Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan found throughout the body’s connective tissue. Glycosaminoglycans are simply long unbranched carbohydrates, or sugars, called polysaccharides.
HA is the main component of what gives your skin structure, and is responsible for that plump and hydrated look. You may have heard the chatter around collagen, but hyaluronic acid is where it’s at.
With the buzz around anti-aging, it’s about time we talk about hyaluronic acid, its benefits for our skin, and why molecular weight of an ingredient is important! It plays a pivotal role in the wound healing process, and decreases as we age making us more susceptible to sagging and wrinkles Trusted Source.
Read on to learn the science behind hyaluronic acid, so you can see that HA isn’t just a fad ingredient, but a staple for your skin care routine.
Why’s hyaluronic acid so magical? For starters, HA can bind up to 1000 times its weight in water! In other words, it functions as a humectant and holds water molecules onto the surface of your skin to keep it nice and hydrated.
Anytime we’re talking about skin that’s well-moisturized, we’re mainly referring to skin that has a lot of water content. Perhaps you’ve heard the term transepidermal water loss, or TEWL for short? This is the scientific term for the measurement of how much water is evaporated from the skin.
