Is This Trendy Topical The Secret To Long-Lasting Hydrated Lips?
Because hyaluronic acid is a hero ingredient in all of its forms.
AbJimroe
When you go to lather on a new lip balm, you'll generally judge the product right away based on a few things: how it feels gliding across your lips, whether it helps to combat dry skin, and how often you feel you need to apply it. These are all fair game. But what you may not be questioning is how the lip balm is affecting your lip skin over time. We asked the experts about ingredients that can work wonders on the lips, both short and long term. Here's one ingredient they say is key to prolonged plump lips: sodium hyaluronate.
How does sodium hyaluronate work in lip balm?
Here's the thing about picking a lip balm: It's not just momentary satisfaction that matters. Like with traditional skin care products, you want something that feels good at the moment and improves your skin over time. Sodium hyaluronate—a salt form of the famous hyaluronic acid—does just that. First, we'll explain how this ingredient checks the box of instantaneous benefit.
"The short term is you create an occlusive [layer], which is great. You want to protect from the elements [and] any dry chapping from the winter environment," Justin Steinke, cosmetic chemist and head of research and development at Evergreen Innovations, told mbg. This means sodium hyaluronate essentially acts as a barrier to your lips—guarding against drying environmental factors such as cold wind or forced air conditioning.
What's more, this same ingredient works wonders for the lip skin over time. "Sodium hyaluronate that's been added to this formulation is a specialty version of it that is oil soluble, and with that, you're delivering this hyaluronic molecule, which attracts a great deal of moisture to your lips; it will help plump them from within instead of just protecting them from drying out from the environment," Steinke explained. So you're essentially hydrating the lips from within while simultaneously protecting them from the damage the outside environment may cause.
If you're wondering what lip balm Steinke is referencing, it's the mbg lip balm of course. As harsh critics of lip balms, we wanted to create a lip product that did it all, both short- and long-term satisfaction included. The superstar ingredient, sodium hyaluronate, is blended together with moringa seed oil, shea butter, vitamin E, and other powerful hydrating ingredients to be sure you're tending to the health of your lips—and not having to reapply every two minutes.
We're so used to making sure our skin care ingredients are effective long term (which is great!), that sometimes we forget to check up on the health of our lips. Sodium hyaluronate is a fantastic ingredient to look for in lip balms because it works to protect your lips from the elements while also keeping them hydrated and healthy for the foreseeable future. The mbg lip balm packs in this standout ingredient with other hydrating, plant-based factors to ensure your lips don't go without—not to mention it's dermatologist approved.
