Hyaluronic Acid Skin Benefits

By The FabFitFun Team | June 18, 2022

When it comes to a skincare routine, there are many questions to be answered, and asked. This includes the right way to layer your skincare products, how to incorporate new ingredients, how to find a new skincare product, and more. However, one topic that’s been given a lot of attention is hyaluronic acid. Given the hype around hyaluronic acid (HA) over the past few years, you may be wondering whether this substance can accomplish everything from revitalizing your skin to doing the dishes for you.

The main draw of hyaluronic acid is inscribed in its DNA: as a water-loving compound, the secret to its potential skin-enhancing benefits lies in its ability to saturate thirsty skin with waterfalls of moisture. Essentially, if hydration is the key to youthful-looking skin, hyaluronic acid is like the fountain of youth of skincare staples.

So, no, HA can’t check washing the dishes off your to-do list—but it may be able to combat the chronic dryness that can accompany getting sudsy at the kitchen sink. Without further ado, let’s break down what this substance is and all the potential hyaluronic acid skin benefits you have to look forward to.

What is Hyaluronic Acid?

So, what exactly is hyaluronic acid? The hyaluronic acid found within today’s skincare products is produced in a lab using a bacterial process of fermentation.¹

However, HA isn’t some magic ingredient concocted in a mad scientist’s beauty experiment. It’s an organic compound that’s naturally found in the body, particularly in regions that require heavy-duty lubrication.² These include your:²

Skin
Eyes
Connective tissue
Joint cushioning

Hyaluronic acid is a humectant. This means its molecular makeup is primed to attract and interlock with water molecules, thereby boosting moisture content in these (and other) zones of the body.²

How much water? HA can absorb over 1,000x its weight in moisture.³ That’s the hydration jackpot, folks. So that makes HA key for hydrated skin. But let’s look at some in-depth benefits of this ingredient.

5 Ways Hyaluronic Acid Can Benefit Your Skin

So, what can hyaluronic acid do for skin, exactly? There are five potential benefits in particular.

#1 Hydrates Your Skin

The culprits of dry skin are riddled throughout our daily life, affecting most of us whether we notice it or not. Dry skin may be caused by:

Central heating
Cold weather
Overwashing
Harsh soaps or detergents
Skin conditions (e.g., eczema)
The sheer passage of time (hello, aging)

The hyaluronic acid that our bodies naturally produce belongs to a class of natural compounds that help our skin maintain moisture and elasticity throughout the varying conditions of our lives.

By incorporating HA into your skincare routine, you may be able to offset the environmental ambushes that dry out your skin, boost hydration in your skin barrier, and cultivate plumper, dewier, happier skin.

Hyaluronic Acid Skin Benefits | FabFitFun

#2 May Help Fight Against Aging

Research indicates that there are two reasons why the skin shows signs of aging:

Intrinsic factors, like the unavoidable fact that time takes a toll on all our organs—including our skin (the largest among them!).
Extrinsic factors, most commonly UV radiation from sun exposure.

As we get older, HA stays put in the lower layer of skin (the dermis) while HA retreats from the skin’s topmost layer (the epidermis). While we can’t turn back the clock, we may be able to intervene in the specific molecular processes responsible for visible signs of aging.

With hyaluronic acid-infused skincare products, you may be able to help restore the HA in the skin’s upper tier that inevitably dissipates with age for a more hydrated and firm appearance.

#3 May Help Aid Skin Recovery

Hyaluronic acid plays a major role in how the body naturally repairs itself, and HA synthesis gets a natural boost when you sustain a wound or injury.⁴ It works to control inflammation and create networks of blood vessels in the affected area.⁴

When used topically to help injured or inflamed skin, HA may serve to:⁴

Hasten the healing process
Diminish the incidence of scarring⁵
Support the growth of new skin cells⁵

What does this mean for routine skin woes? If you’re dealing with acne, HA may help reduce acne-related soreness to make your skin feel healthier and look clearer overall. By providing skin moisture, it may protect the skin barrier and encourage healthy skin cell turnover, thus helping with wound healing, like acne scars.

Another product similar to HA in protecting the skin and healing is hydrocolloid patches, which are, in short, patches placed on breakouts to protect the skin. If you’re wondering how hydrocolloid patches work, you can learn more in-depth about their benefits for acne and breakouts.

#4 May Help To Even Skin Tone

HA’s anti-inflammatory properties don’t just help your skin feel better—they may make it look better, too

When skin gets hot and bothered, it tends to show discoloration or redness. Applied topically, HA may tone down blotchiness, leaving you with a more seamless skin tone and skin that looks and feels good from the inside out.

#5 May Soothe Sensitive Skin

Sensitive skin? Not to worry. HA has an excellent track record for being:⁶

Compatible with most skin types
Highly non-allergenic
Highly compatible with other skincare products
Suitable for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding

Translation? Whether you’re looking to quench parched skin or help your combination skin find its happy moisture medium, hyaluronic acid can help most skin types find their radiance—without causing any irritation in the process.

Hyaluronic Acid Skin Benefits | FabFitFun

How To Choose The Best Hyaluronic Acid Products

Topical HA comes in different skin care product forms from a hyaluronic acid serum to a cleanser, moisturizer, and more. Although all hyaluronic acid is a magnet for moisture, not all skincare products that incorporate it offer equal benefits when used topically.

Molecule size matters when it comes to hyaluronic acid products. The bigger the molecules, the tougher it is for them to penetrate the skin and hydrate below the surface. Harvard Medical School recommends looking for products that carry an assortment of HA molecule sizes to quench thirsty skin beyond the topmost layer.²

The takeaway? Know your unique skin type and find the right products to complement it so you can start reaping the benefits of using HA in your skin regimen.

A little tip: while hyaluronic acid is mainly known to be included in a skincare routine, it can provide head-to-toe hydration. So it doesn’t only have to be used for facial skin moisture, but topical hyaluronic acid can be used on your body as well.

Discover Premium Hyaluronic Acid Products With FabFitFun

Now that you know the benefits of HA, consider adding an HA-infused skincare product to your routine. But before you go hog wild googling the best hyaluronic acid products out there, how about letting our in-house beauty team set you up for skin care success?

FabFitFun is a quarterly subscription box service that delivers full-sized, premium-grade skin care products (and more) vetted by our very own beauty and wellness experts. Try new brands, take your time getting to know products, and see whether HA lives up to the hype with an annual or seasonal FFF membership.

To discover more of what we offer, visit FabFitFun.com to join today!

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