Let’s start out by looking at what hyaluronic acid actually is.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring biopolymer, which serves important biological functions in bacteria and higher animals including humans. Naturally occurring, hyaluronic acid may be found in the tissue of higher animals, in particular as intercellular space filler. HA is found in greatest concentrations in the vitreous humour of the eye and in the synovial fluid of articular joints, but is also found in the skin, connective tissue and elsewhere in the body.

Hyaluronic acid was made ‘famous’ by an ABC News report in which Connie Chung visited a Japanese village by the name of Yuzurihara. She found that the people there were living longer, looked younger, and were more flexible and active than their western counterparts. These Japanese villagers, in their 80s and 90s, have smooth wrinkle-less skin, a full head of hair and apparently no need for glasses.

So what is it, that allows these Japanese to be so much more youthful, lead active, productive lives at their advanced age, where as in western countries most people in their 80s and beyond are in old-age homes?

The conclusion drawn in the ABC report was that these people ate ’sticky vegetables’ and that this factor was the secret to their apparent youth. In addition, the oestrogen-like molecules in their diet, fermented forms of soy in miso paste and tofu, seem to play an important role. These molecules, along with natural oestrogen, send a signal to the fibroblast cells to make more hyaluronic acid. But is this the whole answer? - I don’t think so, but I’ll get to this a little later.

Next, let’s look at what Hyaluronic acid does.

According to scientific research by a variety of Universities and researchers, hyaluronic acid is used in the human body to cushion and lubricate joints, eyes, the skin, and heart valves (see http://www.ctds.info/hyaluronic_acid.html for an in-depth look at all the different diseases, syndromes and conditions). Some treatments, which involve the use of hyaluronic acid include: treatment for osteoarthritis and other joint problems, as well as a range of eye disorders, retinal detachment, and some cardiovascular disorders.

However, it is in the anti-aging effect on the skin that we are focusing on in this article and the effect hyaluronic acid seems to have on the skin is at the level of promoting the formation of collagen. These are the fibres that firm the skin. Now, hyaluronidase, an enzyme that breaks down collagen fibres, is produced by free radicals and UV radiation.

These factors breaks down fibres of collagen can cause premature wrinkles and sagging of the skin. Focusing on hyaluronic acid, it would seem reasonable therefore, that reducing the free radicals is a major key to reducing the hyaluronidase enzyme and secondly to promote normal levels of hyaluronic acid in the skin.

Plant substances known as bioflavonoids, contained in foods such as grape seed extract, blueberry, cranberry, citrus bioflavonoids and milk thistle, etc., inhibit the production of hyaluronidase, which helps to achieve the first aim of reducing the free radicals. In addition, reducing processed foods from our diet, increasing the level of exercise and living a more balanced life style will help in promoting natural levels of hyaluronic acid in our system, not just in the skin.

When considering injecting hyaluronic acid into the skin to treat fine lines and wrinkles, we are once again loosing sight of the holistic approach to treating our bodies and thus run a serious risk of introducing factors, which may lead to side effects or other health problems. Further, we also run the risk of creating an imbalance in the chemical composition of the skin and who knows what possible problems await us as a result.

Some known side effects of hyaluronic acid injection therapy for aging skin include:

• swelling
• infection
• redness
• tenderness
• acne
• lumps
• tissue hardening
• unknown risks when used in combination with collagen

These side effects are serious enough to reconsider using injection therapy of hyaluronic acid as an anti-aging treatment for the skin.

Remember too, that the people in the Japanese village do not use injection therapy… They life an holistic life style incorporating unprocessed foods and physical activity together with a balanced mind-set and life style.

So where can you get a holistic source of hyaluronic acid from?

There are a couple of ways. The first is from “starchy root vegetables” such as the ones mentioned by the village doctor in the ABC report which include: Satsumaimo, a type of sweet potato; Satoimo, a sticky white potato; Konyaku, a gelatinous root vegetable concoction; and Imoji, a potato root.

These vegetables help the cells of the body to thrive and retain moisture. Further, they keep joints lubricated, protect the retina of the eye and keep the skin smooth and elastic by promoting collagen.

Another source of hyaluronic acid, for non-vegetarians, is to eat animal parts known to contain a lot of hyaluronic acid. You could make a broth from fish bones. That is, once you’ve taken off the fillets, boil the rest of the fish, including their head and make a fish stock. Similarly, you can make a meat broth using animal joints, sinews and tendons, then adding a few root and other vegetables to create a healthy, nourishing soup.

In conclusion, at Wildcrafted Herbal Products we do not believe that adding isolated ingredients in elevated concentrations to our natural skin care products is a preferred option. Rather, using a holistically natural approach to skin care and for that matter health care is a far more preferable option.

Skin care is as much about taking care of your skin as it is taking responsibility and care of your overall health and wellbeing. Your skin is not an isolated part of your body and should not be treated as such.

Again I would like to remind you of the Japanese villagers - they do not inject themselves with hyaluronic acid, they do not use hyaluronic acid in isolation, they do however life a healthy, active and mostly balanced life style.

Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.

Join our Natural Skin Care Newsletter - it’s fun, free and Informative and you receive a free eBook on natural skin care.

© Wildcrafted Herbal Products 2005

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These days many consumers treat synthetic ingredients in their skin care as potentially harmful, and so they should.

If you are asking yourself whether natural skin care products are the answer to all your skin care problems? The answer is a definite Yes. I have not come across a single skin problem that cannot be addressed equally well using natural skin care products as using any other types. Admittedly, I’ve only been in practice for just over 20 years, however, so far I have yet to see a skin condition that cannot be treated using a natural approach, excluding of course emergency medical conditions such as severe 3rd degree burns over large parts of the body, etc.

In an article I can across recently, entitled “Are Natural Skin Care Products the Answer To All Problems?”, the author asks the following questions:

So, are natural skin care products the answer to all of our problems? What if a natural skin care product is not available for the treatment of a particular skin disorder? Are the synthetic skin care products so harmful that they should be banned?

The answer is No natural skin care products do not fix all of our problems. Maybe the author should have asked …so, are natural skin care products to answer to all our skin care problems? - then the answer would have still been No, and neither do any other skin care products on the market today - natural or otherwise.

Not all skin problems can be treated using some topical application - Many diseases such as measles, chickenpox, herpes and many more are diseases, which as part of their symptomatology, have a skin component. To think that using natural skin care products or for that matter a synthetically formulated skin care product could treat this types of conditions is ludicrous.

Sure, combine your internal medication (natural or drug-based) with a good quality, natural skin care product to address the itching, irritation and redness, etc., but don’t think for one moment that a skin care products is going to effect the chickenpox virus or any other infectious disease.

Similarly, skin problems just like any other long-term disorder have a multi-faceted complexity and require a systemic approach to treatment.

If on the other hand we are simply referring to dry, oily, mature or sensitive skin, than there is no need for synthetic chemicals. Nor is this the case in the treatment of dermatitis, psoriasis or similar conditions, unless they are of a genetic origin - then there is very little that can be done other than symptom control, which natural skin care products can do just as well as any synthetic equivalent, if not better.

You see most mass-produced skin care products, whether they are 100% natural skin care products or have a synthetic component, will not work on any condition that has an internal disease process involved. For example a hormonal imbalance may cause acne. This acne will persist until the hormonal imbalance is corrected.

Similarly, viral infections can cause skin rashes and they will persist until the viral infection has been addressed. Again, sure use a topical ointment or cream for the rash and yes, make sure it is a natural skin care product, because you don’t need to introduce more chemicals into the body, which it may have difficulty in utilising and/or eliminating.

In the same article, the answers to the above questions states:

Different people have different answers to these questions. However, the reality is that due to presence of synthetic preservatives, it’s really tough to find a natural skin care product that is 100% natural. There are natural skin care products that have natural preservatives, but their cost might be detrimental. Moreover, such natural skin products have a shorter shelf life and hence are not preferred by the manufacturers of natural skin care products.

Firstly, 100% natural skin care products are really not hard to find. There are dozens of companies that produce good quality, natural skin care products and they can be found using Yahoo, MSN or Google without much difficulty. Yes, they can be expensive, but they are no more expensive than similar, products containing synthetic chemicals produced by major brands such as L’Oreal, Lanc

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In addition, concerns have been raised about some of the potentially harmful ingredients being applied to our skin and thus absorbed into our bodies, with potentially harmful effects on our health.

These reports have led to a ‘natural’ skin care ingredient boom right across the skin care industry and increasingly we see advertisements promoting natural skin care products.

Toward the end of 2005 however, buyers have been realising that natural skin care products may not necessarily be all-natural skin care products and are starting to doubt the validity of advertisements promoting their skin care products as being natural.

Further, the men’s skin care market has been more strongly targeted with many well-known brands creating and promoting a skin care range specific for men.

So what can we expect in 2006?

I believe, that the above trends will continue during this year and will intensify in certain areas. These areas include:

• An increased focus on Men’s skin care
• More anti-aging ‘miracle’ products
• Increased focus on promoting so called ‘natural’ skin care products
• An increased ‘buyer be ware’ attitude from consumers about just how natural the promoted skin care products are, and
• An increase of scepticism toward the promotion of natural in respect to skin care products by manufacturers.

I see the manufacturing of skin care products to be divided into three types of manufacturers:

1. Traditional Skin Care Manufacturers that produce skin care products that will provide good results, but these products are not advertised to be natural, organic or anything other than skin care products. Their products include emulsifiers, preservatives and possibly potentially harmful ingredients, but they do work and customers do get results.

2. Jump on the Bandwagon Manufacturers that market their products as being natural and actually do include natural ingredients or at least naturally derived concentrates together with other ingredients. They will promote these products as being natural and will attract buyers who are concerned about what they are putting on their skin and subsequently into their body.

   This category contains another type of manufacturer, I call it the Psydo-Natural manufacturer. This type uses only natural ingredients, but does not use these ingredients in their natural state. That is, they will not always use traditionally made herbal extracts, but will use isolated, active ingredients from herbs or essential oils in their products.

   The problem with this type of product is that the ingredients are no longer complete, they are ‘out of balance’ and as a result could cause potential health concerns. This has been explained in another article called ‘Natural, All Natural, Holistically-Natural or Pseudo-natural - that is the question’.

3. The third type of manufacturer of skin care products are manufacturers that have resolved to provide purely natural skin care products to their clients and are dedicated to use holistically, natural ingredients to produce truly natural skin care products. They use pure essential oils, traditionally made herbal extracts, and follow the philosophies of natural medical practices such as herbal medicine and naturopathy.

The next 12 months or so will see consumers becoming more and more aware of what is truly natural and what is not. The Internet is a great source for gathering such information and women especially will start to research skin care products in ever increasing detail to find the type of products they prefer.

Men will start to become more aware of their skin’s needs and will increasingly start to follow similar skin care regimes as women. However, I think it will take men a little longer to start thinking about the purity of their skin care. They will probably leave it up to their spouses to select their skin care range for them.

Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you. www.wildcrafted.com.au/Natural%20Skin%20Care%20Newslett.html

Join our Natural Skin Care Newsletter - it’s fun, free and Informative and you receive a free eBook on natural skin care.
© Wildcrafted Herbal Products 2006

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