Hyaluronic acid is often referred to as a ‘nutricosmetics’, an alternative for reducing skin wrinkles. It’s used in cosmetic and aesthetic treatments to plump up the skin to ‘fill out’ wrinkles, creases and lines.

Originally used as an egg substitute in baking and later to treat diseases of the connective tissues that surround and hold most internal organs in place, hyaluronic acid is a polysaccharide naturally present in our body.

It allows cells to hold water in the skin tissues, to keep skin moist and well-hydrated.

Healing and rejuvenating

Much research has been done internationally on the benefits of hyaluronic acid. The Yuzurihara people in a region of Japan were found to have soft, smooth skin and were in enviable overall good health, a fact attributed to their diet high in tubers and starches that improves the body’s synthesis of hyaluronic acid.

After a documentary about the Yuzurihara people aired in 2004, the news spread and a Japanese company developed the first hyaluronic acid tablets for oral use.

First isolated by the German pharmacist Karl Meyer in 1934, hyaluronic acid has been used by the cosmetics industry since 1996. Prior to that, it had been used by athletes to help speed up recovery from sprained ankles and other joint problems.

Hyaluronic Acid Injections

In France, hyaluronic acid injections received publicity as a consequence of injury treatment in the tennis player Amélie Mauresmo in 2002.

It wasn’t until 2003 that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved hyaluronic acid as a wrinkle treatment, which is did for the brand Restylane (hyaluronic acid of non-animal origin), and later in 2006 for other brands such as Juvederm (hyaluronic acid produced by bacterial fermentation).

Both these products are gels that are injected under the skin. Cosmetic and aesthetic practitioners globally cite injections as a powerful ally in their work, and as our understanding of the skin’s structure and ageing process increases; so too does the targeted use of hyaluronic dermal fillers to help reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles.

If you would like to see what dermal fillers can do for your skin call 01 685 3100 to book an appointment.