Hyaluronic acid. If you’re into skincare, hyaluronic acid is the one ingredient which should be a regular part of your vocabulary. It’s an absolute must in everyone’s skincare routine. While I can go on and on about why I love hyaluronic acid, I decided to get an expert to do it instead.
Dr. Barbara Sturm is someone many of you may already know. She’s sort of a legend in the skincare world. She’s a German doctor and medical researcher who specializes in non-surgical skin rejuvenation techniques, and is the creator of her eponymous skincare brand. Essentially she’s a magician when it comes to the skin. I’m personally a huge fan of her hyaluronic serum. I’m convinced it’s aging me backwards. (Side note: going to see her in Germany is most definitely a bucketlist item for me).
So without further ado, here’s Dr. Barbara Sturm, answering everything you need to know about hyaluronic acid.
Hyaluronic acid is such a buzzword. What exactly is it?
Hyaluronic acid is an essential and naturally occurring fluid in our bodies. It is compound with incredible water binding properties. As we age, our natural production of Hyaluronic Acid declines, leading to dry skin and a loss of elasticity and plumpness. Since Hyaluronic Acid is water-based, its small chain molecules can deeply penetrate the skin, acting as both a hydrator of deeper moisture reservoirs and a transportation vehicle for other active ingredients. This is why it is so important to use a Hyaluronic Serum containing both short and long chain molecular weights, to achieve both a surface and deeper effect on skin layers.
What are some of its benefits?
A combination of both short and long chain Hyaluronic acid can both hydrate skin surface and also refill the moisture reservoirs at deeper levels, which in addition to providing general skin health plumps skin and therefore diminishes the appearances of wrinkles while inducing both glow and lift. Hyaluronic Acid provides both an immediate effect and longer term hydration and skin barrier function protection when used regularly. My Dr. Barbara Sturm Hyaluronic Serum can easily penetrate our skin and should be applied to clean skin before applying lipid based moisturizer (which would block penetration) as a great way to infuse the skin with strong, powerful anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds such as Purslane and Skullcap.
The Barbara Sturm Hyaluronic Serum is known in the beauty industry for being the best of the best. What skincare concerns does it tackle?
The very pure serum (with the highest concentration of Hyaluronic Acid available and what I believe to be the optimal weighting between short- and long-chain molecules) is suited for every skin type. It provides deep and surface moisture, and transports anti-oxidative, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredients. It helps with dryness and the related appearance of wrinkles, makes the skin look rejuvenated and healthy and brings an instant glow. It can also help calm down mild irritation and to counteract the strains of heat or coldness on our skin cells by strengthening the skin’s barrier function and therefore preventing trans-epidermal water loss.
If someone is using it for the first time, how should they go about applying?
The Hyaluronic Serum should always be applied after washing your face and before applying a lipid-based product, such as the Calming Serum or the Face Cream.
When shopping for a hyaluronic serum, what should we look out for?
You should make sure that it contains hyaluronic molecules of different sizes, so all layers of your skin can get hydrated – ideally, they are infused with strong antioxidants and other healing and cell-rejuvenating ingredients. Because it also serves as a transportation vehicle into deeper skin layers, consumers should be very cognizant of what else the Hyaluronic serum contains. It must not contain irritating or aggressive substances such as fragrances, mineral oils, paraffins or harsh preservatives. And of course, the proper molecular weight balancing and the higher the concentration of the hyaluronic acid included, the better. This can be also seen and felt: if the solution does not contain a lot of hyaluronic acid, it will be watery – if it does contain a high amount of hyaluronic acid you feel the texture to be thicker and more viscous.
I’ve noticed the word ‘sodium hyaluronate’ in the ingredient list for a lot of products. Could you tell us the difference between hyaluronic acid and sodium hyaluronate?
Sodium hyaluronate is the form in which the hyaluronic acid is included in the products. It is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid and has the great advantage of being of a low molecular size. This is why it works so well applied topically – the molecules are small enough to penetrate the skin and rehydrate deeper layers.
Is there a difference between dry and dehydrated skin? How should one go about treating both conditions?
Dehydrated skin has lost water, either by a damaged skin barrier, osmosis, or lack of natural hyaluronic acid (which happens as part of the aging process). Dry skin lacks sebum, which is produced by glands in our skin. These glands can slow down their production due to several reasons, including environmental influences such as cold air or by using products containing ingredients that include overly rich oils, which our skin takes as a sign not to produce sebum itself anymore. Then you always have the feeling of dry skin and of constant need for hydration.
Dehydrated skin should be treated by using a deeply moisturizing serum followed by a moisturizing cream, but one must also stop using aggressive products and treatment, or exposing skin to other inflammatory influences from pollution to environmental, which disrupt the skin’s barrier function.
Dry skin requires lots of supplemental moisture to return to health – as sebum could also get too viscous by dehydration, creating a higher risk of break outs – as well as a moisturizer that does not contain any clogging or overly rich oils.
What products would you pair with the Hyaluronic serum?
The most basic starter set would be a sequence (in order of application) of a Gentle Cleanser, the Facial Scrub (2 times per week), the Hyaluronic Serum, the Face Cream and the Skin Food. This routine will nourish your cells, hydrate them, gently exfoliate your skin and pamper it with light, luxurious oils. All our products contain Purslane, an ingredient that has been studied for its activation of the enzyme Telomerase that promotes cellular life. The Skin Food will support your skin from inside and provide it with everything it needs to build hyaluronic acid, but also supply strong anti-oxidants, highly anti-inflammatory ingredients and other essential substances for beautiful, youthful skin.
And finally, since everyone wants to know the answer to this question, what’s the most important step to prevent premature aging?
Of course, ageing is multi-factorial.
But if you had to point to one broad thing, inflammation is a key factor in the ageing process. Avoiding inflammation, and reducing inflammation you have, can be this simple. Avoid or reduce things that cause inflammation – stress, unprotected sun and pollution exposure, harsh skin care ingredients and procedures, processed and sugary foods, smoking and excessive drinking. And apply, ingest and act in ways that reduce inflammation – use anti-inflammatory skin care ingredients, eat blueberries, green leafy vegetables and salmon, get adequate sleep and get some exercise.