Try the shelf of your native magnificence boutique, and also you’ll discover two substances are sometimes paired in skincare merchandise: hyaluronic acid and vitamin C.
It’s not a coincidence. Hyaluronic acid helps maintain pores and skin moisturized, whereas vitamin C protects from solar injury and can assist fade pores and skin discoloration. Each substances can assist cut back the indicators of getting older in pores and skin — particularly once they’re used collectively.
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Why every ingredient works individually
Our pores and skin will get wrinkled with age thanks largely to hormonal adjustments that make pores and skin drier and fewer elastic. Oxidative injury (from the solar’s ultraviolet rays in addition to the physique’s regular metabolic capabilities) additionally impacts the synthesis of collagen, the protein that makes up pores and skin and different connective tissues.
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is a molecule naturally produced by the physique that’s present in bones, connective tissue, cartilage, hair follicles, and pores and skin. As a humectant, it helps pores and skin retain moisture.
“It creates a barrier for the skin, locking in moisture and improving texture,” says Engelman.
“Hyaluronic acid acts like a sponge. It binds [with] water to pull it into the skin outer skin layer,” says Joshua Zeichner, MD, the director of beauty and medical analysis at Mount Sinai Hospital’s Division of Dermatology.
Though hyaluronic acid injections are more practical than lotions or serums, analysis means that making use of hyaluronic acid to the face could assist:
Hyaluronic acid lotions could also be notably useful as pores and skin ages, particularly as the degrees of hyaluronic acid within the pores and skin drop with age. “Skin loses water and moisture as we age, and this ingredient will help store hydration. The result is a softer, plumper, and even skin tone. It can improve fine lines and wrinkles as well,” Engelman says.
Vitamin C
Research counsel that pores and skin uncovered to excessive ranges of UV mild tends to have decrease ranges of vitamin C.
“Vitamin C is perhaps the best-studied antioxidant we have available for topical application,” says Zeichner.
Engelman and Zeichner say making use of vitamin C to the pores and skin could assist:
Why they go collectively
When you’re on the lookout for a pair of skincare substances for optimum pores and skin well being, select hyaluronic acid and vitamin C. Combining the 2 makes for an excellent all-in-one skincare step.
“Hyaluronic acid and vitamin C are commonly used together because they complement each other to hydrate, protect, and repair aging skin,” says Zeichner.
There’s another reason the substances are sometimes paired: “Too much vitamin C can be irritating, trigger dryness, and even cause acne breakouts in certain skin types,” says Engelman. “Hyaluronic acid is a great addition to vitamin C because it does not overwork the skin. Rather, it nourishes [skin] by helping to create a moisture barrier, and it allows the skin to heal.”
Does it work?
Science means that each hyaluronic acid and vitamin C assist moisturize pores and skin, even out redness and discoloration, and cut back indicators of getting older.
A 2002 double-blind research discovered that utilizing a ten p.c vitamin C serum each day for 12 weeks improved pores and skin hydration, lowered indicators of photoaging, and supported new collagen formation (as measured with a biopsy of pores and skin cells from the cheeks).
As for hyaluronic acid, a 2014 research involving 33 ladies discovered that making use of a 0.1 p.c hyaluronic acid cream twice each day for two months decreased the depth of wrinkles as much as 40 p.c, improved pores and skin hydration as much as 96 p.c, and boosted each pores and skin firmness and elasticity.
Potential Dangers
There aren’t any dangers when pairing these substances collectively. But when your pores and skin is delicate to both ingredient, you need to keep away from it, says Engelman.
Engelman provides that it’s extremely uncommon to have a response to hyaluronic acid. “Everyone can benefit from hyaluronic acid. There is no tolerance required, and it pairs nicely with other ingredients,” she says.
Merchandise to strive – “vitamin c and hyaluronic acid”
To maximise the advantages of each substances, Engelman suggests utilizing them as soon as each day within the morning on clear pores and skin earlier than making use of SPF.
Listed here are a couple of skincare merchandise that characteristic each hyaluronic acid and vitamin C:
The underside line
With age, pores and skin turns into drier and fewer elastic, rising the looks of high-quality strains and wrinkles.
Vitamin C is a robust antioxidant that may assist battle oxidative injury to the pores and skin. It’s typically paired in skincare merchandise with hyaluronic acid, a humectant that helps maintain pores and skin moisturized.
If you wish to maximize your skincare advantages, strive utilizing these substances collectively.
Colleen de Bellefonds is a Paris-based well being and wellness journalist with over a decade of expertise commonly writing and modifying for publications together with WhatToExpect.com, Girls’s Well being, WebMD, Healthgrades.com, and CleanPlates.com. Discover her on Twitter.