If you’re curious about hyaluronic acid for skin, you’re certainly not alone. Within the last year, the super-hydrating ingredient was America’s most Google-searched skincare product. But what is this buzzy product, and what does hyaluronic acid do for your skin? (Hint: hydration boost, radiant glow, and more.)
What Is Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic acid is a gel-like molecule that acts as a humectant, drawing water into our cells for deeply moisturizing benefits (resulting in plump, hydrated, and dewy skin). Our skin interacts with hyaluronic acid especially well because it’s actually naturally produced within our bodies –but we produce less and less as we age, meaning our skin naturally becomes drier with each passing year. Hyaluronic acid’s name is a tad deceiving – it’s not an exfoliating acid, but rather helps skin not only retain moisture, but also calm and even repair.
Below, discover the four impressive hyaluronic acid benefits for skin when consistently used in your daily ritual.
BENEFIT #1: DEEPLY HYDRATES
Hyaluronic acid’s first and foremost benefit? Hydration. Think of it as a tall, refreshing glass of water for your skin. In fact, this hydrator is so effective that it can attract and hold onto a thousand times its own weight in water – meaning it can deliver a constant stream of hydration throughout the day. Hyaluronic acid is also so powerful that one gram of it can hold up to six liters of water.
BENEFIT #2: PLUMPS SKIN FOR A RADIANT GLOW
Perhaps one of the most impressive benefits of hyaluronic acid on skin is its ability to plump. Beyond its stunning capability to provide a powerful hydration boost, hyaluronic acid works overtime by replenishing skin for a healthy, plump look and feel. When hydration levels are restored, skin looks dewy and imparted with a new radiant glow. But the healthy-skin glow isn’t just surface level. Below the skin, hyaluronic acid utilizes skin's natural hydration to enhance fullness to visibly plump skin. This revitalizes skin, leaving it both looking and feeling smoother.
BENEFIT #3: REPLENISHES COLLAGEN AND CERAMIDES
In addition to restoring skin’s moisture and volume, using hyaluronic acid on your skin can help stimulate the production of collagen, the skin-firming protein. By jumpstarting the body’s natural collagen-making processes, hyaluronic acid helps keep skin fuller, more supple, and even repair more quickly. It can also help to replenish ceramides within the skin. This helps to ensure a healthier skin barrier function, which aids in the reduction of future moisture loss, leaving skin visibly smooth and plump.
BENEFIT #4: SOOTHES EVEN THE DRIEST SKIN
Hyaluronic acid is also a humectant, which means it draws moisture from the air. Humectants are particularly wonderful in skincare because of their ability to boost hydration, especially for dry and dehydrated skin. Hyaluronic acid’s moisture-binding capabilities are exceptionally potent for those with dry skin because the loss of a natural moisture balance can leave skin weak, unhealthy-looking, and uncomfortable. Basically, hyaluronic acid’s powerful properties can lead to healthier-looking, stronger, and more radiant skin.
The hyaluronic acid benefits for skin are incredibly impactful – but are there any negatives to using the powerhouse ingredient? Shockingly, no. Hyaluronic acid side effects are pretty nonexistent; it’s incredibly gentle and helpful for all skin types and even naturally calming on the most sensitive and breakout-prone skin. Applying hyaluronic acid topically, via a serum, moisturizer, or even a face wash is a brilliant way to capture the restorative and soothing benefits.
How To Add Hyaluronic Acid To Your Routine?
Is your hyaluronic acid interest piqued? Here at Tatcha, we treasure the nourishing and hydrating ingredient and it can be found in a bevy of our bestselling favorites.
The Dewy Skin Cream, The Dewy Serum, and The Rice Wash all contain a significant amount of hyaluronic acid to help leave skin soft, comforted, and deeply nourished.
The Rice Wash is a wonderful way to cleanse skin –while also simultaneously hydrating. The creamy cleanser has a special blend of Okinawa algae and hyaluronic acid to help replenish skin’s natural moisture reservoir, immediately leaving skin soft, comforted, and deeply nourished.
Serums are an incredible source of deeply-concentrated ingredients, and The Dewy Serum is a beautiful way to jumpstart your skin’s natural HA molecules, keeping you hydrated all day long. It boosts skin’s hydration with hyaluronic acid, squalane, and lactic acid from Hadasei-3. The 3-in-1 hyaluronic acid serum gently resurfaces, plumps, and locks in moisture for smoother and dewier skin.
If you’re seeking a deep dose of hydration in your daily ritual, try The Dewy Skin Cream. The rich, moisturizing cream not only plumps hydration levels with hyaluronic acid, but also includes antioxidant-packed Japanese purple rice for a dewy, healthy glow.
Victoria Tsai
Chief Treasure Hunter