After getting a really good response on my Skincare 101 post I decided to continue posting about my favorite must haves in skincare. Today’s blog post is all about hyaluronic acid, what is it, how to find the best serums and how to use it.
Hyaluronic Acid aka HA is a substance that is naturally present in the human body. The largest amounts are found in skin, connective tissue and eyes. The main function is to retain water and keep your tissues well lubricated and moist. The HA within our bodies holds a thousand times its weight in water to not only retain all that moisture in our skin and joints, but also prevent all that moisture from evaporating into the air.
If you’re a skincare lover you surely know of the importance and the benefits of HA in skincare. Hyaluronic acid can be found in serums and creams and can be used for any skin type. Because of its amazing capability to draw and hold water it can be used as a humectant in your skincare regimen. Hyaluronic acid is so powerful at pulling moisture to the surface of your skin, giving your skin a more dewy, younger appearance because it improves skin elasticity.
Finding the best Hyaluronic acid products can be hard since there are so many available on the market. Here are some things to consider when looking for a HA serum.
One of the most important things to consider is the HA concentration. A lot of the serums on the market only contain from 0.25% to 1.75% of hyaluronic acid, which can still have a small hydrating effect on your skin, but it’s not going to be effective enough. But the concentration can even be too high and therefore too unstable to be used effectively. You should be looking for a well-balanced concentration of just over 2% which will be effective enough to hold the water molecules from the serum in place which will cause your skin to be more hydrated.
2. Forms of HA
Many of the serums on the market are made up only by one form of hyaluronic acid. This is of course ok and safe, but it won’t have the most effective results in the long run.
There are three primary kinds of HA – lower, medium and higher- weight molecules. Lower-weight molecules dive deep down into your skin layers and the fix the fine lines, wrinkles and improve skin elasticity in the long term. Medium-weight molecules help you retain moisture slightly below the skin’s barrier and also have a semi-long term effect. Higher-weight molecules won’t penetrate your skin deeply and will only make it look good on the outside and for a short amount of time.
What we want from a hyaluronic acid serum in a balanced mix of all there molecular forms so our outer and inner layer is well moisturized and plump.
3. Other ingredients
Many HA serums also contain some other useful ingredients, even though some only contain HA and water. It can be niacinamide, different oils and other moisturizing ingredients.
The serum that I decided to test out is the one from Missha. Missha is a korean skincare brand that’s been around for a while now and has a lot of different types of skincare products. This Super Aqua Ultra Hylaron Serum contains 10 different types of HA Complex, which provides incredible hydration from inside and outside.
I use it in the morning and in the evening, after I wash my face and before I put on any oils/moisturizers. This serum is also free from parabens, alcohols and phenoxyethanol.
It has a very thin, liquid-y consistency and it quickly absorbs into the skin. It layers nicely with other skincare products.
Thank you for reading today’s post! I hope everyone is doing good in this weird times of quarantine. If you need some more reading material, don’t hesitate to browse through my blog.