Hyaluronic acid and its benefits for the skin

You've likely heard about hyaluronic acid and how beneficial it is for the skin. But do you know what it is? Or what it's used for? At Youth Bites, we want to introduce you to one of the active ingredients in our product, which is currently one of the most widely used. Don't miss out!

In 1943, pharmacists Karl Meyer and John Palmer managed to isolate, from the vitreous humor of the cow's eye, a substance unknown at the time, which they named hyaluronic acid.

Hyaluronic acid is a polysaccharide of the glycosaminoglycan type. It is a natural component present in our bodies, especially in the skin, joints, and cartilage. But it is also found in other areas such as the vitreous humor, umbilical cord, skeletal tissue, and synovial fluid, among others.

Hyaluronic acid is an important component of the extracellular matrix. Its function is structural and hydrating, as it is necessary to retain collagen and water, thus maintaining moisture, and providing elasticity and flexibility. All this, along with collagen and ceramides, allows our skin to obtain a plump and healthy texture.

As we age, the production of hyaluronic acid in our bodies begins to decrease, however, its capacity to degrade remains constant. This is one of the reasons why our skin loses hydration, and consequently, elasticity and volume naturally over the years. But as mentioned before, hyaluronic acid is not only found in the skin, so when the level of this component decreases, apart from the skin being affected, joints lose their cushioning and muscles become strained.

All this makes hyaluronic acid, due to its multifaceted role in regulating various biological processes, a therapeutic resource, such as in wound healing and scar treatment, or performing injections into joints, among others.

As previously mentioned, hyaluronic acid has a high capacity to capture and retain water, which provides the following benefits:

• Highly moisturizing. Contributes to skin hydration, as it can retain 1000 times its weight in water.
• Firming. Promotes collagen formation. The ability of hyaluronic acid to maintain hydration contributes to the stimulation of collagen formation. This protein regenerates tissues by itself, restoring and maintaining skin firmness.
• Stimulates cell regeneration. Facilitates the improvement of the healing process.
• Reduces wrinkles. The retained water molecules form part of the extracellular matrix, generating a tightening effect, as they fill the spaces between cells, achieving a plumping effect.
• Intelligent nutrient. Adapts to the skin's needs.
• Suitable for all skin types. Being a substance produced by the body itself, it will not be rejected by it, which means that anyone can use hyaluronic acid regardless of their skin type.