Ageing rarely announces itself.
There usually isn't a particular morning when we wake up and suddenly feel older. Instead, the changes seem to creep up on us.
Perhaps our skin starts feeling a little drier than it used to. Fine lines become more noticeable. Our skin doesn't seem quite as plump or resilient. We might notice that our bodies generally don't recover from things quite as quickly as they once did.
And we find ourselves wondering: when did that happen?
Ageing is an extraordinarily complex process involving changes throughout the body. There isn't one single ingredient, hormone or molecule responsible for it. But one of the substances that changes as we age is something many of us have come to recognise from skincare bottles: hyaluronic acid.
And there is much more to hyaluronic acid than wrinkles.
Your body already contains hyaluronic acid
Hyaluronic acid, usually shortened to HA, wasn't invented by the beauty industry. It is a substance naturally found throughout the human body, present in our skin, our eyes, our joints and connective tissues.
In the skin, HA forms an important part of the extracellular matrix, the environment surrounding our cells, and it has an extraordinary relationship with water. That ability to attract and retain water is one of the reasons HA is so important to skin hydration. Research describes HA as a key molecule involved in maintaining skin moisture.
So when you see "Hyaluronic Acid" on a skincare product, you aren't looking at some strange substance created simply to make us look younger. HA is already part of us.
What happens to hyaluronic acid as we get older?
Like so many things in our bodies, HA doesn't remain exactly the same throughout our lives.
Research has found age-related changes in the amount, distribution and characteristics of HA in the skin. One particularly notable change is a marked reduction of HA in the epidermis, the outer portion of our skin, with ageing. A more recent scientific review describes age-related HA loss beginning relatively early in adulthood, although ageing skin is far too complex to attribute to HA alone.
Sun exposure, hormonal changes, environmental factors and the normal biological processes of ageing all contribute to changes in collagen, elasticity, moisture and the way our skin looks and feels.
So it isn't accurate to say "we get wrinkles because we lose hyaluronic acid." It is much more accurate to say that changes in HA are one part of the much bigger story of how our skin changes with age.
This is about more than being wrinkle-free
Much of the skincare industry talks about HA because of what we can see in the mirror: wrinkles, fine lines, plumpness, youthfulness.
But we've become a little too obsessed with the idea that the purpose of looking after our skin is to somehow make ageing disappear. Healthy skin doesn't have to be wrinkle-free skin.
Our skin is an organ. It has important work to do throughout our lives, and hydration is an important part of keeping skin comfortable and functioning normally. That's why we prefer to think about skincare as supporting the skin you have now, rather than trying to recreate the skin you had decades ago.
At 30, 50, 70 or beyond, our skin deserves to be cared for. Not because ageing is something we should be ashamed of. Simply because this is the skin we're living in.
So where does a topical HA serum come in?
Putting an HA serum on your face does not replenish all the HA changing throughout your body. It isn't going to replace HA in your joints. It isn't going to stop the ageing process. And it certainly isn't going to make you 25 again.
Nor should it have to.
What topical hyaluronic acid can do very well is help hydrate the skin. HA acts as a humectant, meaning it has an affinity for water and can help increase hydration at the skin's surface. Studies of topical HA formulations have found improvements in skin hydration, with some also reporting improvements in characteristics such as smoothness, elasticity and the appearance of fine lines.
Hydration can change how ageing skin feels
There's an important difference between trying to eliminate every wrinkle and wanting your skin to feel good.
When skin is well hydrated, it can feel softer, smoother and more comfortable. Fine lines caused or accentuated by dryness can also appear less pronounced. That's why HA has become such an important part of our own skincare routine.
We use our 5% double-strength Hyaluronic Acid Serum because we're interested in maintaining hydration and caring for our skin as it is today. Of course we enjoy it when our skin looks good. Who doesn't? But looking after mature skin doesn't need to be a battle against age.
Ageing isn't a skincare failure
You can use wonderful skincare products and still develop wrinkles. You can drink water, eat well, protect yourself from excessive sun exposure, moisturise faithfully, and still age. That's because ageing isn't evidence that you've done something wrong.
The aim of good skincare should not be to convince us that getting older is a problem requiring correction. It's about understanding what our skin needs as it changes and giving it sensible support. HA happens to be one of the ingredients we particularly like for doing that because hydration becomes increasingly important when skin starts feeling drier and less resilient.
How we think about HA now
Once we understood that hyaluronic acid wasn't simply an "anti-wrinkle ingredient," we started looking at it rather differently.
It's something our bodies naturally contain. It plays important roles in different tissues. Its behaviour and distribution in our skin change as we age. And when we use HA topically, we're taking advantage of one particularly useful property of this fascinating molecule: its relationship with water.
That's a much more compelling reason to use it than a promise that a serum will somehow turn back the clock. We don't want to turn back the clock. We want to look after the skin we're living in now.
And perhaps that's what Luv Your Age really means.
Ready to add hydration to your skincare routine?
If you'd like to introduce hyaluronic acid into your daily skincare routine, you can learn more about our Luv Your Age Hyaluronic Acid Serum here.
A note about the science: Hyaluronic acid is found naturally throughout the body, but this article specifically discusses the use of topical HA for skincare. A cosmetic HA serum should not be interpreted as a treatment for joint pain, medical conditions or systemic age-related changes. Research into skin ageing and HA continues to develop, and skincare should complement, rather than replace, appropriate medical care.
Sources: Hyaluronic acid: A key molecule in skin aging (scientific review on HA metabolism and age-related skin changes); a later review examining the evidence surrounding topical HA and skin ageing; clinical studies investigating topical HA formulations and reported hydration improvements.
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