A modified version of regular hyaluronic acid. It attracts large volumes of water, thereby making it an effective humectant moisturizing ingredient.
Moisturizing
Humectant
Moisturizing (Humectant)
Humectants are moisturizing ingredients that draw moisture to the skin, either from deeper layers or from the environment (when it's humid).
Humectant
Moisturizing (Humectant)
Humectants are moisturizing ingredients that draw moisture to the skin, either from deeper layers or from the environment (when it's humid).
Origin
Synthetic,
Synthetic
All kinds of ingredients formulated or produced by a chemical process, or those that have a chemical modification in their structure.
Synthetic,
Synthetic
All kinds of ingredients formulated or produced by a chemical process, or those that have a chemical modification in their structure.
Animal
Animal
Ingredients derived from animals (including birds, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and insects) or produced by animals (e.g. dairy- and egg-derived ingredients, bee products, silk, pearls, etc.)
Animal
Animal
Ingredients derived from animals (including birds, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and insects) or produced by animals (e.g. dairy- and egg-derived ingredients, bee products, silk, pearls, etc.)
Sodium hyaluronate crosspolymer (SHC) is a modified version of regular hyaluronic acid (read about it here).
If you imagine hyaluronic acid as really long strands, then a crosspolymer means that several of these HA strands have been linked between each other, creating a huge 3D mesh that can cling to the skin’s surface and bind large volumes of water, making it a super effective humectant moisturizing ingredient. It is also used in HA filler injections.
There is a study that compares SHC with other types of hyaluronic acid when applied to samples of human skin. The study found that SHC was superior in its humectant properties to other types of HA.
Another study using SHC in combination with other ingredients also showed very good results in the moisturization parameters.
The massive size of the HA mesh, however, means that this version of hyaluronic acid will not get absorbed into the skin and won't offer much in terms of collagen support and anti-wrinkle effects like Low Molecular Weight HA does.
Science
1
Sundaram, H., Mackiewicz, N., Burton, E., Peno-Mazzarino, L., Lati, E., & Meunier, S. (2016). Pilot Comparative Study of the Topical Action of a Novel, Crosslinked Resilient Hyaluronic Acid on Skin Hydration and Barrier Function in a Dynamic, Three-Dimensional Human Explant Model. Journal of drugs in dermatology : JDD, 15(4), 434–441.
2
Garre, A., Martinez-Masana, G., Piquero-Casals, J., & Granger, C. (2017). Redefining face contour with a novel anti-aging cosmetic product: an open-label, prospective clinical study. Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology, 10, 473–482.
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Humectant
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