If you’re researching ways to help minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, you’ve probably come across Hyaluronic Acid and Collagen.
They’re frequently praised for their ability to support the skin’s texture, tone, and hydration. But what are Hyaluronic Acid and Collagen, and how do you actually add them into your daily skincare routine?
What Is Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic Acid (aka HA) is a sugar molecule. HA molecules are naturally produced by our bodies and are one of the biggest parts of our skin’s makeup, working to cushion and lubricate your joints.
As you get older, your body’s Hyaluronic Acid stores start to run a bit dry — which means you may start to experience dry skin and flakiness. Certain lifestyle factors, like pollution and smoking, can also affect the rate at which your body’s HA starts to decline.
Since Hyaluronic Acid is a humectant — which means it attracts and binds water molecules — it’s important for keeping your skin plump and hydrated.
As your body’s natural stores of HA decrease, you can help support your skin by working a high-quality Hyaluronic Acid product into your skincare routine to help with breakouts, redness, fine lines, and overall dehydration.
What Is Collagen?
Collagen is a structural protein in your skin that your body produces on its own. It’s also present in a variety of other parts of your body, like your bones, muscles, blood vessels, and even your teeth.
Collagen provides the structure that holds your body and skin together. It’s part of what gives skin its elasticity (though another protein called elastin plays the lead role for that).
Your body’s collagen production slows down as you hit your 20s, and continues to slowly decreases from there.
Your lifestyle and habits could also influence how quickly or steeply that production drops off. Somebody who lives a fairly active lifestyle and makes an effort to protect themselves from too much sun exposure with a high SPF sunscreen, for example, is likely to maintain more collagen over the years.
As collagen production decreases, you could experience the visible signs of aging, such as skin sagging, wrinkles, and an overall loss of firmness and tone in your skin.
How Do I Use Hyaluronic Acid and Collagen Together in My Skincare Routine?
Let’s talk about a simple skincare regimen to help your skin feel hydrated and clean. Learn how to add in HA and utilize ways to mimic collagen’s skin plumping-effects in an easy three-step routine.
1. Cleanse
The first step in any good skincare routine is to make sure you’re starting off with a blank canvas. Make sure any blemish-causing bacteria that has accumulated on your skin overnight isn’t getting a free ride for the rest of the day.
Our Ginger Turmeric Cleansing Balm removes impurities and makeup that may be lingering on your skin, but still leaves skin feeling moist and nourished, rather than tight and stripped.
Whereas other cleansers may be made with harsh surfactants and toxic chemicals, our Ginger Turmeric Cleansing Balm is made with Lactic and Azelaic Acid, Yucca Extract, and Seed Oils, making it sustainable and biocompatible so it works with your skin, not against it.
2. Dampen
Whereas normally you might dry your face after washing it so you don’t feel like you’re wasting whatever products come next in your routine, HA needs access to water to work properly. After you wash your face, skip the face-pat and leave your skin a little damp as you proceed to the next step.
3. Use Serum
Apply your serum to damp skin. Find a serum that’s formulated with Hyaluronic Acid or Sodium Hyaluronate, which is the optimal formulation of HA since it is better equipped to absorb into the skin.
Our Chebula Active Serum includes Sodium Hyaluronate, so it’s the perfect addition to your skincare routine if hydration is high up on your list of skincare needs (as it should be!), especially if combating wrinkles is an action item.
Chebula is a powerful Ayurvedic antioxidant that can offer a bevy of anti-aging properties. It’s clinically proven to reduce wrinkles by 22% in less than two months, and 97% of women using our serum saw a reduction in visible signs of aging within just one month.
Since keeping your skin hydrated is so important for working against other visible signs of aging in your skin, the use of Hyaluronic Acid is a crucial part of an anti-aging skincare routine.
4. Moisturize
Skip the wax-filled moisturizers and reach for a product to support your skin’s barrier, like Chebula Extreme Cream (Sodium Hyaluronate included, of course 😉).
Dab and incorporate the cream moisturizer into your face, neck, and decolletage.
Chebula’s antioxidant properties work hard to protect your skin against damaging free radicals, and it doesn’t stop there.
Chebula Extreme Cream is formulated with other nourishing ingredients, like Acerola Cherry, which has high contents of Vitamin C and Potassium. These components help give your skin a boost in both brightness and hydration.
In fact, 100% of women said their skin looked and felt smoother, softer, more glowy, and deeply hydrated after just 28 days.
In the evening, repeat the skin cleansing process, but with a small change. Add in our Renew Repair Nightly Treatment for skin that feels more hydrated, without any harsh, sensitizing chemicals like Synthetic Retinol.
Because your body’s production and stores of both Collagen and Hyaluronic Acid reduce as you age, using Repair Nightly Treatment and its combination of omega fatty acids, ceramides, and proprietary bioactive peptides work to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles so your skin looks full, firm, and supple.
Hypoallergenic and clean, it’s an easy but nourishing way to help support aging skin. Yes, even sensitive skin users can feel good about reaching for HA and the peptides found in our sustainably-sourced Repair Nightly Treatment!
In Conclusion
Both Collagen and HA are generally safe and non-reactive, so the question isn’t whether you should use Hyaluronic Acid or Collagen. It’s how best to utilize both!
Hyaluronic Acid and Collagen are naturally found in the body, yet diminish with age. Incorporating Hyaluronic Acid and our proprietary bioactive peptides, that work to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, can help support your natural skin barrier.
Although they have similar benefits, they work in different ways, so you can use both at the same time if you want to have double the fun!
To explore more of our clean, sustainable skincare, explore our anti-aging formulas here!
Sources:
Hyaluronic Acid: A Key Molecule in Skin Aging | Dermato-Endocrinology
Decreased Collagen Production in Chronologically Aged Skin | The American Journal of Pathology