Winter dry skin: moisturising from the inside out

▻ As the cold brought by the winter season intensifies, often the skin tends to dry, causing more than just some minor aesthetic inconvenience. Dry skin, in fact, becomes more sensitive and easily prone to crepying, wrinkling and irritation. This happens because sensory nerves in the deeper layer of the skin are directly exposed to the external stimuli due to the collapsing skin barrier function. When the skin is too dry, sweat and natural fats are simply not enough to shield our epidermis from pressure, rubbing and atmospheric agents, such as wind, cold and sun rays. As such, in the event of a dry skin, it is necessary to intervene accordingly adjusting our behaviour and having recourse to specific cosmetics.

General advices to follow in case of dry and cracked skin mostly concern retention of adequate hydration levels and protection from the harmful action of sun’s rays and others atmospheric agents. The main purpose of leading-edge technologies in dry-skin cosmetic solutions is not simply to increase the percentage of water in the most superficial layers. Here innovation resides in optimising those physiological processes that ensure the maintenance of a healthy water component. Since hyaluronic acid is outstandingly capable of retaining water, hyaluronans-based cosmetics for dry and dehydrated skin can reproduce the hygroscopic properties of the natural skin hydration factor. 

However, some concerns arose around the soundness of using hyaluronic acid in winter dry air. Due to its hygroscopic properties, when applied to skin in dry conditions where humidity is low, hyaluronic acid might draw moisture from the skin itself and bring it to the surface of the epidermis, leaving deeper skin layers drier than they were. The solution here is twofold: combining hyaluronic acid with a moisturiser or oil, to seal humidity in, or moisturise your skin from the inside out. Dry skin, in fact, needs to be rehydrated, not only through drinking or applying topical cosmetics, but also from the inside. 

As a matter of fact, multiple studies have shown how oral intake of nutraceutical hyaluronans such as SinoHyal FG efficaciously contributes to maintain the hydration of epidermal and dermal tissues. 

A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study discovered that the metabolites of hyaluronic acid livened skin moisture up and enhanced treatment results for patients with dry skin. Indeed, our system easily absorbs HA and distributes it throughout the body, delivering it to the skin as well. Moreover, ingested hyaluronic acid contributes to the increased synthesis of HA and promotes cell proliferation in fibroblasts. 

The fact that hyaluronic acid as a safe dietary supplement makes for a healthier skin further reinforces our belief that beauty originates from within, and that the cosmetic universe is progressively shifting towards an holistic approach to skincare, which will be among the most popular cosmetic trends for 2021 and for many years to come.