If you’re considering working Hyaluronic Acid into your skincare routine, one of the first things you should do is learn how it’s going to interact and influence the other elements of your regimen.
Here’s what you need to know about layering Hyaluronic Acid.
What Is Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic Acid (aka HA) is a large part of our skin’s molecular makeup. Your body actually produces Hyaluronic Acid as part of its natural hydration mechanism. Hyaluronic Acid molecules are also used to lubricate your joints and keep your skin hydrated. They’re as integral to keeping your skin looking youthful and plump as collagen.
HA is what’s known as a humectant, which means that it’s a type of molecule that serves as a magnet, drawing in moisture. In fact, one-quarter teaspoon of Hyaluronic Acid can hold up to one and a half gallons of water.
Hyaluronic Acid can pull water from the air and other sources to keep your skin hydrated, which can give skin the appearance of a more youthful glow.
As you age, your body’s stores of Hyaluronic Acid begin to deplete. This depletion process can be accelerated by lifestyle factors, such as smoking or drinking alcohol, and by living in a polluted area. That’s where topical Hyaluronic Acid skincare products come into play.
Topical Hyaluronic Acid can help draw moisture in and trap it against your skin. Doing this helps restore your skin’s moisture and can even support your elasticity.
Our Hyaluronic Hydration Heaven Set combines the skin-supporting benefits of Hyaluronic Acid in three products. Help nourish your eyes, lips, and face in this expertly curated set that includes our Resurrection Radiance Eye Cream, Chebula Extreme Cream, and Moisture Lock Glossy Lip Balm at a value.
Using an optimal concentration of low and high weighted hyaluronic molecules, our formulas help get Hyaluronic Acid to the areas where your skin needs it most.
In fact, in an independent scientific clinical blind study on 31 people over 6 weeks, 100% of women tested showed a significant improvement in fine lines and wrinkles around the eye area after 6 weeks of using Resurrection Radiance Eye Cream, while 100% of women said their skin looked and felt smoother, softer, more glowy, and deeply hydrated after just 28 days of using Chebula Extreme Cream.
Because Hyaluronic Acid is a natural part of your skin and body, products that utilize HA are unlikely to harm your skin. Hyaluronic Acid products can help improve breakouts, reduce redness, minimize fine lines, and improve your skin barrier and hydration.
What Doesn’t Mix With Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic Acid is a gentle ingredient that works well with almost everything! Because Hyaluronic Acid is primarily a moisturizing and soothing agent, it’s actually ideal to mix this particular ingredient with other, harsher ingredients to help tone down the irritation.
What Ingredients Work Well With Hyaluronic Acid?
Most products work well with Hyaluronic Acid. Since Hyaluronic Acid helps bring hydration closer to your skin, it is also known to soothe signs of irritation like dryness, redness, and itchiness. That said, there are a few usually-harsh products that we recommend mixing with Hyaluronic Acid so you can have your HA, and use it, too!
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant commonly used in skincare products to achieve a brighter and more even-toned appearance. While some rumors are floating around that Vitamin C can cause sun sensitivity, the truth is the opposite.
Vitamin C can help mitigate free radical damage and oxidative stress, which can occur due to sun exposure. Because of this, Vitamin C is a powerful brightening tool in your anti-aging skincare routine.
Because Vitamin C can be unstable when used on its own, you will often see Vitamin C paired with Vitamin E, also known as Tocopherol for you skintellectuals out there, and Ferulic Acid. We include Ferulic Acid in our Vitamin C Booster Powder to help ensure that this antioxidant is powerfully potent so it can reveal smoother, even-toned, brighter-looking skin.
We recommend using our Vitamin C Booster Powder with our Chebula Active Serum to reap the beautifying benefits of Vitamin C and HA. One to two shakes of our Vitamin C powder in this powerful skin-rejuvenating serum can deliver brightening effects, deep hydration, and the nourishing antioxidants your skin craves!
Retinol
Synthetic Retinol is harsh and is known to cause dry skin if used too often or too much. Even when used as directed, Synthetic Retinol has common side effects, including irritation like dryness, tightness, redness, and itchiness. Synthetic Retinol is also notorious for making you more sunlight sensitive, making SPF absolutely non-negotiable.
While this is true of over-the-counter Retinol, this is especially true of dermatologist-prescribed Retinoids like Tretinoin.
Fortunately, there are two things you can do to mitigate these negative effects. First, you could incorporate a Hyaluronic Acid product to help soothe and calm irritation.
Our Renew Nightly Treatment is a one-of-a-kind product that gives you the transformative results you want without the toxic preservatives, fillers, and sensitizing ingredients found in many anti-aging products. This all-natural formula floods your skin with seaweed-derived Peptides, Hyaluronic Acid, and Ceramides during your skin’s nighttime recovery process to target dehydrated, sunken, and sagging skin.
By using all-natural ingredients, this repair serum gives your skin exactly what it knows how to use to help skin look firmer and plumper. An abundance of natural biocompatible Omega Fatty Acids, Ceramides, and Peptides help fight signs of skin aging. These proprietary bioactive Peptides help nourish and optimize the skin so that you wake up to plumper, smoother, more glowy skin.
Another way to mitigate irritation is to switch to a just-as-powerful, plant-based, vegan-friendly form of Retinol: Phyto-Retinol.
Our Phyto-Retinol Vitamin A Booster is perfect for sensitive skin because, unlike other anti-aging products or ingredients that try to achieve the same results, our Phyto-Retinol is gentle and biocompatible.
Our microbiome-minded Phyto-Retinol Vitamin A Booster harnesses the innate intelligence of your skin to deliver powerful anti-aging benefits without sensitizing side effects.
Our Phyto-Retinol Booster comes in perfectly dosed vegan capsules that deliver Provitamin A Carotenoids, which your skin transforms into its own potent retinoic acid — one of the most biocompatible kinds of retinoic acids.
Your skin then uses this retinoic acid to fight signs of aging, including wrinkles, dark spots, and uneven skin tone, delivering your most youthful-looking glow.
As a bonus, you can even use our Phyto-Retinol Booster in the daytime without experiencing sun sensitivity. In fact, you can use it multiple times per day, with any ingredient, with no sensitization or side effects.
AHAs
One of the biggest struggles most people have in working AHAs and BHAs like Benzoyl Peroxide into their skincare routines is the acid’s tendency to dry out and irritate sensitive skin.
We recommend pairing your Alpha and Beta Hydroxy Acids with our Chebula Extreme Cream. Chebula Extreme Cream has Hyaluronic Acid in it to help provide intense moisturization. It even has occlusive and emollient ingredients that help trap the Hyaluronic Acid against your skin to provide maximum hydration.
Chebula Extreme Cream is so effective as a moisturizer that 32 out of 32 women who tried it in a clinical and consumer third-party study said their skin looked and felt smoother, softer, more glowy, and deeply hydrated after just 28 days of usage. You read that right — this all-natural cream moisturizer is clinically proven to deliver extreme moisturization.
Chebula Extreme Cream also uses one of the most bioactive antioxidants out there, Chebula, which is a cascading antioxidant, which means it can offer longer-lasting antioxidant effects compared to other antioxidants. It’s a skin barrier cream made without wax fillers to target the five signs of aging.
Breakout Solutions
One of the more common breakout-busting products, Salicylic Acid falls under the BHA umbrella. Salicylic Acid works by diving deep into your pores and breaking up stubborn plugs of dirt, dead skin cells, and excess sebum. It also helps regulate oil production and uses exfoliation to even skin texture and skin tone.
Salicylic Acid and other breakout busters can irritate your skin, so we recommend using Hyaluronic Acid products to help soothe irritation and restore moisture to stripped skin.
Alternatively, you could use a botanical-based breakout solution like our Nutrient Toner that won’t strip your skin of its natural oils but works with them to give you better-looking skin.
Our Nutrient Toner is formulated with Black Willow Bark, nicknamed “nature’s Salicylic Acid,” which brings the benefits without the irritating and drying effects of synthetically made Salicylic Acid. Antioxidant-rich Helichrysum helps to soothe your skin, while Aloe Vera could leave your skin feeling nourished and hydrated. Sandalwood Hydrosol provides essential hydration and calming properties to soothe irritated and red skin.
You see, our Nutrient Toner takes a unique balancing approach to caring for breakout-prone skin, and not only nourishes, but also deeply cleanses the skin to help prevent excess oil and clogged pores while minimizing the potential for future breakouts.
Why Don’t Certain Skincare Ingredients Mesh?
Some skincare ingredients don’t play well together because certain ingredients can minimize the impact of others or cause skin irritation. Here are a few reasons why certain active ingredients might not get along.
They’ll Irritate Your Skin
Some skincare ingredients can combine to irritate your skin. For instance, Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs), such as Lactic Acid and Glycolic Acid, and Synthetic Retinol are a pair that can easily cause irritation. Both ingredients are thought to have a positive impact on fine lines and wrinkles, but Synthetic Retinol on its own is harsh for most.
Synthetic Retinol is known to cause dryness, redness, or flaking. Add in the exfoliating power of Lactic Acid, and the result could be too intense for sensitive skin. It’s easy to over-exfoliate or just overwhelm your skin with too many products.
They’ll Cancel Out
Vitamin C, known in the skincare world as L-Ascorbic Acid, can be great for brightening your skin tone and reducing the appearance of blemishes and dark spots. AHAs like Lactic Acid can also help soothe and clear up your acne-prone skin.
However, layering acids can leave you with a pH that is too low or too high. Since skincare products work best at certain pHs, this can render certain products ineffective.
For instance, Alpha Hydroxy Acids and Beta Hydroxy Acids have a pH between three and four. Meanwhile, Synthetic Retinol has a pH between four and six. These two products have drastically different pHs that will not only cancel each other out but can also stress your skin out.
Because of the pH problem, most dermatologists recommend using a Vitamin C serum in the morning and Retinol in the evening (but like we mentioned earlier, you don’t have to worry about that with our never-sensitizing Phyto-Retinol!).
In Conclusion
Hyaluronic Acid is a heavy hitter in the skincare department. And, when combined with our other clean beauty products, a more youthful-looking radiance is in reach. HA will cover the moisturizing, while ingredients like Vitamin C or Chebula can help brighten and address fine lines and wrinkles — without damaging the environment or your skin barrier.
Looking for more guidance on what skin care ingredients might be best for you? Take our Skincare Quiz today by clicking here!
Sources:
Vitamin C in Dermatology | Indian Dermatology Online Journal
Alpha Hydroxy Acids | US Food and Drug Administration
Hyaluronic Acid: A Key Molecule in Skin Aging | Dermato-Endocrinology