One of our beauty director's favorite ingredients to get naturally plush lips is a very famous humectant: hyaluronic acid. Here's why the star ingredient in many-a-hydrating serums makes a fabulous addition to lip balms. 👄
is a naturally occurring humectant, which is a class of ingredients that binds and holds water. HA in particular has amassed a following because it can hold up to 1,000 times its weight—making it quite the workhorse."Hyaluronic acid is produced by the body and found in the highest concentrations in our skin," says board-certified dermatologist"It functions to retain water and keep our skin looking firm and youthful.
So when you apply hyaluronic acid topically,"it draws water into the stratum corneum, the top layer of the skin. It gives an immediate improvement in the way the skin looks—less ashy, dry, dull," says holistic dermatologistAnd since it's attracting so much water to the area, you'll also see a fuller and more lush appearance.
Now, if you want to get into specifics, there are actually different molecular weights of hyaluronic acid. Cosmetic chemists often use different varieties and weights depending on the intended purpose. For our lip balm we used sodium hyaluronate. This is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid, which has a lower molecular weight and therefore can reach deep down into the skin barrier, providing a more lasting and meaningful hydration.
And as is the case with any humectant, it should be formulated right alongside emollients and occlusives. Otherwise, humectants can have the unintended consequence of making your lips drier, as they can trigger transepidermal water loss once they start to lose binding of the water they once attracted. Read: Don't just apply your HA serum to the area and call it a day. You either need to top it with a balm—or just find one with the ingredient already infused into it.
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