Can You Use Hyaluronic Acid With Retinol?
Are you wondering how to incorporate hyaluronic Acid and retinol into your daily routine? Do you want to learn whether using these products simultaneously in your skincare routine is safe?
You are in the right place. Read on to learn how to maximize the effectiveness of hyaluronic acid and retinol now.
What Is Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic acid is a jelly-like substance naturally produced by the human body, usually in the skin, joints, and eyes. It is a polymer, a type of molecule that allows other compounds, such as water, to attach to its chain-shaped structure.
A single teaspoon of hyaluronic acid can hold over four gallons of water. This makes it perfect for the absorption and retention of moisture in the skin. Hyaluronic acid’s ability to infuse water into the skin makes it a popular ingredient in skincare products designed to moisturize and hydrate.
The body traps and stores the acid, allowing the attached water molecules to absorb into the skin rather than evaporate.
What Are the Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic Acid is a highly effective ingredient commonly used in moisturizing products such as serums, eye creams, lip balm, body lotion, and even shampoo. Benefits of hyaluronic acid include:
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Hydration: Hyaluronic acid traps and stores collagen and water, pushing it into the skin cells where it can absorb slowly, providing moisture and structure to skin cells.
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Brightening: When the skin is full of moisture, it can appear fuller, plumper, and brighter.
- Smoothing: The fact that water is trapped in the skin's cellular matrix can create firmer-looking skin with fewer wrinkles. Think of a dried raisin versus a plump grape.
How Does Hyaluronic Acid Work?
Hyaluronic Acid molecules are called polymers, shaped like long, complex chains. These polymers' structure is excellent at trapping and transporting other molecules throughout the body.
Each “link” in the polymer’s “chain” provides a space for another molecule, such as water or collagen, can attach to. Hyaluronic Acid molecules can hold over 1,000 times their weight in water.
Hyaluronic acid is absorbed into the skin, where the water or collagen becomes trapped, so it can be absorbed into the skin's cellular matrix rather than evaporating into the air. This leaves the skin moisturized and glowing.
Where Does Hyaluronic Acid Fit Into My Skincare Routine?
Due to how gentle and effective it is, hyaluronic acid is becoming increasingly popular in skincare products. While it can be taken orally as a supplement or applied as a serum, it is also in eye drops, moisturizers, lip balms, and even shampoo.
While these are all effective uses of this active ingredient, it is important to find a delivery system that does not just sit on the surface but can penetrate deep into the skin.
It is important to cleanse the skin thoroughly before applying your hyaluronic acid. Dēpology’s hyaluronic acid-infused Deepcare+ Serum Infused Micro Dart Patches are an awesome way to apply it, as the microneedles covering the surface of the patch can create tiny channels to deliver the active ingredient directly into the structure of the skin.
Should You Use Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic acid is an excellent addition to your everyday skincare routine. It is a safe yet effective way to introduce moisture and collagen, leading to fuller, plumper, brighter, and smoother-looking skin. There is truly no other active ingredient that packs the same punch as hyaluronic acid while remaining so gentle on the skin.
Incorporating it into your skincare routine is truly a no-brainer.
What Is Retinol?
Retinol is a vitamin A derivative in many skincare products designed to target skin aging symptoms. It is an over-the-counter treatment used to speed the turnover of dead skin cells in the body, leading to brighter, younger-looking skin.
Retinol can also be used to lighten the appearance of acne scarring and dark spots caused by age and sun damage.
Benefits of Retinol
Retinol is one of the most impactful skincare ingredients on the market. Benefits can include:
- Brighter, more radiant-looking skin
- Reduction in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles caused by slow cell turnover
- Reduction of the appearance of dark spots caused by melasma and sun damage
- Softer, smoother-looking skin
What To Look For When Buying Retinol
Using a high-quality formulation of 0.2% or higher is important to get the most out of your retinol. Dēpology’s Anti Aging Retinol Night Cream is formulated by scientists and backed by experts, and it is an excellent choice to incorporate into your nightly skincare routine.
Dēpology uses pure, natural ingredients to craft safe, effective products that can benefit all skin types.
Why Use Retinol?
Retinol is the perfect active ingredient to incorporate into your skincare routine if you are dealing with dull or tired-looking skin. As we age, our ability to create new cells slows, leaving more dead skin cells and leading to duller-looking skin, dark spots, fine lines, wrinkles, and stubborn acne scarring.
By sloughing off dead skin cells, retinol promotes cellular turnover. These new skin cells create a new layer of brighter and smoother-looking skin.
Who Should Use Retinol?
Retinol is a great choice for people with aging or tired-looking skin looking to up their skincare game. It is especially effective for people struggling with skin that is growing duller as they age and for people who have damage from the sun, such as melasma and hyperpigmentation.
Retinol has also been used to treat acne scarring, providing a gentle resurfacing effect that can leave skin looking clearer.
When Should You Avoid Retinol?
Retinol is not safe for pregnant or nursing people with rosacea, eczema, or other skin disorders that cause redness and sensitivity. It is also not recommended to use retinol if you spend a lot of time in the sun without adequate protection.
Due to the way retinol removes the first layer of skin cells, it is common to experience slight sensitivity, especially as the skin acclimates to your new routine. In addition to these other precautions, combining retinol with vitamin C or other similarly acidic active ingredients is not recommended, as this can be overly irritating to the skin, causing itchiness, redness, and increased sensitivity.
Where Does Retinol Fit In Your Skincare Routine?
It is important to apply retinol at night because sun exposure counteracts the effects of vitamin A, breaking it down and rendering it ineffective. Retinol is usually applied in the “treatment” step of your skincare routine, after cleansing and serum before moisturization.
It’s important to start slow with retinol, using a concentration of 0.2%, before working up to higher concentrations if desired.
Retinol and Hyaluronic Acid: Safe?
So, after learning about retinol and hyaluronic acid, you might wonder, is it safe to use these superpower ingredients in my skincare routine? The answer is yes. These two ingredients can maximize their benefits, creating even brighter, younger-looking skin and improving overall texture.
What Are the Benefits of Retinol and Hyaluronic Acid Together?
Because of its hydrating and lubricating qualities, hyaluronic acid can counteract any negative side effects that might arise from using retinol, including common problems like itchiness and irritation.
Another huge benefit of utilizing these two active ingredients in your skincare routine is that hyaluronic acid is known to improve the skin's permeability, allowing retinol to absorb even more quickly and effectively.
So, Should I Be Using This Combo Daily?
Absolutely. When used in tandem, these two active ingredients create a powerful and dynamic combo that can revitalize your skin and lead to powerful results.
Sourcing high-quality, dermatologist-recommended skincare products is a huge part of creating a skincare routine that maximizes your skin’s potential.
Check out Dēpology’s full line of skincare products, as their hyaluronic acid patches and retinol serum are two high-quality, top-of-the-line products that make your skin the best it can be.
Sources:
Hyaluronic Acid: What It Is, Benefits, How To Use & Side Effects | Cleveland Clinic
Retinoids in the treatment of skin aging: an overview of clinical efficacy and safety | PMC