Amino acids are most well known as being the building blocks of life. What that actually means is another story altogether. Amino acids are critical components of the proteins with which our bodies build, repair, and restore themselves. There are nine (9) essential amino acids which are necessary for overall health, but our body does not produce naturally. All of these amino acids work in tandem to keep us strong, healthy, and looking our best.
The above all has to do with amino acids in the diet. What about amino acids being used for our skin? Today, we will review how essential and non-essential amino acids can be used in high quality moisturizers to repair, restore, and renew our skin.
What are Amino Acids?
Amino acids are a type of organic compound that can come together to form proteins. What confuses many people (understandably) is why we eat protein in our diet, but still need amino acids to produce protein. The short answer is that the proteins we consume in our diets must be transformed into the proteins which comprise the body. In the simplest terms, that process looks something like this:
- We eat food with protein sourced from animals or plants.
- That food is digested, which results in amino acids being left over.
- Those amino acids are then synthesized in our bodies to form proteins.
- The proteins formed from amino acids are then used to build tissue, repair damaged tissue, aid in digestion, and dozens of other applications.
How Amino Acids can be Used for Skin Health
Dietary amino acids play a huge role in skin health, but today we will be focusing on how amino acids can be used as topical ingredients. The skin is the largest organ in the human body weighing in excess of eight pounds in large adults. Amino acids play a significant role in maintaining and repairing skin as it grows, regenerates, and repairs itself from everyday damage.
The top layer of the skin, known as the epidermis, regenerates itself, more or less, constantly. Dead skin cells are shed and new skin cells are created to take their place. Amino acids and collagen (a protein) both play a huge role in this process. The same attributes which allow amino acids to build tissue in other parts of the body allow amino acids to moisturize skin, improve skin tone, brighten skin, and even to protect skin from sun damage.
Powerful Moisturizers Utilize Amino Acids to Renew Damaged Skin
Skin moisturization is more complex than simply slathering on a heavy cream and calling it a day. In fact, those heavy occlusive ingredients only make up one third of the equation for a complete moisturizing product. Here are two key ways in which amino acids naturally moisturize skin:
Amino acids boost natural collagen levels. Collagen is abundant in healthy skin. It is the material most responsible for keeping your skin youthful, elastic, and moisturized. Collagen also keeps your skin strong. Amino acids bolster your natural collagen levels, leading to fewer wrinkles and stronger bounceback.
Amino acids repair damaged skin from a large number of sources. Damaged skin sounds more dramatic than it often is. Damaged skin can be impacted by the sun, a scrape, dry skin, a cut, or even just natural aging. Potent amino acids help to restore skin that has been damaged in everyday life.
Examples of Amino Acids for Dry Skin Repair
So what are some examples of amino acids that directly help skin repair? At HEFF, we are proud to use the following amino acids in our daily moisturizer for men:
- L-Proline: helps to maintain radiant and youthful skin.
- L-Histidine: protects the body from radiation and sun damage. Histidine is also a powerful antioxidant, which neutralizes free radicals helping to prevent skin cell damage.
- L-Arginine: helps the natural healing process of damaged skin cells.
- L-Lysine: boosts collagen production and is a vital component of cell damage repair.
- L-Glycine: heals damaged skin cells.
- L-Isoleucine: crucial for tissue repair and protein synthesis.
- L-Tyrosine: one of the most effective moisturizers of all the amino acids.
- L-Leucine: this branched chain amino acid helps muscle protein recovery and prevents tissue breakdown.
- L-Glutamine: much like leucine, glutamine may help with recovery and muscle breakdown.
- L-Valine: branched chain amino acid – tied to muscle building and tissue strength.
- L-Threonine: boosts the body’s ability to create collagen and elastin.
- L-Methionine: a powerful antioxidant that fights against free radicals.
- L-Alanine: important in protein synthesis.
- L-Acetyl Tyrosine: highly bioavailable form of L-Tyrosine, a building block of protein.
- L-Aspartic Acid: involved in building skin cell DNA (genetic structure in the nucleolus).
- L-Serine: important in formation of cell membranes.
- L-Phenylalanine: building blocks for various proteins. It can be converted to L-Tyrosine.
HEFF Moisturizer for Men Contains 18 Amino Acids to Repair, Restore, and Renew Your Skin!
HEFF daily moisturizing cream for men harnesses the power of 8 essential amino acids and 18 total amino acids to deliver unparalleled relief for dry, cracked skin. Our product was scientifically formulated by a team of doctors, chemists, and researchers with a singular goal in mind: create a product that can repair, restore, and renew very dry and/or damaged skin. The final result is a daily use moisturizing cream for hands, elbows, and feet. HEFF utilizes all three of the moisturizing pillars to offer deep relief for even the most cracked, chapped, and beat up skin.
Every purchase of HEFF supports military and first responder personnel through Operation Gratitude. We are proud to donate a tube of HEFF for every tube purchased. To give HEFF a try today, find us at any one of the following national retailers, shop on Amazon, or feel free to contact us directly.