronic acid worth it?

No, they are not.

Supplements containing hyaluronic acid are nothing more than a bluff.

Your body or more precisely the small intestine has specialized on absorbing only carefully selected substances.

These substances are mainly glucose, vitamins, fatty acids, proteins.

All other substances, including hyaluronic acid, are split during digestion and transformed into other substances that your body is able to absorb.

So the hyaluronic acid you ate is simply not existing anymore.