Potassium Hyaluronate

What Is It?

Hyaluric Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate and Potassium Hyaluronate are white fiber-like or creamy powders. In cosmetics and personal care products, these ingredients are used mainly in the formulation of skin care products, lipsticks and eye and facial makeup.

Why Is It Used?

Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate and Potassium Hyaluronate enhance the appearance of dry or damaged skin by reducing flaking and restoring suppleness. Hyaluronic Acid is also used to thicken the aqueous (water) portion of cosmetics and personal care products.

Scientific Facts

Hyaluronic Acid is made up of many sugar units. With the addition of more sugar molecules, it grows longer and the overall shape becomes spherical. It is normally found in skin, connective and nerve tissue. Compared to other natural and synthetic polymers, Hyaluronic Acid has the greatest capacity to hold water. Sodium Hyaluronate and Potassium Hyaluronate are salts of Hyaluronic Acid. Hyaluronic Acid has a number of approved medical uses. It has been used in eye surgery and in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. It is also approved to be injected under the skin to temporarily smooth wrinkles.

Safety Information

The safety of Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate and Potassium Hyaluronate has been assessed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel. The CIR Expert Panel evaluated the scientific data and concluded that Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate and Potassium Hyaluronate were safe as cosmetic ingredients.

CIR Safety Review: The CIR Expert Panel noted that Hyaluronic Acid penetrated to the dermis and can moderate the penetration of other chemicals. The amount of Hyaluronic Acid normally found in the skin was compared to the maximum amount of Hyaluronic Acid applied to the skin by cosmetics and personal care products (2% of product). The CIR Expert Panel found that the contribution of Hyaluronic Acid to the skin via application of such a product to be negligible. The CIR Expert Panel reviewed acute, short-term and chronic toxicological studies and concluded that they did not demonstrate any cause for concern. Hyaluronic Acid did not cause reproductive or developmental toxicity. There was no genotoxicity found in reverse mutation tests, micronucleus tests and chromosomal aberration tests. There were no skin reactions in an immunogenicity test of Sodium Hyaluronate on humans. Hyaluronic Acid also has medical uses in which it is injected into the body.

In 2000, there were 144 reported adverse reactions from medical injection use of Hyaluronic Acid out of a possible 262,000 uses. Most reactions were resolved within 2 weeks. In the case reports of adverse effects from Hyaluronic Acid that have appeared, most were related to its use as a treatment for osteoarthritis or for tissue augmentation, and all these cases were from injections and not topical use. Moreover, there were no reported reactions to topically applied Hyaluronic Acid, further supporting that Hyaluronic Acid at levels currently used in cosmetics and personal care products applied to the skin should not be of concern.

Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate and Potassium Hyaluronate may be used in cosmetics and personal care products marketed in Europe according to the general provisions of the Cosmetics Regulation of the European Union. Ingredients of animal origin must comply with European Union animal by-products regulations.

Link to the EU Cosmetic Regulation: http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_p…

More Scientific Information

Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate and Potassium Hyaluronate are formed by the bonding of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine with glucuronic acid in a disaccharide chain that can group as long as 10,000 pairs in length.

Hyaluronic Acid and its salts used in cosmetics and personal care products are obtained from bacterial fermentation and rooster combs. Unique properties of Hyaluronic Acid are its high molecular weight and large molecular volume. All three ingredients function as skin conditioning agents – miscellaneous in cosmetics and personal care products. Hyaluronic Acid is also used as a viscosity increasing agent – aqueous.

Resources

EU Cosmetic Ingredients Inventory http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/

Search the FDA Code of Federal Regulations http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm