Ever since Japanese brand Hada Labo came to town, almost every blogger or skin care addict has raved about their best selling product, the Hada Labo SHA Hydrating Lotion. Since the main ingredient used in all products from this brand is hyaluronic acid (or ‘HA’ for short), the company has wasted no time or expense to promote this ingredient as the next best thing for our skin. This has resulted in HA being promoted to almost god-like status in the skin care industry. Suddenly, every brand of skin care that has had HA in their products began emphasizing its inclusion in their list of ingredients, even if that product had already been in the market for donkey years.
I am ashamed to say, I too fell victim to the hype, and very
enthusiastically… …
Since HA is being marketed aggressively by skin care
companies (and also seeing that some brands are charging ridiculous amounts of money just because their products have this
ingredient), shouldn’t we ask ourselves what exactly is HA? What does it do? Is it really worth the hype?
HA is basically a carbohydrate or more precisely, a
mucopolysaccharide. It is present naturally in our body and some of its main
functions include lubricating the joints and muscles and contributing to tissue
repair. The greatest concentration of HA is found in our skin tissue. Because
it is hydrophilic (aka. water-loving), its ability to bind up to 1000 times its
weight in water makes it a good hydrator for the skin. When we are young, our
skin’s ability to produce HA allows it to appear healthy and firm but this
diminishes as we age.
I took these pictures hoping to show the texture of HA. It
is sort of a gooey, slightly viscous liquid in these products. Note that the
higher the concentration of HA, the more viscous will be the product.
Based on the sheer number of positive reviews for products
containing this ingredient, both by word of mouth and from the online
community, I can’t deny that HA definitely does something. According to some of the praises:
Ÿ Pores
appear smaller
Ÿ Skin is firmer (as Hada Labo adverts would call it, that
‘boing boing’ feel)
Ÿ Skin is more hydrated
These
are the general benefits that majority of users report. There are a handful
that claim HA helps with their pimples because their skin is sufficiently
hydrated (note that this product doesn’t
actually fight acne, but if your skin is dehydrated and breaking out because of
that, this may help). As there are quite a few products in the market
containing HA that are also completely oil-free, this makes HA serums one of
the most suitable moisturizers for acne-prone or oily skin simply because it is
very unlikely to clog pores.
Personally,
I have tried many versions of HA serums, all of which are oil free and I do
experience all the positives that other users have reported. Oh… the firmness,
the level of hydration and just the glow
that I got once the HA serum sinks in. And people, all these benefits can be
observed instantly. Take note that
serums with more HA will give you better and more instantaneous results.
HOWEVER…
ALL products containing HA BREAK ME OUT.
Seriously, it’s ridiculous. The gods
above have decided to deprive me of the one miraculous ingredient that most
people can use. Har dee har har.
On
the plus side, I don’t seem to be the only one that breaks out from HA (yes yes its selfish but it’s better to be
sad together with other people so I don’t’ feel so alone… sniff). Do an
online search and you will come across a very small number of similar reports.
We all love the results, but we just can’t use it. So if you are experiencing
the same thing, don’t panic, you’re not alone!
Another
thing to note about HA is that the effects tend to be temporary. So to maintain
it you’d probably have to use it continuously (forever and ever and ever… although, then wouldn’t the effects be sort
of permanent? Haha!).
Also, for those
of you who are paying an arm and a leg or selling off your unborn child to get
HA products, I have news for you. HA can actually be obtained pretty cheap and
the serum can be done yourself at home. You just purchase the HA powder online
and mix it with water (gardenofwisdom is one such site). I have tried this
before and the mixture starts of viscous and sticky but after some time it
becomes watery and diluted, maybe because I did not add any preservatives. THE
POINT IS, even if you are buying it off the shelf, you shouldn’t be paying a lot for it.
So to conclude
my longwinded post (gosh, I’m such a
naggy old lady), I think it is worth trying out a HA product to see what it
does for you, especially when most of
the feedback has been positive. If you are one of those that don’t see any
benefits or has an adverse reaction to HA, well all I can say is, join the
club! Heh heh heh!
PockMarkFats
P.S. Sodium
hyaluronate is the salt of HA and may be a gentler option for those who cannot
tolerate HA. Of course the results are also less outstanding but it is a good
way to compromise and at least get some of it in your skin. I myself avoid
sodium hyaluronate because I suspect it clogs my pores and breaks me out,
although not as bad as with HA.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyaluronan
http://www.hyalogic.com/main/about_hyaluronic_acid
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