The difficulty with hyaluronic acid is not in concentration. A 100% product will cause no greater difficulties than a 5% concentration.
The issue is frequency of application AND the cumulative effects of ANY concentration.
The skin has memory and an excellent identification mechanism. It knows what is sitting on its front porch but it may take a few deliveries to figure out that all these free pizzas are not so good.
Why is that? This needs some discussion.
Hyaluronic acid, or HA, is a ginormous sugar-like molecule and is a large component of the skin in its extra cellular matrix (ECM) which is like an ocean between and among skin cells where signals are transmitted, much like messages in a bottle from island to island and inside the cell there is another HA ecosystem.
This hyaluronic acid inside us, which is more like a carbohydrate than any sort of exfoliating acid is replaced daily inside the skin, like a 30% turnover day after day. This is quite amazing in the amount of energy that is spent to do that. It requires a healthy skin and also good systemic health to accomplish that well enough – it is also a very convenient way to remove cell waste and run it out the kidneys.
If you think of yourself as a large fluid processing plant, incoming and outgoing, then you have a sense of the importance to maintain the balance of activity to avoid material imbalances in the ECM.
But, back to the skin. When wrinkles appear along with mirror hate (they seem to go together) there is often a call made to the local Life Saving Injectables Clinic (LSIC) where HA is delivered via syringe to fill in the strange crevasses now masquerading as part of YOU.
HA injectables have about a 1% bad news story within 4 months. Nodules and other problems can appear, usually from impurities in the injected material (not often) or bacterial transmission during the injection (most likely).
But, it is usually well tolerated and last for several months.
This is not so with the topical HA. Which seems quite strange. The HA molecule, as mentioned, is very large (like 4,000 to 4 million molecular weight – and you will recall from your reading, no doubt, that anything above 750 MW or Da for molecular weight or Daltons, will not be able to penetrate deeper than a few zillionths of a millimeter into the skin.
Big molecules can’t get in the down elevator.
So, HA just sits on top feeling good and you marvel at the lubricious but not oily sensation. The moisturizing seems marvelous. It seemingly evaporates into the skin and you suddenly feel your skin is as plump as a baby’s bottom.
The ability of the very top layer of the skin to capture topical products is quite amazing – the cells are not alive but drink up the material like, like sponges! Yes, sponges is what they are at the microscopic level.
But, I digress. The HA provides a more subtle and far more elegant feel in its barrier function than say, Vaseline. Meanwhile though, the skin devil in all of us is suspicious.
This HA delivered to the skin front porch, free pizza (yay!) has set off an alarm down at the dermal/epidermal junction. Our skin is about 18 – 19 sheets of paper thick, so around the 12th page someone down on that floor is having a cow.
Now for the backstory.
In wound healing our skin uses HA to form a matrix to begin and accelerate the process. This matrix provides for cellular mobility and it is part of an inflammatory cascade of events to get the repair function underway. In other words to heal the wound, HA sets up a reaction that is like a fire alarm and things start happening.
The skin surface detectives working for the skin devil have noticed HA is lurking up top and the word goes out – form the inflammatory matrix – we have a wound!
You, luxuriating in the splendor of your ultra-smooth supple feeling skin notice an unexplainable pinking, even warmth. Hmmm, well no worries. By next morning all is well.
The continued application of HA then creates confusion at repair central where a crabby ER nurse is not about to treat ghosts. Meanwhile the alarm goes off, again, with today’s application of HA and the skin begins to inflame once again in order to obey the HA signals.
Itching, pinking, and so on begins and then, however minor, and barely noticed (my skin swelling has reduced the look of my wrinkles!) the inflammatory signs have been posted and those who drive through this zone, like say, your favorite hydrosol, suddenly get called out as reckless drivers. Everyone is under suspicion and things never before acting up are now creating havoc. It’s a flash mob scene.
Soon enough, you have a rosacea type reaction and it is persistent.
Withdrawal of all products is now necessary. But often what happens is that other products are chosen and a doom loop begins. Rosacea becomes chronic and no one seems to know anything. It’s like Hollywood.
Bottom line: anything with HA needs to be less frequently applied. It also needs to be discontinued after a month no matter what and the skin given another month of rest. About 30% of you will have real and to most skin professionals, mysterious reactions like this. Sooner than later.
Another 30% will go for quite awhile before this begins out of nowhere.
302 Professional Skincare’s active serum with hyaluronic acid is called PRO HYA + and is available in both a fragranced and unfragranced (gray label) version.