It’s not like I’ve been totally unfamiliar with hyaluronic acid and its potential. I mean, I don’t know about y’all, but several years back, it seemed like I couldn’t go one day without seeing actor Eva Longoria talking about it in a commercial (she was on loop just as much as those annoying and borderline obnoxious Lumē ads). Still, you know how it is — if you’re not someone who is proactive or even just somewhat intentional about skincare, the things that you need to do to keep your face, neck, and other parts of your body looking youthful and radiant are probably not something that you choose to investigate very often (if at all).
Oh, but as time is moving and, interestingly enough, more people are complimenting me on not looking the age that I am, I’ve become a student of products that are proven to keep the affirmations and acknowledgments coming — and one of them is, yep, hyaluronic acid. Give me a few moments of your time, and I’ll explain why.
What Is Hyaluronic Acid and Why Does It Matter?
Yeah. If you just watched the video above, you heard Sanaa Lathan actually shout hyaluronic acid out. She recently observed her 52nd birthday, and so, if that’s not a powerful endorsement for all that we’re about to get into, I promise you…I don’t know what is.
So, what is hyaluronic acid to begin with? For starters, did you know it’s something that your body naturally produces? Yep, not only is it a substance that helps to keep your body hydrated, thanks to its slippery texture, but it’s also great at keeping your joints well-lubricated, speeding up the healing process of wounds, fighting gum disease, reducing acid reflux, and keeping your vagina moist.
So, even though we’re going to focus on the beauty benefits that come from it today, it’s important to know that hyaluronic acid is something that your body needs on a daily basis — whether you ever realize it or not.
Oh, and if you’re wondering if there are ways that you can get more of this acid actually into your system, the answer is “yes.” Aside from the supplements that exist, there are certain foods that are high in the acid too. Some of those include bone broth, almonds, sweet potatoes, oranges, and kale.
With all of this on record, let’s get into some of the ways that hyaluronic acid can benefit you, on the beauty front, if you opt to use it in topical form.
The Science Behind Hyaluronic Acid: How It Works
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For the past few months now, I’ve been applying hyaluronic acid to my face and neck, every morning and every night after washing my face with sulfur soap — and yes, I have noticed a difference! More than anything, it’s made my skin feel and stay hydrated, which would make sense since that is what this kind of acid is designed to do.
Since I’ve read that hyaluronic acid plays a significant role in actually giving our skin structure, no wonder it also provides skin more elasticity and flexibility, smooths out the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and it can provide a barrier for your skin so that it’s more difficult for bacteria to penetrate it. There are even some studies that state using this acid, in foam form, can bring much relief to eczema.
As far as the kind of hyaluronic acid that’s best, going with one that’s as pure as possible is always ideal. Avoid a brand that contains alcohol (especially in the top three ingredients) because that can actually dry out your skin. Also, if the product also contains vitamin C, that will definitely work in your favor; that’s because vitamin C is a nutrient that helps to produce the production of collagen, plus it contains antioxidants that complement hyaluronic acid very well. And definitely stay away from fragrance if your skin is naturally sensitive; otherwise, you could end up with redness or breakouts.
Personally, the brand that I use is Good Molecules’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum. It’s priced reasonably, is easy to apply, and feels really refreshing and light. If you want to read up on some other brands that are available, Allure has 15 listed here, and Byrdie has 12 listed here.
Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid for Your Hair
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Even though hyaluronic acid and I have been rocking for a hot minute when it comes to my skin, I’m just now taking it seriously when it comes to my hair. The reason why it’s seriously worth considering when it comes to your tresses is, since Black hair tends to be naturally dry (because it’s challenging for the natural sebum on our scalp to twist and turn around all of the curls we’ve got on our head), this is an acid that can add some additional moisture to our locks as well. As a result, it will reduce breakage, decrease frizz, and add shine to your locks. Something else that’s pretty cool about it is, if like me, you have a dry scalp, you can apply the acid directly to it, and it will moisturize that part of your body, too.
So, just how should you apply this acid to your hair and scalp? There are a few different ways that will work in your favor. You can use it as a pre-poo treatment. You can apply it after giving your hair a final rinse on wash day in order to “lock in” the moisture that remains. You can mix it in with a carrier oil like avocado, plum oil, or grapeseed oil in order to seal your ends. You can apply it to your hair after dyeing it to give it some extra hydration (by the way, I recently watched Natural Reign’s YouTube channel, and she also recommends Wella Professionals’s Ultimate Repair too; she’s got quite a bit of hair on her head and it stays healthy so…that’s just a bonus tip).
What I personally do is add some of the serum that I have to my shampoo to give it more “slip”; however, if you want to check out some popular products that contain a concentrated amount of hyaluronic acid, you can see a list of ‘em here.
What Hyaluronic Acid Does for Your Nails
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Too little iron and/or vitamin C and/or folate in your system, aging, and low thyroid levels — these are all things that can lead to brittle nails. Know what else can be the culprit? Dry nails? In fact, a lack of moisture on your hands can cause raggedy cuticles, too. A surefire remedy? Yep, you guessed it: hyaluronic acid. By applying some of the serum to your hands (your nails and nail beds especially), it will boost hydration to them, so that your nails (and cuticles) can remain healthy and strong. A great hack is to mix some serum with a bit of coconut oil or vitamin E first; if you do so, your nails will look and feel amazing!
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So, there ya go. If you never really thought about adding hyaluronic acid to your daily beauty routine, now you’ve got several reasons why you absolutely should. It’s something that I don’t regret over this way — hell, wish I had researched it sooner. Super glad that I know about it now.
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak
