The September Spotlight: Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum
This week, our September Spotlight Series highlights the always awesome Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum. Never a bad choice for your skincare routine, this hydrating treatment serum deserves all the love…
Unless you’ve been living underground for the past 10 years, you’ll have heard a lot of chat in the beauty world about hyaluronic acid. Granted, you might not know its chemical formula or the fact that it’s an anionic, nonsulfated glycosaminoglycan (what the…?) but what you will know is that it’s touted as one of the most hydrating ingredients in skincare.
However, like its other top-of-the-class friends, retinol and vitamin C, hyaluronic acid (HA) isn’t just a one-trick pony. Yes, it’s an awesome humectant but it’s so much more than a tool for drawing moisture into your skin. It’s also super important for strengthening your skin’s barrier function to fight off irritation and premature aging. Oh, and it works hard to help keep free radical damage to a minimum. So there’s that.
In our opinion, almost all skin types can benefit from a boost of HA in its life, so if you’re yet to get on board and want to treat your skin to the best hyaluronic acid serum around (minus the eye-wateringly huge pricetag), here’s what you need to know…
Say Hello To Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum
One of our best-selling serums for all skin types, Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum is your go-to if you want to cocoon your skin in delicious, nutritious hydration. And who doesn’t want that? After all, dehydration is one of the main triggers for accelerating premature aging, sucking the life out of your skin and highlighting fine lines and wrinkles. You see, your skin naturally contains a healthy amount of HA, but just like collagen, elastin and other important components that keep your skin in great shape, you lose a bunch of it as you age and subject your skin to the perils of the daily grind. Things like UV radiation, pollution, stress, poor sleep and smoking all work together to accelerate HA degradation and suck the moisture from your skin. And that’s why you have to do everything you can to retain what you have and replenish that which is lost.
A great solution for moisture loss is to include a butt-kicking humectant in your skincare routine. Humectants attract water from their surroundings and draw it into the epidermis where it holds it in like a sponge to moisturize the upper levels of your skin and reduce dryness, flakiness and cracking at the surface. If your environment has enough humidity, humectants will pull water vapor from here, but they may also draw it up from the underlying levels of your skin. And the best humectants in skincare? Glycerin, aloe and, of course, hyaluronic acid.
From the first use, you’ll notice how lightweight our Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum is. That’s because combined with HA are other skin-loving ingredients, purposely included to offer you the ultimate hydrating experience without making your skin feel sticky or weighed down.
What Makes Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum Different From The Rest
1. It Offers Triple, Yes Triple Hydration
While our vegan, plant-derived hyaluronic acid has been crafted to hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water, we wanted more. Because when it comes to the health of your skin, we’re greedy for the best. So what did we do? We also pumped our Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum with aloe vera and kosher vegetable glycerin for triple-whammy hydrating effects.
Be afraid, dehydration, be very afraid.
2. Botanical Essential Oils Help Seal In Moisture
Humectants are fantastic for your skin, replacing moisture loss and helping to keep your barrier functioning properly. There’s no denying that. However, the thing with humectants is that while they’re great for drawing in moisture, they’re not so hot at keeping it there.
For humectants to work to their best ability, they need to be sealed into your skin with an emollient or occlusive ingredient like some kind of butter or oil. Otherwise all that moisture can evaporate into thin air, making the whole process kinda pointless. This is why you’re always advised to apply moisturizer on top of your serum.
Thankfully, we planned ahead for this kind of vicious circle by including organic jojoba oil into our Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum. One of the gentlest and most skin-friendly oils around, jojoba is a big favorite for locking in moisture without blocking up your pores. You see, we’re not just a pretty face.
3. We Also Harness The Powers Of Cica
Cica might not be in your everyday skincare vocabulary but this K-beauty soothing ingredient has been gaining popularity for a few years now. And it's well-deserved.
A staple in Chinese medicine for centuries to treat wounds, cica (which is often referred to as gotu kola or tiger grass) is a leafy green herb that’s packed with antioxidants, vitamins, amino acids and fatty acids which all work in harmony to firm, repair and soothe the skin. It’s probably one of the best ingredients for soothing sensitive skin, calming inflammation and reducing redness. And these often come hand in hand with dehydration. You can see where we’re going here, right?
Look out for this guy on your ingredients listings. It’s going nowhere fast.
4. Where Would We Be Without Vitamins C and E?
Vitamins C and E are just too good to ignore, so we can’t help but include them in a ton of our serums. And Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum is no exception. Topical vitamin C, however, comes in many guises, the most common of which is l-ascorbic acid which is extremely potent and often a bit much for sensitive, dry or dehydrated skin.
This is why, instead, we use sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP) which is a salt form of vitamin C and way gentler on the skin. It’s the perfect partner to hyaluronic acid, upping its antioxidant prowess but without any risk of irritating the skin. Add in the soothing, emollient powers of vitamin E and you’ve got a total winner on your hands.
We think so, anyway.
How To Make Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum Work For You
Hyaluronic acid is easily tolerated by most skin types so this serum can be used daily, even twice daily if you like. Of course, we always advise patch testing any new product first (just in case!) but this treatment is one of our gentlest formulations so it’s unlikely you’ll have any unwanted side effects. Unlikely, but not impossible.
Always apply your serum to clean skin, after cleansing and before moisturizing. Pop no more than five drops into the palm of your (clean!) hands then gently smooth it all over your face and neck. You could also try smoothing it on while your skin is still damp to maximize all that extra free moisture. Just don’t forget to moisturize to further lock it all in. And if you fancy an added boost of HA for the eye area, why not try our super hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Eye Cream?
Check them both out, right here.
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![The Smoother Skin Hacks You Need To Put Into Practice RN]()
Good news: there are tons of ways to make your skin feel smoother and healthier.
Thankfully, you don’t remember the skin you were born with. If you did, you would seriously long for its plump, bouncy, softer-than-clouds feel. Because that’s how skin generally is at birth, before it’s touched by pollution, battered by the sun and generally subjected to the slings and arrows of modern life. Everyday wear and tear, however, is inevitable so it’s no use trying to resurrect your 6-month old skin. It’s simply never going to happen.
All is not lost, however, because what you can do is make the most of the skin you’re in right now by looking after it to the best of your abilities. The motto is, treat it right and it will repay you in kind. Granted, it will never feel as soft and smooth as it did way back when, but give yourself a break, EVERYONE has textured skin to some degree and, heck, you can only do so much, right?
On that note, here are some of the most effective ways to get your smoothest skin ever. And more good news: they’re easier than you might think.
Pay Attention To Your Pores
More often than not, rough texture is down to blocked pores. Oil-producing pores are tiny openings found at the top of your hair follicles and sebaceous glands where they release sebum to help moisturize and soften the skin at a surface level. They’re extremely important for keeping your skin healthy but, like all things are life, they’re not perfect. Some people have sebaceous glands that produce too much sebum, others have those that don’t produce anywhere near enough, causing everything from extreme dryness to super-oily skin that’s prone to acne breakouts.
Whatever your pore persuasion, it’s crucial to keep them cleansed, and clear of debris like makeup, dirt and skincare products. This reduces their likelihood of becoming clogged, thus expanding and creating tiny bumps at the surface of your skin. Common sense, right? Instead of stripping your skin with chemical-rich, harsh products, however, it’s important to cleanse right with gentle formulations and warm, never hot water. Our Soothing Cleansing Milk is fantastic for the job - especially if you have dry or sensitive skin – or you could also try Charcoal Clarifying Cleanser which is fantastic for detoxifying your pores and balancing oilier skin types. Cleanse twice daily, no arguments, and again after working out.
It’s Great To Exfoliate
As skin ages, cell turnover slows down and dead skin cells have a tendency to outstay their welcome. It’s kind of inevitable, so to help keep this process from causing rough texture at the surface (and the dullness that inevitably comes as part of the deal!), it’s wise to exfoliate regularly.
Exfoliation encourages dead cells to slough away quicker, so that all the fresh, younger ones have a chance to reveal themselves to the world. And you can do it in a number of ways. Scrubs are the obvious choice, but be wary of harsh formulations that use over-sized particles that feel too sharp on your skin. Chances are, if they feel scratchy, that’s exactly what they’re doing, creating micro-tears on your skin which can cause irritation and long-term sensitivities. Instead, choose a kind-to-skin scrub like our Vitamin C Gentle Face Scrub which uses ultra-fine Bora Bora white sand to leave you with super soft skin, every time.
Not a scrub fan? Then try a leave-on solution that harnesses exfoliating acids like salicylic or glycolic to break down the glue between dead skin cells, giving them a firm nudge to leave town. Try our awesome 6% AHA, BHA + PHA Liquid Exfoliant after cleansing and before applying serum and moisturizer. It’s the simplest way to even out your skin and smooth up its texture, plus it’s gentle enough for almost all skin types.
Layer With Moisture
Whatever your skin type, moisturizer is essential after every cleanse to support and fortify your skin’s barrier function and allow it to do its job properly – which is to keep good things like moisture in and bad things like irritants out. But, we get it, for some of you moisturizer might not be enough. Dehydration, for example, is a killer on the texture of your skin and that requires more attention than some moisturizers are able to offer.
To really get your smoothness going, we recommend doubling down with a hydrating serum as well as a kick-ass moisturizer like Renewing Longevity Moisturizing Cream. Serums that contain hyaluronic acid in particular, are incredible for helping to keep your skin plump, smooth and dewy because they draw moisture to the surface of your skin. Apply a couple of drops of Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum after cleansing and before moisturizing every day for a deeper moisturization and, over time, your skin will soon feel way more hydrated and much smoother as a result.
Give Irritants The Cold Shoulder
Word is, something in your skincare routine might actually be the cause of textural changes in your skin like dryness and roughness. Synthetic fragrance, for example, is one of the biggest offenders, and denatured alcohol as well as harsh sulfates like SLS and SLES can all be extremely irritating for certain skin types.
Try to avoid the most common irritants and, while you’re at it, look at your skincare routine as a whole and tame things down if it’s too heavy on active ingredients. Active ingredients like retinol, AHAs, BHAs and vitamin C are fantastic, don’t get us wrong, but too much of a good thing can have disastrous results. Rough, dry, flaky skin being just one of them.
Remember: Sunscreen Is King
UV radiation (which is present all year long) produces skin-damaging free radicals which work hard to break down your collagen and elastin and ruin your skin’s soft, smooth bouncebackability. Not only that, but it’s a killer on your skin’s natural levels of hyaluronic acid, leading to dehydration and, well, you know where we’re going here…
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that daily SPF is non-negotiable. Most experts – us included – recommend a broad-spectrum formulation that contains mineral sunscreens like zinc oxide and offers protection of at least SPF 30. Try our SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C which is like the lovechild of your favorite moisturizer and sunscreen, with the added benefits of glow-getting vitamin C and age-defying vegan marine collagen.
The Smoother Skin Hacks You Need To Put Into Practice RN
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