First things first, hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring compound in our body that is important for our overall health. However, as we age, production tends to decrease, which causes a range of issues like early signs of aging, joint pain, hair fall, etc. So what’s the remedy? Well, here’s where hyaluronic acid supplements come to the rescue. These days, you can mostly find it in skin care supplements and topicals, as it helps improve your skin's health in the most natural way possible. Having said that, what exactly is hyaluronic acid? Is hyaluronic acid good? If you’re looking for answers, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ve listed all the benefits of hyaluronic acid and how their benefits go beyond skin health.

What is Hyaluronic Acid?

Also known as hyaluronan, hyaluronic acid (HA) is a kind of sugar, gooey in texture, and is found in the largest amounts in your skin, eyes, and connective tissues. It helps in the retention of water in your tissues to keep them well-lubricated, moist, and plump. It is used in serums, supplements, eye drops, and more.

Hyaluronic Acid Benefits

Just like the production of collagen and elastin decreases in our body as we age, hyaluronic acid also decreases over time. This is why we need to supply HA to our bodies via supplements or serums.

Let’s discuss a few benefits of hyaluronic acid that make it worth the investment.

1. Makes Your Skin Supple

Hyaluronic acid forms a major portion of your skin and helps it bind to water and retain moisture. However, as we age and are exposed to UV rays, smoking, and pollution, our skin stops retaining HA as it used to. This is when the use of hyaluronic acid supplements, serums, or creams comes into the picture.

A placebo-controlled study was conducted over 12 weeks to study the effect of oral ingestion of HA. The results reveal that within 12 weeks, the skin condition had drastically improved in terms of the number of wrinkles, hydration of the skin, elasticity, and transepidermal water loss. In layman’s terms, taking hyaluronic acid orally can make your skin healthier and more youthful within 12 weeks.

2. Improves Wound Healing

Many people are unaware that hyaluronic acid can help with wound healing. Our body naturally increases the production of HA when there is a need to repair a wound. It helps regulate inflammation and builds more blood vessels where the injury is. This is the reason why HA is present in many anti-inflammatory creams and ointments, as they can be applied topically for faster wound healing and to decrease pain. With its antibacterial properties, HA also reduces the risk of infections.

How can you make HA better? By combining it with collagen! There are three stages to the healing process, and the final two strongly rely on collagen's impact on the injured area. After the age of 20, your body produces less collagen, which slows down the healing process. All you need for rapid healing is a supplement containing collagen peptides and HA.

3. Helps with Dry Eyes

With our lifestyle and habits, dry eyes are a very commonly occurring phenomenon these days. Since HA helps retain moisture, it also plays a role in treating dry eyes. Most eye drops containing 0.2-0.4% HA have proven to be effective for dry eye symptoms. Having said that, eye drops are meant for temporary relief and not for long-term use. For long-term benefits, you can try ingesting HA via supplements to help keep your eyes hydrated.

4. Relieves Joint Pain

Hyaluronic acid is also found in joints, where it lubricates the area between your bones. The bones are less likely to grind against each other and create discomfort when the joints are lubricated. For more serious conditions, HA injections are given to the affected area when there is a lot of wear and tear in the joints for fast results. However, we can prevent complications like osteoarthritis when we start taking hyaluronic acid supplements earlier in life.

5. Improves Hair Quality

We've already spoken about how HA keeps your skin hydrated. Of course, your scalp is a component of your skin as well. Hyaluronic acid functions as a humectant, allowing hair fibers to draw in and hold onto moisture. Due to its ability to hydrate and fill in the porous hair shaft, it is particularly beneficial for dry, damaged hair.

What Effects does Hyaluronic Acid have on Other Products?

Side effects are possible with products that combine hyaluronic acid with other drugs or substances. It is critical to inform your healthcare practitioner about all medications you are taking, including hyaluronic acid supplements, vitamins, and so on. They can assist you in better understanding any potential issues. You can apply HA hair serum directly to your scalp or consume supplements if that’s too time-consuming.

Wrapping Up

The skin care industry is going gaga over hyaluronic acid as a potent ingredient to retain skin moisture. Besides the skin, HA is capable of improving your bone and joint health, hair quality, and eye health. We discussed the 5 greatest benefits of hyaluronic acid in this post; however, it is critical to inform your healthcare practitioner about all medications you are taking, including vitamins, ointments, etc. They can assist you in better understanding any potential issues.