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If you read the INCI lists on your cosmetics, you’ll most likely find Sodium Hyaluronate much more often than Hyaluronic Acid. It’s not a substitute or a cheaper version: it’s the form in which hyaluronic acid is used in nearly all formulas, for specific technical reasons.
Article written by Elisa Avalle, founder of LeLang Skin Care and dermocosmetics specialist. Cover image generated with the support of artificial intelligence.
What is sodium hyaluronate?
Sodium hyaluronate is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid. Chemically, it’s the same chain of sugars, with sodium in place of hydrogen on the acid groups. The difference seems minor, but it changes how the molecule behaves.
The salt is more stable: it withstands heat, pH changes and oxidation better, so it survives manufacturing processes and the product’s shelf life. It’s also more soluble in water, which allows for precise dosing without viscosity problems.
By weight, sodium hyaluronate contains about 5% less active chain than pure hyaluronic acid, because some of its mass comes from sodium. In practice, this difference is negligible and far less important than molecular weight.
Sodium hyaluronate or hyaluronic acid: which works better?
The question is poorly framed, and that’s why the answers you find online are contradictory. The variable that really matters isn’t salt versus acid; it’s molecular weight.
Long chains stay on the surface and form a film that holds onto water and smooths the skin: an immediate, visible effect, but limited to the outermost layer. Short chains penetrate the stratum corneum more effectively and work deeper down, with a less immediate but longer-lasting effect. Sodium hyaluronate is produced industrially in a wide range of molecular weights, and this, more than its chemical form, explains why it’s found everywhere. We discuss this in more detail in our article on high molecular weight hyaluronic acid.
The most successful formulas don’t choose one or the other: they combine different molecular weights to cover multiple layers at once.
The L mistake that makes hyaluronic acid useless
Sodium hyaluronate is a humectant: it draws water to itself. Where it gets that water depends on the environment. If the air is humid, it draws it from the air. If the air is dry—in winter, with the heat on, or in an air-conditioned office—it can draw water from the deeper layers of the skin and then let it evaporate.
So here’s the practical rule: apply it to slightly damp skin and always seal it in with a cream or oil. A hyaluronic acid serum left to dry on its own on dry skin in a dry environment can leave the skin more dehydrated than before. This is one of the most common mistakes of all.
Where it appears in LeLang formulas
It’s the most widely used ingredient in our catalog: serums, face creams, eye creams, and masks. In the serum that combines it with ferulic acid and vitamin C, it works alongside the cross-linked form, which retains water on the surface for longer.
FERULIC + HA SERUM Vitamin C and ferulic acid face serum Antioxidant and tone-evening, with dual hyaluronic acid. Helps prevent dark sp... Discover FERULIC + HA SERUM
In the Hyaluron 8 Hydra Deep serum, sodium hyaluronate is present in three different molecular weight ranges—high, medium, and low—along with five other forms of hyaluronic acid.
HYALURON 8 HYDRA DEEP Face serum with 8 forms of hyaluronic acid, hydrating and plumping 8 forms of hyaluronic acid with different molecul... Discover HYALURON 8 HYDRA DEEP
Frequently asked questions about sodium hyaluronate
Is it animal-derived?
Almost never nowadays. It’s produced through bacterial fermentation, a process that yields a purer material with a controlled molecular weight compared with extraction from rooster combs, which was used decades ago.
Can it have the opposite effect and dry out the skin?
This can happen in very dry environments if it isn’t sealed in with an occlusive product. It’s not a flaw in the ingredient; it’s how all humectants work.
Can you use it with retinol, vitamin C, or acids?
Yes, for everyone. It’s one of the most compatible ingredients out there, and it’s actually useful for counteracting dryness in a routine that includes potentially irritating actives.
Is it also suitable for oily skin?
Yes. Oily skin isn’t necessarily hydrated: dehydration is about water, not lipids, and oily skin can be dehydrated. Sodium hyaluronate is water-soluble and won’t feel heavy.
Does hyaluronic acid cream have the same effect as injections?
No, they’re two different things. A cosmetic product affects the appearance of the skin’s surface, and the effect is reversible; injectable volume enhancement is a form of aesthetic medicine and works in a different layer of the skin.
