Hyaluronic acid (HA) is perhaps the most talked about ingredient in skincare today.
It's a powerful humectant used to pull water into the deep layers of the skin for oil-less hydration.
But it may work too well…
The problem with HA is most people don’t know how it works and use it completely wrong!
Hyaluronic acid works by attracting and holding water inside the skin. This is great if your skin is dehydrated (dry skin lacks oil; dehydrated skin lacks water). The issue is most people don’t realize that in order for HA to do its job it needs WATER to work. If you apply it to dry skin it has no water to bring in and will draw moisture from the deeper layers of your skin, which in turn will cause more harm than good, leaving your complexion dehydrated, tight and inflamed.
HA should always be applied to damp skin and followed up with an occlusive like our Tallow Balm to trap and lock that moisture IN.
My next issue with HA is I think it’s wayyyyy over used. So much so that it’s just too much for our skin to handle (at least for some people). Every brand from low end at Walmart to high end at Sephora uses it in their formulations. It’s literally in every face wash, toner, essence, acid, lotion, cream...You can’t avoid it even if you wanted to. And I wonder if the over use of it is causing issues? Constantly forcing water deep into our skin with every product we use...and if you aren’t using it right then you're constantly dehydrating your skin over and over.
There's an overwhelming amount of people who do not like HA. I’m one of them. I find it irritating, tightening, very drying and leaving me screaming for more moisture!
There's also an overwhelming number of people who love it!
I chose not to use it in my formulations. Mostly because its overuse in skincare products and the fact that there are more gentle, less powerful humectants that I believe work better or just as well.
With everything...do what works for you!