Is hyaluronic acid all hype? We look at the science

If you’ve picked up a skincare product recently, it might have included hyaluronic acid as one of the ingredients.

But far from just being a buzzy beauty ingredient, the well-advertised molecule exists throughout our body in our organs and tissues.

Hyaluronic acid also plays a crucial role in the way our cells function.

Another way to use hyaluronic acid is as a dermal filler.

Supplied/AFP

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But when it comes to beauty products, not all applications of the ubiquitous product are effective — and in some cases, it’s benefits may only be skin-deep.

Let’s dive deeper into what hyaluronic acid does, whether it’s worth the hype, and how it might be used in the future.

What is hyaluronic acid?

Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring molecule called a polysaccharide, said Tracey Purnell, a GP specialising in cosmetic practice, and the head of the RACGP special interest group in dermatology.

“It’s found in human skin, joints, and connective tissue,” she said.

When added to water, hyaluronic acid forms honeycomb-like structures, with the water trapped inside.

This can allow the molecule to bind to an amount of water many times its weight.

Its hydrating properties means it is useful for the body as a lubricant in places like the gel inside our eyes and in between our joints.

And because hyaluronic acid is naturally found in the body, the molecule has the added advantage of rarely causing an allergic reaction.

How does hyaluronic acid work in skincare?

In the beauty industry, hyaluronic acid is used in a number of ways, but the two most common are as a topical cream applied to skin, and as a product injected into the skin.

Purnell notes that although it can be helpful for hydrating skin, don’t expect it to have any direct anti-ageing or other miracle effects.

“As a hydrator, it’s incredibly effective, but that’s pretty much where its effectiveness ends,” Purnell said.

“There’s no additional things it can do apart from hydrate the skin and make it look smoother and plumper in the short-term.”

In a cream or ointment its benefits are mostly skin-deep, she said.

“The most common ones you see in skincare … [have] high molecular weights, they sit on the surface of the skin.”

The molecular weight of hylauronic acid changes the way the honeycomb structure works, with higher weights being the best at binding water.

This means that while creams with higher weights may hydrate more, they don’t tend to penetrate below the skin surface.

She added that lower molecular weights can penetrate deeper, but these are more likely to trigger inflammation.

What about injectables?

Another way to use hyaluronic acid is as a “dermal filler”, which is where it’s injected under the skin to fill and plump areas like the lips, cheeks and even hands or earlobes.

“For skin that’s lost volume or lost its structure, [injected hyaluronic acid] can be used to try and give the skin something to drape over again,” Purnell said.

“For all intents and purposes, it looks like it’s lifting the skin.”

Naturally produced hyaluronic acid is regularly broken down and replenished by the body, and it was thought that hyaluronic acid in dermal filler worked the same way.

“In general, filler is designed to break down progressively over time,” Purnell said.

“In our cells, hyaluronic acid is constantly breaking down and it gets removed … and in the same way if you inject hyaluronic acid into the body, your body will start to break it down again.”

However, a growing number of experts have suggested that in some cases filler doesn’t break down, even after using enzymes designed to dissolve the product.

What are future uses?

Despite only recently appearing in skincare, hyaluronic acid has been routinely used in clinical medicine for decades

Fernanda Zamboni, a biomedical engineer from the University of Limerick, noted that it’s regularly used in everything from medicine to dentistry.

It can be used to improve healing after dental procedures, provide lubrication between joints, and in the management of chronic inflammatory disease and bacterial infections.

“It’s not really an antibiotic, [it doesn’t] kill bacteria, but it reduces the attachment and therefore, the proliferation of bacteria,” Zamboni said.

But there’s also potential for hyaluronic acid to be applied in new ways in the future.

Zamboni has undertaken research looking at hyaluronic acid as a type of immune-suppressing, protective coating.

Her research looked into diabetes, where pancreatic beta cells — which are the primary source of insulin that is essential for controlling blood glucose levels — are mistakenly attacked by the immune system.

“We took the cells, and coated them in a matrix that can protect them from the immune system,” she said.

“I used a layer-by-layer approach … it’s a very thin coat that is made of hyaluronic acid.”

The thin coatings would allow the cells to still sense glucose in the blood and release insulin as required, but not be attacked by the immune system.

While this research is still in its early days, it highlights the potential applications of hyaluronic acid.

“There is some really interesting research being conducted with hyaluronic acid at the moment,” Dr Zamboni said.

“There’s a lot of work being done into transplantation — not just for for pancreatic beta cells, but other other types of cells.

“It’s something that in the future we’re going to be seeing more of.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand