Hyaluronic acid, also referred to as sodium hyaluronate, is perhaps the single most important natural molecule for moisturised skin.
This natural carbohydrate is now a wildly popular skincare ingredient, but occurs naturally in the human body, as well as root tubers like sweet potatoes and satoimo.
What is hyaluronic acid? It’s a natural water container, the most important substance for naturally retaining water and moisture. Hyaluronic acid is just as vital for firm, youthful and glowing skin as collagen. While collagen forms the cells and structure of your skin itself, hyaluronic acid provides the moisture content.
Interestingly, there’s also evidence that hyaluronic acid traps and destroys free radicals in the skin, removing their acne-causing influence. Currently, the most popular source is topical treatments, a cream which you rub onto your face, or even an injection into the skin…
…but the evidence suggests that oral supplements are much more effective. This study found that a daily hyaluronic acid supplement decreased wrinkles and fines lines after 3 months, while successfully moisturising the skin. This study was nearly identical.
Supplements are the way forward, and it doesn’t end there; hyaluronic acid is highly concentrated in eye and joint tissues, allowing supplements to improve dry eyes and knee pain.
But which is the best brand? That’s what we’re going to discuss today.
A quick warning: while side effects are extremely rare, oral hyaluronic acid is still fairly unresearched. Over a dozen studies have confirmed its safety, but discontinue supplementation if you notice any side effects. For a shortcut, Pure Encapsulations is my top recommendation.
Let’s get started:
One – Pure Encapsulations
Firstly, Pure Encapsulations is free from any harsh additives and fillers. The only extra ingredients are hypoallergenic plant fiber (cellulose) and the vegetable capsule (cellulose, water). The cellulose itself is sourced from pesticide-free southern pine trees.
Secondly, Pure Encapsulations contains sodium hyaluronate, a well-absorbed form of hyaluronic acid. It even contains low molecular weight hyaluronic acid, in the patented HyaMax form, which is particularly well absorbed in the gut.
Pure Encapsulations contains a dosage of 70mg, supplying 60 capsules for a proper experimentation supply. The supplement is free from corn, soy and magnesium stearate.
Then there’s the company’s overall quality assurances. Pure Encapsulations tests each batch of raw materials for toxic heavy metals, including mercury, arsenic, lead and cadmium. They test for over 70 pesticides and 30 solvents, while each finished product is rigorously inspected by a third party laboratory for purity and potency, with their hyaluronic acid being no exception.
Pure Encapsulations is a perfect hyaluronic acid in every single way.
Amazon link: Pure Encapsulations Hyaluronic Acid.
Two – Pure Original Ingredients
From the company behind an excellent alpha lipoic acid supplement comes a pure and effective hyaluronic acid.
Pure Original Ingredients contains only gelatin as its additives, with no magnesium stearate, corn flour, or maltodextrin to be found. The dosage is a powerful 310mg per capsule, while there’s 365 capsules per bottle, giving you a full year’s supply. There’s also a 100 bottle version available.
Like Pure Encapsulations, Pure Original Ingredients contains the sodium hyaluronate form. The difference to normal hyaluronic acid is that sodium hyaluronate is bound to sodium molecules. It’s actually better absorbed than normal hyaluronic acid, with a lower molecular size.
Many of the greatest studies on oral hyaluronic acid, for knee pain or skincare, tested Hyabest, which is a patented form of sodium hyaluronate made by a Japanese company. Therefore, most of the brands here consist of sodium hyaluronate.
Elsewhere, Pure Original Ingredients is lab tested for purity. Users report improved joints, arthritis and importantly for us, skin. The only negative reports are of capsules that aren’t full, but it’s unclear whether this was a manufacturing error, or intentional, due to the capsules being slightly too large for the quantity of hyaluronic acid included.
Pure Original Ingredients easily beats almost every other hyaluronic acid brand, including all of the topical treatments.
Amazon link: Pure Original Ingredients Hyaluronic Acid.
Three – Douglas Laboratories
The hyaluronic acid is the well-absorbed sodium hyaluronate again, in the patented HyaMax form. HyaMax is not to be confused with HyaBest, another patented form of hyaluronic acid, which is manufactured by a Japanese company, but they’re both equally well-absorbed with a low molecular weight.
Why is a low molecular weight so beneficial? Full hyaluronic acid molecules are hard for the gut to absorb because of their high molecular weight; a similar scenario is with topical hyaluronic acid, which barely penetrates your skin’s layers. In fact, the natural hyaluronic acid in your skin is so big that it sits on the outside of skin cells rather than inside them.
Low molecular weight hyaluronic acids like Douglas Laboratories bypass this problem, being well-absorbed into the gut. The HA itself is produced through a bacterial fermentation process. Finally, Douglas Laboratories explicitly states that its product is free from gluten, wheat, soy or corn.
Douglas Laboratories is almost unbeatable for its high quality hyaluronic acid.
Amazon link: Douglas Laboratories Hyaluronic Acid.
Four – Earthborn Elements
The hyaluronic acid is in the well-absorbed sodium hyaluronate form. The dosage is a strong 310mg per capsule, beating Pure Encapsulations. Earthborn Elements contains no extra ingredients, just pure and focussed hyaluronic acid, to ensure that your experiment has no complicating factors.
Earthborn elements also contains a huge 200 capsules per bottle, which is easily high enough to experiment with the supplement. Hyaluronic acid is believed to have a turnover of 28 days in human skin, being removed and replaced more rapidly than other skin molecules. Meanwhile, one study on skin quality found that wrinkles faded away after 8 weeks, while skin luster and suppleness improved significantly after 12 weeks.
That’s why you should always take hyaluronic acid for at least 1 month, and that’s why Earthborn Elements succeeds. It also succeeds with its purity; Earthborn Elements contains only gelatin powder as its additives, with no magnesium stearate or corn flour included.
Earthborn Elements is a hidden, but massively effective hyaluronic acid supplement.
Amazon link: Earthbound Elements Hyaluronic Acid.
Five – Bulk Supplements
Bulk Supplements only contains one additive: the bovine gelatin capsule. It’s also a relatively affordable brand. Magnesium stearate, soy and wheat are all far away with this hyaluronic acid. The only slight downside is not being vegan. This brand is made in a GMP compliant facility, and is lab tested to guarantee purity.
Once again, Bulk Supplements is confirmed to be in the optimally absorbed sodium hyaluronate form. That said, there’s still mystery over the whole form of hyaluronic acid. Recent studies have revealed that once eaten, gut bacteria actually ferment whole HA molecules to a certain extent, reducing them to the low molecular weight form. Scientists discovered this after being confused about high molecular weight hyaluronic acid still ending up in the skin when eaten, despite being only rarely absorbed when examined in isolated digestive models.
In any case, Bulk Supplements contains a hyaluronic acid form which is proven to absorb into the bloodstream.
Amazon link: Bulk Supplements Hyaluronic Acid.
Six – LongLifeNutri
Our elite, first five brands were all free from magnesium stearate, but starting with LongLifeNutri, every brand contains it. Magnesium stearate is a controversial anti-caking ingredient, designed to prevent powders from sticking to factory machinery, but believed to reduce nutrient absorption by some. The effect is only small, but worth avoiding for maximum effectiveness.
So why is LongLifeNutri even included in this list? Because LongLifeNutri and the remaining 4 brands still beat most other hyaluronic acids resoundingly. LongLifeNutri is particularly powerful, with 180 capsules of 100mg, beating Pure Encapsulations. You get a 6 month supply with this supplement, a six month supply of moisturised skin.
Read Annihilate Your Acne – get the ultimate diet for clear and glowing skin!
The hyaluronic acid is also in the superbly absorbed sodium hyaluronate form. It’s also very cleanly produced, being manufactured in the USA in a Good Manufacturing Practises compliant facility, rather than the industrial wastelands of China.
LongLifeNutri is an above average hyaluronic acid supplement.
Amazon link: LongLifeNutri Hyaluronic Harmony.
Seven – Puritan’s Pride
Puritan’s Pride contains a standard dosage of 100mg, sufficient for your skin to become firmer and healthier before your very eyes. The ingredients list reads “gelatin, rice flour, silica, vegetable magnesium stearate“, which are all harmless apart from the slight flaw of the magnesium stearate. Puritan’s Pride is manufactured in the USA, rather than China or India.
Once again, Puritan’s Pride is confirmed to be sodium hyaluronate, which isn’t vital, but is optimal for absorption. Regarding high molecular weight hyaluronic acid, the fermentation discovery opens up an interesting topic – could normal hyaluronic acid become more effective alongside a probiotic? A bacterial supplement would enhance your ability to reduce the high molecular weight form to an easily absorbed version.
This would apply to food sources of hyaluronic acid too, like root vegetables. Also important would be your overall state of gut bacteria, whether your healthy strains are crippled due to consuming too many antibiotics and sugary foods, or thriving thanks to eating sauerkraut, yogurt and numerous polyphenols. This could easily be a future discovery.
Anyway, the final advantage of Puritan’s Pride is its high capsule count of 60, a 2 month supply which is easily high enough to test the supplement.
Can Puritan’s Pride be beaten for hyaluronic acid? Yes, but only just.
Amazon link: Puritan’s Pride Magnesium Stearate.
Eight – Jarrow Formulas
The additives are magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, microcrystalline cellulose and the HPMC capsule. The reviews are plentiful and extremely promising, with people speaking in wonder of their healing joints and painless knees, including people over 80.
Another advantage of Jarrow Formulas is its confirmed freedom from any soy-derived ingredients. It’s a hyaluronic acid with low molecular weight, being optimally absorbed, and the sodium hyaluronate itself (the Hyabest form) is derived from bacterial fermentation.
During your investigations, you may notice numerous hyaluronic acid supplements with glucosamine as a bonus ingredient. This is another structural molecule, with known benefits for joint health just like hyaluronic acid, but it’s such a different compound in its own right that none of the brands on this list contain any, including Jarrow Formulas. It’s a topic for another day.
Overall, Jarrow Formulas succeeds wildly as an affordable hyaluronic acid brand.
Amazon link: Jarrow Formulas Hyaluronic Acid.
Conclusion
There you have it. Pure Encapsulations is the best hyaluronic acid supplement here, combining perfect specifications with an iron commitment to purity, but every product listed here will get the job done.
What’s the optimal dosage in general? One study reported fading wrinkles and suppler skin with 120mg daily, while another relieved patients of their knee pain by using 200mg daily. Interestingly, one study found that 120mg and 240mg had similarly beneficial effects on the skin. 50mg will have benefits and there’s no need to take over 200mg daily.
In the early 20th century, hyaluronic acid was believed to be biologically inert, simply a structural molecule in the skin, while as recently as the 1990s, there were doubts over whether oral hyaluronic acid achieved anything. Now that real studies are flooding in, more and more people are realising that this substance can transform their skin.
If this sounds appealing, you now have several perfect hyaluronic acid supplements to choose from.
NEXT: learn the root causes of acne, clear your skin permanently
Thanks for reading!
Any recommendations on topical hyaluronic acid serums?