Ingredient Spotlight: Hyaluronic Acid

It’s no secret that we are absolutely in love with our ingredients! How could we not be? We've thought long and hard about the combination of ingredients we wanted to bring to mama skincare, but we’d be lying if we said we didn’t have our favorites. Today’s top contender? An ingredient you might know pretty well already: hyaluronic acid.

When I say you probably know this ingredient, or that you've at the very least heard of it, it's because it's in a plethora of skincare and tends to be a big buzzword in the skincare industry. This doesn't come without warrant, however. There are quite a few very good reasons to make a fuss about hyaluronic acid...and we've become so obsessed with it we've included it in our Mega Moisturizing Belly Mask and Stretch Mark Cream five times over!

So what exactly is hyaluronic acid? And what's so great about using different types of it in your skincare? If you HAVEN'T been introduced to this ingredient before it might sound a little intimidating. I mean...the word ACID is in there. However, hyaluronic acid, HA for short, is actually a naturally occurring substance produced by your body. In fact, the part of your body producing the most HA happens to be your skin!  Your skin produces nearly 50% of all HA found in and on your body.

Okay, that's nice, but WHAT DOES IT DO?

Hyaluronic Acid (HA) has many different uses, some even medical in nature! Serums, toners, supplements, even injections. The main function of hyaluronic acid itself, however, is simply to hold on to moisture. It helps to keep your skin and joints moisturized and functioning the way they're supposed to. When we're talking skincare this is something 

incredibly important. Why? Because the real secret to youthful, radiant skin is also pretty simple: water.

Youthful skin has an abundance of water that helps it bounce back from outside stressors and pollutants and keeps it looking...well...youthful! As we age the amount of HA present in our skin decreases, as does the amount of water, due to the natural aging process as well as prolonged exposure to the sun and other environmental pollutants. This winds up showing in the elasticity of our skin, how supple it is, and we begin to see those fine lines and wrinkles peeking through.

Logically speaking the solution to that is to add the moisture you're losing back to the skin! By using products containing HA you are replenishing some of what your skin is missing and as a result, minimizing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. What you're left with is smoother, healthier, more youthful-looking skin that's happier to boot!

In regards to stretch marks? There have actually been studies that have shown applying HA to stretch marks early on did in fact soften their appearance and make them less noticeable. Without treatment, those same stretch marks were seen to grow and become much more apparent later on. This is why we don't just encourage the use of hyaluronic acid early on when you begin seeing stretch marks, we encourage using it preemptively! If you're already supplying your skin with an extra source of hydration each day then you're also increasing that elasticity and suppleness which helps it handle something like, for example, the changes your body experiences during pregnancy with much more ease.

For our products specifically, we've chosen to use 5 different types of hyaluronic acid that target the skin at different levels. We use hyaluronic acids at both high and low molecular weights to deliver and lock in moisture not just at the surface level but also down into deeper layers of the skin to provide that improved elasticity we're looking for and lock in long-lasting hydration.

Hyaluronic acid is one of our most loved ingredients, and we have many! While it's true, there's no magic cream that will make your stretch marks disappear, you can work to prevent future stretch marks and soften your current love lines with the help of ingredients like hyaluronic acid. We're pretty sure we're in love, how about you?