Your skin loses moisturize and stop producing collagen as you age. To be blunt, imagine your skin was a bouquet of flowers and the wilting process was underway. There are certain product, HA being one of them, that can help you slow that process down and maintain supple, plump, moist skin for longer. There are plenty of misconceptions about how and why etc. HA accomplishes this. Here are a few debunked!

It’s a Moisture Magnet

It literally pulls waters towards itself like a sponge would. It has your skins best interests at heart and by retaining 1000 times its weight in moisture it can keep your skin cells working properly. We lose about 800 mL of water PER DAY just by BREATHING so making sure your hydrating your skin at a cellular level is key. It literally plumps skin. Think of a dry sponge vs a wet one.

In addition - it can’t pull moisture OUT of your skin (the magnet is not a two way street). It’s looking out for your skin always. Even in very dry climates, it will NOT extract moisture from deeper layers of your skin.

It Degrades With Age

While you naturally produce hyaluronic acid, research shows that the amount of it present in your skin (particularly in your epidermis, the outermost layer of skin) takes a nosedive over the years. This gradual loss — along with that of collagen and elastin — makes skin feel dry, look slack, and become prone to lines and wrinkles. Sun exposure — surprise, surprise — doesn’t help, either. It breaks down hyaluronic acid, leading to moisture loss in the short-term, too.

It Varies in Size

Hyaluronic acid comes in a variety of molecular weights or densities. Some are smaller and can therefore penetrate to the deepest layer of your skin and pores while other are larger and hydrate surface level layers. The moist important thing to remember is that it’s a good thing for products to have multiple densities in their formulas. This will ensure every layer of your face is getting some love! Smaller molecular weights tend to be more costly which is something to look out for.

It CAN’T Pull Bacteria Into Skin Along with Moisture

Some people assume that as it’s pulling moisturize to itself, it’s also bringing bacteria, germs, etc. into the skin. However, the metaphor of a sponge/magnet, is just that. It’s not actually possible for it suck bacteria into your face while your wearing it - so don’t worry!

Our Bodies Produce it Already

As soon as this became a skincare buzzword, most people assumed it was some new scientific discovery from a lab that was revolutionizing skincare. The scientific name it has doesn’t help with this misconception. We have been naturally producing this forever (it’s surprisingly sugar derived) but the bodies production (like everything) diminished with age. You can help your body keep up production by eating foods high in magnesium (which is a catalyst for production of HA). These include leafy greens, avocado, nuts, fruits and seeds.

Seal the Deal

In the case where you’re in the Sahara dessert…OR on a plane which is equally dry (read more about our travel skincare routine here) , we established above that you don’t have to worry about the HA sucking moisture from deeper layers of the skin. However, it will evaporate faster, as moisture would in a dry setting. To prolong the usefulness of your serum or HA of choice, apply an oil as a last step to seal everything in and prevent evaporation on the outer layers of the skin.