Hyaluronic Acid Serum for Skin

I'm older. My skin is changing. Wrinkles, bags and dry skin. Oh yes, they're freakin' happening. Hyaluronic Acid sounded like it might be one of the answers I was looking for. It seemed to be in everything that was coming out in 2019 but I don't really like to buy products with a boatload of ingredients I don't need. I like to give my skin what it needs on any given day and not overload it with duplicated ingredients or unneeded ones. So that led me to trying to figure out how you use hyaluronic acid in skin care. What does it do, how does it do it, what will affect its performance? And that can be kind of overwhelming, but it basically boils down to this. It needs moisture (I'm talking good ol' water) to work. Or at least access to it. HA's (I don't want to spell it every time) primary function when it comes to skin care is its ability to carry (bind) 1000's of times its weight in water. It's why it's one of the most moisturizing agents known to science. So you think, great I'll just slap it on my face and I'll be good to go. Yeah, not so much. It matters when you put it on, what you put on after it, and the climate where you live. After I clean my face & do my wash-off GA peel, the FIRST serum I reach for is the hyaluronic acid. (This is the night time routine. Putting this on in a dry climate during the day will DRY you out.) I don't spread it all over my face. I put 2-3 drops in the palm of my hand, and with a finger I tap it into the areas I want to target with it. For me, that's under my eyes, my eyelids and around my mouth and ON my lips. Be careful around the eye area. I don't take it up right under the eye or close to the eye on the lid area. I don't rub it in my eye area either, just to be safe. I always tap, placing it in the area farthest from the eye first and tapping toward the eye. I've never gotten any in my eye, so I don't know if it stings or not. HA is an ingredient that is included in some treatments for the eyes, so I imagine it's probably safe.....but I'm not a doctor or a chemist so.....yeah, use good judgement on your own body? Anyway, it also comes in a pill form to be taken as a supplement (it is naturally occurring in the human body) so I don't have a problem using it on my lips and mouth area. I've got fine lines there that need plumping. After that I continue with the rest of my serums & moisturizer. There are a few things you can't do if you're living in a dry climate and one thing YOU MUST DO in order for this to work. Avoid putting any products on your face that are occlusive, meaning anything that basically seals your face. Think oils or heavy moisturizing creams that some people use to lock in the products so they have the best chance at absorbing into the skin. This creates a barrier that defeats the purpose of using HA. It needs access to moisture, and if it can't get it, it will take it from the closest possible place.....your skin. Which is why some people say it dries their face out. So you're probably wondering how it's going to possibly work in a dry climate? As I said, it's part of my night routine and it's what I do right before I go to bed. On my bedside table I have a humidifier (mine has a spout on it that allows me to control the direction) that blows a cool mist over my head all night. Anyone who's living in a dry climate should do this for their skin, whether you're using HA or not. It's the absolute best thing I've ever done for my skin. In the lip area, I still use a sleeping mask over the HA some nights, I just make sure it's not something that's got a heavy occlusive oil in it. You can google the ingredients in the product to find out if they're a barrier to moisture or not. There is no scent to HA, it's a safe ingredient to use in skin care, it does amazing things for your skin, and ANYONE can use it.....it just might require a few tweaks depending on where you live.