Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic acid, also known as Hyaluronan or in its salt form as Hyaluronate sodium, is a chemical that is very common in care products¹. Odds are that if you use any type of skin care products that at least one of them contain this chemical. This the chemical formula for this compound is C₃₃H₅₄N₂O₂₃¹_.  Two sugars make up the repeating subunit of this chemical and this subunit typically repeats thousands of times². It is found normally in the human body in any areas that need a lot of moisture and/or lubrication such as in the eye, in the fluid in some of the joints, in the skin and more². This chemical is very hydrophilic meaning that it attracts water to it³. This chemical can hold 1000 times its weight in water³. This quality allows for this chemical to be helpful in care products by attracting water to the location and helping make the area of application more moisturized⁴.

Aside from just being in care products like hand lotions and serums this chemical can also be taken as a supplement³. The supplement is believed to help with keeping the body moisturized³. It is recommended that people with cancer to not take this product as a supplement because of the concern that it may increase the rate of tumor growth⁵.

 Another use for this product is in dermal fillers, like lip fillers, in fillers it is injected to make the area look larger, and plumper while reducing the appearance of wrinkles⁶. This chemical is very effective as a dermal filler when injected into the skin⁶. With an ever-growing injection industry there will be continued production of this chemical for filler⁶. It is estimated that the number of people who got dermal fillers in 2010 was 1.8 million, in 2016 that rose to 2.4 million, and since then the industry has continued to grow⁷.  It is also a safe product as there are no major risks associated with this product because it is so available in or bodies normally, but that being said getting fillers still poses a risk because of the injection process⁷.

References

1.       National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Database. Hyaluronic Acid, CID=24847767, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/

2.       Necas, J., Bartosikova, L., Brauner, P., & Kolar, J. (2008). Hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan): a review. Veterinární Medicína, 53(No. 8), 397–411. doi: 10.17221/1930-vetmed

3.       Kawada, C., Yoshida, T., Yoshida, H., Matsuoka, R., Sakamoto, W., Odanaka, W., … Urushibata, O. (2014). Ingested hyaluronan moisturizes dry skin. Nutrition Journal, 13(1). doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-13-70

4.       About Hyaluronic Acid (HA) The Story of the Hyaluronic Acid Molecule  . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.lamarmo.com/hydralistics/hyaluronic.htm

5.       Matsui, Y., Inomata, M., Izumi, K., Sonoda, K., Shiraishi, N., & Kitano, S. (2004). Hyaluronic acid stimulates tumor-cell proliferation at wound sites. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 60(4), 539–543. doi: 10.1016/s0016-5107(04)01890-5

6.       Gold, M. (2007). Use of hyaluronic acid fillers for the treatment of the aging face. Clinical Interventions in Aging, Volume 2, 369–376. doi: 10.2147/cia.s1244

7.       Howard, J. (2017, December 21). Cosmetic skin fillers rise in popularity, and complications. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/21/health/dermal-lip-filler-injections-risks-study/index.html
Photo- Dusome, D. (2020) Products containing Hyaluronic Acid. [Photograph]