I’ve mentioned here before, that because of good genes I’ve always had pretty decent skin (thanks mom). I rarely did anything special to care for my skin in my youth.
Number 1. Because I couldn’t afford the products that Vogue was talking about, and
Number 2. Because my skin already looked pretty damned good anyway.
SO, I carried on like any totally rad girl in the 80’s would and I went to the tanning salon, laid out by the pool with ZERO SPF and basically perfected the art of getting as dark as possible, as fast as possible. I know. I hate myself. I can’t stand even thinking about it now. Stupid-stupid youth!
Fast forward to about the age of 43 when I realized not only did I HAVE skin on my face, but it was desperately crying out for help! As I leaned forward and gazed into my bathroom mirror that morning, several expletives escaped my lips. Oh I knew what had to be done: some botox, a few filler injections, perhaps a fraxel laser treatment and I’d be ready to snap a selfie with Gwenyth Paltrow, with complete confidence.
There was only one problem – I was broke. Not completely broke- but broke enough that spending thousands of dollars on my skin would have been akin to making my child skip 2 meals each day so that I could afford a weekly facial. (Not that I ever calculated such a thing). I assessed my dire situation and began an obsession with learning everything I could about non-invasive, anti aging. There are many factors that I discovered and will eventually talk about here, but today I want to tell you about hyaluronic acid and how and why you need to get it into your skin care routine stat.
I’m not going to get all science-y here. But if you’d like to read in more depth about the science behind hyaluronic acid I highly recommend reading here and here.
In my own layman’s terms, hyaluronic acid is a substance naturally produced by your body and provides a massive amount of benefits. It aids in lubrication of the joints, collagen production, skin hydration, fighting inflammation and overall healing. Now- like all things that are hot damn awesome- the body produces less of it as you age. yay. Why does your skin look thin and dry and parched? This is one of the reasons: the change in hyaluronic acid production with age.
The key to results with topical hyaluronic acid lies in molecular size and weight. Larger molecules will still draw water to themselves, creating a plump, hydrated look on your skin- but unfortunately, it’s only temporary and the effect will just rinse or wear off before the end of the day. The smaller molecules can actually penetrate deeper into the skin and actually provide long term benefits.
So- just how great is hyaluronic acid? Well, they inject a chemically altered version into your skin when you get fillers. Placing it several layers deep, allows it to actually plump up deep wrinkles. They really work- which is one reason they can charge over $1000 per 1 ml. syringe of this pure, liquid gold. I have no experience with injectables but you can google before and after pictures or look at youtube and see the results for yourself.
But what about those of us who can’t shell out thousands of dollars every few months to lift our sagging features and achieve Jennifer Anniston-like complexions? Are we just left to wallow in our aged-ness? Are we to just accept our quickly drooping lids? Are we to attempt to embrace our turkey necks and sagging jowls?
Take heart my lovely, aging readers!
Lift those droopey eyes to the heavens and rejoice!!
Quality, topical hyaluronic acid is an anti aging solution available to the peasants. And it absolutely works.
Stay calm. Focus. Put your money away until we’ve finished discussing WHICH hyaluronic acid products work and why.
If you start looking at ingredients, you will see that HA is listed in just about every. single. anti aging product on the market. Well I’ve got a bathroom full of completely useless tubes, bottles and jars that prove most of them don’t have enough of the beneficial type of HA to do a damn thing.
Not to worry chickens- I’ve scoured the hyaluronic acid market, endured countless reviews and done my own trials, to bring you options that will actually work to plump up and hydrate your skin in as little as one application- which in the skin care world is like hyper drive-give-‘er-all-shes-got- warp speed.
The products from the Bio Recept line are continuing to work wonders for me. My lines have minimized, the sun spots I had on my cheeks are almost completely gone and I have seen a major improvement in my neck as well.<insert hallelujah chorus> If something is working- I don’t change it, so I still stand solidly behind this line and it’s effectiveness. You can check out my post here. And you can read more about the line here and here. Short answer- it’s a little pricey but it works, I love it and I am quite pleased with the results I am getting. It is only available through this company here, in the US.
If that’s more $$ than you want to spend, I’ve got you covered. One of the products that gets the absolute highest reviews and “bang for your buck” effectiveness is the Hydraluron Serum by Indeed Labs . The low molecular weight of this serum allows it to penetrate beneath the skins surface resulting in enhanced hydration and a dewy glow. It’s also filled with anti-aging properties and will replenish moisture levels while diminishing dull, uneven skin tones. This one sells for $41 on Amazon and it’s the one I would absolutely go for. You can even put this stuff on your pitifully thin lips and see a difference!
If that is still more $$ that you care to shell out, don’t even worry about it- you can still get your hands on a quality HA for the cost of a fast food meal (which you should never eat anyway- because- ew).
The Ordinary sells 2% HA for $13 on Amazon! This formulation has 3 different molecular weights, to ensure that the product does not just provide temporary results, but goes deeper into the skin to provide long lasting benefits. The Ordinary is a trusted brand with some excellent reviews. You put 5-6 drops on your face both morning and night. You will notice an almost immediate plumping, smoothing and hydration of the skin. Do target areas of the face that are the most bothersome to you- like the forehead and nasolabial folds. Use a moisturizer (and/or any other serums) afterward. 
I am looking forward to trying a new-to-me brand/ product that looks extremely promising. It is called NIOD which stands for Non Invasive Options in Dermal Science. The HA they sell contains 15 molecular forms of HA!
“FIFTEEN!!!”, she yelled as she tossed her head back in wild laughter. Oh the embarrassment of wealth!!!
It sells for $35.
Farewell my money- I hardly knew thee.
I’m still scared of the whole Retin-A thing but I’m adding a quality retinol to my night time routine, so I’ll let you know how that goes after a few months of use. I’m also looking into the ingestible form of hyaluronic acid as well.
Do tell me in the comments if you have tried any of these products before. I’d love to hear your opinion. Also let me know if there is a specific skin care issue that you would like to see addressed here.
Everything I do, I do for you, chickens. Don’t forget your sunscreen.
Until Next time,
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I would really like to get one… is some good for the acne and oily skin too?
Hi Vica! They are great. I think they’re main benefit lies in hydration and overall anti aging.Yes- they are good for oily skin as well. There is a much hailed acne product that is now available over the counter in the US. It is a straight up retinoid so it gets rid of acne AND retinoids are known for their role in anti aging. Id like to do a full post on it sometime. Its called Differin gel and if you are in the US you can get it at your local pharmacy or walmart, etc. It’s less than $15. Thanks so much for your comment! Let me know if you try it out!
I want to try every single product. I am shameless about trying anything and everything with skincare, and I am sick in love with HA. Buh-bye money! Hello glowing dewy skin! xx
Lisa,
I feel exactly the same. I really liked your post about ingestible HA and I think that will be next up to try. The price difference on them is SO great though, so I need to research what-if anything- to look for for effectiveness. Can you get Retin A in the UK? Any thoughts on it? Thanks loads for the support!
~melissa
I can get Retin A, but having eczema, it is a huge No No for me. My dermatologist refuses to give me a prescription and any OTC products I’ve used have made me peel terribly, so I stay away. I hope further use of ingestible HA makes my eye wrinkles go away (crosses fingers). xx
You mentioned being nervous of the whole Retin-A thing. What makes you nervous about Retin-A?
Hi Stacey! Probably my own nonsense more than anything. I have clear, decent skin so the thought of “purging”, redness and flaking is somewhat terrifying. (And of course binge watching too many youtube videos of women showing their red, flakey faces and talking about the ongoing “shed” probably didn’t help, ha!) I realize one has to get through to the other side w/ Retin A to see the proven anti aging benefits, but I’m just not there yet. But I’m working on getting there, and will probably stick my toe in that water sooner or later- because the results are pretty amazing. Do you use Retin A and love it? I’d love to hear your experience!
Thanks so much for commenting!
~Melissa
Hi Melissa. Yes, I used Retin-A. I have a mix of redness and oily skin. That combination seems to mystify quite a few beauty experts at the counters in Sephora and Ulta. 🙂 They want to hydrate the red skin and yet that tends to make my skin shine worse than it does since it is oily. Retin-A helped with the texture of my skin but it did dry it out. I simply did not use it everyday but rather just 3 times a week and still saw great improvement. The one thing I did notice was that after I used it, my vision seemed a bit blurry. Now, could that be that I was just getting older? Maybe. I switched to a generic brand when we lived overseas and when I was younger, I did not notice the blurry vision after I used it. However, maybe it was the long term use of it? My eyes seemed strained more than normal after I switched to the generic brand that I bought overseas. I was not consistent in testing the theory so I was curious if you had heard these complaints or not? Retin-A did do an amazing job at smoothing my skin tone but I did occassionally have some peeling but it subsided after I used it consistently.
Thanks for the good reviews. I’m devoted to the Ordinary products, they are truly amazing for a reasonable price. Thanks for linking up! xo
-Patti
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