We have heard a lot about hyaluronic acid in recent years. Widely used in the cosmetic industry, in anti-wrinkle face creams, it is currently enjoying its heyday with injections in aesthetic medicine to fill in wrinkles and restore bounce to the face.
Drooping cheeks and a sagging face are the nightmare of women who lose facial firmness after the age of 45 , particularly around menopause, but also for men.
Is hyaluronic acid the miracle solution to their problems? In this article, we give you some possible answers.
01. What is hyaluronic acid?
Hyaluronic acid exists naturally in our connective tissues: it is found in our eyes, in our joints and especially in the skin.
Structure of hyaluronic acid
This molecule is a polysaccharide , a collection of sugars. Its structure gives it natural humectant properties , meaning it can soak up water and absorb up to
1000 times its weight. It therefore contributes to the good hydration of the tissues which contain it.
Functions of hyaluronic acid
Due to its moisturizing and lubricating action , hyaluronic acid will contribute to good support and good elasticity of the tissues. By soaking up water, it maintains the integrity of the skin barrier where it is very present.
It will therefore have a role to play in the firmness of the face, to restore volume to drooping cheeks and to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
Synthesis of hyaluronic acid
Hyaluronic acid is produced naturally in fibroblasts , cells of our connective tissues, particularly in the joints, eyes and skin.
From the age of 25, this synthesis slows down significantly.
The skin becomes less elastic, the oval of the face relaxes, dehydration wrinkles appear.
02. Skin sagging, drooping cheeks, why?
The face losing firmness is a reality for everyone after forty, for men and women. Hyaluronic acid is much less present, the tissues are less well hydrated and relax.
Aging and loss of elasticity of the skin
The skin ages like us and changes its composition with age. It loses a quantity of its hyaluronic acid , becomes thinner, and loses firmness with aging. The hydrolipidic film is less qualitative, the hydration, particularly of the face, is less intense. Dryness of the skin will encourage the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, marks of dehydration which set in over time. Tissue maintenance is also achieved with the loss of hyaluronic acid and the skin tends to be less elastic and plump. The oval of the face sags, the cheeks “fall” and the cheekbones are less prominent.
Sagging cheekbones and hormones
The famous “drooping cheeks” are the consequence of this loss of support. At the
women, the drop in female hormones plays a large part in the phenomenon. Estrogen deficiency , particularly during menopause, accentuates skin sagging. Men also undergo this hormonal aging which accelerates skin aging, but in a way
much more gradual and discreet.
Skin aging and diet
The skin has significant nutrient needs to ensure sufficient vitality.
For beautiful, firmer and plumper skin, we will be careful to bring to the plate:
- Anti-oxidants: by favoring colored fruits and vegetables, each pigment or color indicating the presence of an anti-oxidant. By keeping part of these foods raw to guarantee the presence of vitamin C, which is a strong anti-oxidant but heat labile (does not resist heat, and therefore cooking).
- Good fatty acids, particularly omega 3, contained in first cold pressed flax, walnut or hemp oils, in small fatty fish (anchovies, herring, sardines and mackerel), in oilseeds (walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts) and in certain seeds (flax, hemp, chia)
- Sufficient vitamin D and magnesium because we are often deficient, especially from October to April for vitamin D. These two nutrients contribute to the normal functioning of our cells.
03. Hyaluronic acid and drooping cheeks?
Once the problem is posed, hyaluronic acid appears to be the appropriate solution, but what about it?
Other health and diet measures to take care of your intestinal flora
Like any living organism, the intestinal flora reacts to the way we live.
Dangerous hyaluronic acid injection?
Aesthetic medicine suggests injecting hyaluronic acid into areas of the face where it is lacking, in a targeted manner, at the level of wrinkles, furrows and marks of time.
The product is said to be absorbable and its action diminishes over time.
The dangers associated with its injection lie mainly in the possible allergy to the injected product, a bad injection or an inflammatory reaction at the injection site. It is time to remember that these injections are medical procedures , which should not be attempted outside of a strict medical framework to avoid these inconveniences. Social networks are multiplying the tutorials for self-injecting hyaluronic acid and there is no shortage of failures of these interventions without medical supervision.
Hyaluronic acid injection is not harmless or without dangers and it remains a medical procedure.
Hyaluronic acid in capsules, what quality?
Finally, oral intake of hyaluronic acid can be considered to compensate for its deficit with age.
You should choose a quality, pure, highly assimilable and stable hyaluronic acid .
The assurance of associated clinical studies is a guarantee of quality, its additive-free composition and its complete molecular weight spectrum must be combined for an effective and safe hyaluronic acid.
The action on skin aging will focus on filling in fine lines and wrinkles, increasing the endogenous synthesis of hyaluronic acid, better hydration and reinforced skin elasticity.
