I have been using Hyaluronic acids(HA) on and off for many years and our relationship has been difficult. You can find HA in many different products, like creams, serums, lotions. I have tried and tested many. My main problem with almost all of them was the application of foundation over it. The foundation was always peeling or rather balling up on top of the HA product. I could never get it right. The other problem I had, was the drying out of the skin….yes you read it right…HA actually made my skin drier.
I was surprised myself, because I was always reading about HA`s “magical” ability to hold 1000 times its weight in water and how amazingly hydrating it is. Well not for me. I did some research and found many women who had the same experience. I found an article that suggested applying HA onto damp skin and then sealing it with a good emollient moisturizer on top. It also suggested that not everyone can use HA, sometimes it depends on the type of skin you have. For some people it just not working and the HA is actually pulling moisture out of the skin instead from the air into the skin.
I wont get into details of what HA actually is, because nowadays you can read that everywhere and I did not want to make this the main focus of the post. The next surprising thing I found out was, that not every product has the same kind of HA in them. What? Again, I was surprised. In cosmetic products we can find two different kinds of HA, although all brands label and call it Hyaluronic Acid. But there are not identical ingredients. The first, that we are all most familiar with is Hyaluronic Acid and the other is Sodium Hyaluronate(SH).
SH is the salt form of HA and has a lower molecular size, which means it can penetrate the skin better. That goes for all cosmetic ingredients across the board…the lower the molecular weight the better the penetration.
Because SH is a salt solution it can dry your skin out, the higher the percentage of the SH in a product the more likely it is to dry out the skin, because salt actually pulls water out of the skin…it is like when you are bathing in sea water and then you come out to the sun and your face can feel a little bit tight, specially if you don’t wear a sunscreen which can give you some protection from dehydration.
At last I found the answer to all my questions….I was using the wrong kind of HA!
I should have looked for products containing HA and not SH. So my search continued till a randomly stumbled upon a french pharmacy cream called IALUSET. It contains SH not HA, but I was intrigued because it had so many raving reviews online. I decided to try it.
This cream comes in two variations of packaging, an air tight pump container or an aluminium tube. Both contain 100 g of product. I have been using it for about 18 months in the morning before any serums or creams. This is my second bottle. The first time I bought it I got the tube version, so I thought I would try the pump bottle this time. The product is identical, the difference lays just in the packaging.
The cream is very smooth, I would not even call it a cream, because to me it feels rather like a milky serum. It is a little bit tricky to apply, because when you start spreading it on the face it feels like it will take ages to massage it in…so you do need 30 – 40 sec, but then it suddenly sinks right in….it is kind of strange consistency, but still feels lovely on the skin.
I always apply it on damp skin, right after cleansing and then seal it with a moisturizer or sunscreen or just a serum, because my skin doesn’t really need more products, but if you have a slightly drier skin you will definitely need additional moisture. With this cream I never had any issues, I even think it acts like a brilliant primer for foundation. No more balling up or peeling of foundation for me! So I think although it contains SH it must be the right percentage so that it doesn’t dry my skin out. I had also given a tube of the cream to a co-worker with very dry skin and a lot of post acne scarring and she loves it…she ordered 2 more tubes. She says the scars on her face have been smoothed and they are not so prominent now. It is the only cream she uses on her face for the last 12 months, although her skin is dry. She says she applys one layer and after 5 min another layer and for her it provides enough hydration.
Like I said it is a french pharmacy cream. It is not really designed for the face. If I remember rightly it is used for healing damaged skin after ulcers or burns after the wound has properly healed. It can improve scarring and I have found many reviews that can validate that. Also there is a big fan base among users, some women swear by it, for them it is the ultimate anti aging cream. I myself would not go so far, but it is a nice addition to your routine if you would like to try a version of HA. On the plus side SA has lower weight molecules, so it can penetrate deeper. It is really a basic moisturizer with enough SA to make a difference to your skin if you have scars or need some additional moisture. I will repurchase it till I find something better.
It is a little bit tricky to get your hands on. It is sold in France and I don’t think you can get it in other parts of Europe, I know there is a store in the US (New York) where you can buy it. I am fortunate to have a friend living in Paris, so every time she visits I make a big order 🙂 . It is also very cheap in France, for 10 euros you get 100 g. It is definitely a winner for me.
The INCI list is in french.
INCI: Acide hyaluronique (sel sodique), tensioactif, decylester de l’acide oléique, cire émulsionnante, humectant, glycérol, méthyl-p-hydroxybenzoate et propyl-p-hydroxybenzoate, dihydroacétate, acidifiant, parfum, eau.
My Unleashed Skin 