Hyabest®: the hyaluronic acid in Beauty Complete, and what the studies measured

Ingredient spotlight · Hyabest® hyaluronic acid in Health Royals’ Beauty Complete, marine collagen and hyaluronic acid · 7 min read

Hyaluronic acid binds water in the skin. In placebo-controlled studies on Hyabest®, a bio-fermented sodium hyaluronate from Kewpie Corporation in Japan, 120 mg a day was taken for up to twelve weeks while skin moisture, water loss and wrinkle measures were recorded. That is why Health Royals chose Hyabest® for Beauty Complete, at 120 mg per daily dose, the amount the studies used.

Hyaluronic acid is one of the most recognisable names in beauty. We know it from serums, creams and aesthetic treatments, and the name has become almost synonymous with hydration.

It did not begin as a beauty trend. Hyaluronic acid is a molecule the body makes itself, found in the skin, the eyes and the joints, and in the skin it forms part of the water-rich environment around cells and structural fibres. That raises a less familiar question: can the molecule we know from the surface do anything measurable when it is taken by mouth?

This article goes through what hyaluronic acid does in the skin, what the human studies on Hyabest® measured, what Hyabest® is and who makes it, and why Beauty Complete carries 120 mg.

Hyaluronic acid at Health Royals

Beauty Complete contains 120 mg of Hyabest® sodium hyaluronate per daily dose, bio-fermented by Kewpie Corporation in Japan to a defined molecular weight, together with Cartidyss® fish cartilage collagen 500 mg, Ceramosides™ phytoceramides 30 mg, vitamin C 60 mg as PureWay-C, vitamin B2 1.4 mg and biotin 50 µg. Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin.

See Beauty Complete, marine collagen and hyaluronic acid

What does hyaluronic acid do in the skin?

It binds water. Hyaluronic acid, also called hyaluronan or HA, belongs to a family of molecules called glycosaminoglycans, and its defining property is how strongly it interacts with water.

In the skin it sits in the extracellular environment around cells, collagen fibres and elastin. It is not moisture resting on the surface. It is part of a living tissue in which hydration, structure and cell activity are closely connected.

The amount and distribution of hyaluronic acid in the skin change with age, alongside wider changes in the dermis and the skin barrier. Those shifts are part of the biology behind dryness, reduced suppleness and changes in texture, and sun, climate, hormones and lifestyle all play a part. We go through that picture in dry skin: why it changes with age.

The published studies on Hyabest® measured that picture in people: skin moisture, water loss and wrinkle measures.

Can hyaluronic acid work when it is swallowed?

The human studies say the question is worth asking, because they measured differences in the skin after daily oral intake.

Hyaluronic acid is a comparatively large molecule, so what happens after it is swallowed is a fair question. Research suggests that oral hyaluronic acid is broken down into smaller fragments during digestion, that these may then be absorbed and distributed through the body, and experimental studies have explored how they may interact with tissues, including the skin. The exact pathway continues to be studied.

What we do know is the part that matters more to a reader: whether controlled human studies have measured changes in hydration, water loss or visible skin characteristics after daily intake. For Hyabest®, the form in Beauty Complete, they have. The mechanism explains how it may act; the trials show what was measured in people.

What did the twelve-week study on Hyabest® measure?

Facial hydration, water loss through the skin and wrinkle volume, against placebo.

In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study by Hsu and colleagues, published in Nutrients in 2021, 40 healthy adults aged 35 to 64 took either 120 mg of Hyabest® sodium hyaluronate daily or placebo for 12 weeks. The researchers assessed several aspects of skin condition rather than hydration alone: facial hydration, transepidermal water loss and wrinkle-related measurements.

By week 12, the Hyabest® group showed statistically significant differences compared with placebo in facial hydration, facial water loss and wrinkle volume. Based on the published group averages, the changes from baseline in the Hyabest® group were approximately 11 percent higher facial hydration, 16 percent lower facial water loss and 25 percent lower wrinkle volume. These percentages are approximate calculations from the study’s published mean values; the week-12 measurements themselves also differed significantly from placebo.

The study therefore looked at hydration, water retention and a visible wrinkle-related measure together.

What did the 2024 hydration study add?

A larger group, a shorter period and almost the same daily amount.

A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study by Oe and colleagues, published in 2024, investigated Hyabest® in 100 healthy Japanese adults who were aware of having dry skin. Participants received either 119 mg of sodium hyaluronate daily or placebo for eight weeks. At the end of the study, the increase in water content in the superficial layer of the skin was significantly greater in the sodium hyaluronate group than in the placebo group, and the difference was particularly clear in the facial measurements.

Hydration in these studies is measured with instruments, not by feel: a corneometer records moisture in the outermost layer through the skin’s electrical properties, and transepidermal water loss, TEWL, records how much water leaves the skin, a measure of how well the barrier holds on to it. Readings shift with temperature, humidity and the area measured, which is why a placebo group matters.

Two studies, similar daily amounts and a consistent focus on measurable skin hydration. Both were carried out on Hyabest®, the ingredient in Beauty Complete.

What is Hyabest®, and who makes it?

Hyabest® is a high-purity sodium hyaluronate developed in Japan by Kewpie Corporation for oral beauty applications, produced by bio-fermentation rather than extracted from animal tissue.

“Hyaluronic acid” on a label is a broad description. A named ingredient also tells you how the material was produced, how pure it is, what molecular weight it has and whether that form has been studied in people. Hyabest® answers all four. The form in Beauty Complete is Hyabest® (S) LF-P, with a controlled molecular-weight range and a programme of human clinical research behind it.

Molecular weight matters because hyaluronic acid exists in a range of molecular sizes, each with its own physical and biological characteristics. A separate human study comparing different molecular weights, by Oe and colleagues in 2017, reported improvements in wrinkle-related measures with the 300 kDa Hyabest® form. That does not make one molecular weight superior in every context. It means a defined ingredient tells you far more than the generic name: hyaluronic acid identifies the molecule, Hyabest® identifies the form and dose behind the research.

Health Royals works with specialist manufacturers, researchers and supplier networks when raw materials are selected, and Kewpie is the kind of manufacturer we look for: a specialist with published human studies on its own material. What a name on the label guarantees is explained in branded ingredients.

Why does Beauty Complete contain 120 mg of Hyabest®?

Because that is the amount the twelve-week study used, and the 2024 study used 119 mg.

Hyabest® was studied at 120 mg per day. Beauty Complete contains 120 mg per daily dose. That is a decision, not a coincidence: where a branded raw material has human studies, the product carries the dose those studies used. A higher number is not automatically a better or more evidence-based dose. What matters is the specific raw material and the dose that was actually studied. For us, the ingredient cannot be separated from its source, manufacturer and studied dose.

Twelve weeks in the study also means taking the product every day for three months, which is why the jar is designed to stand out on a shelf and become part of the routine.

How does Hyabest® fit with the rest of Beauty Complete?

Beauty Complete was built around complementary aspects of skin quality, not hydration alone, and contains six named ingredients.

• Cartidyss® fish cartilage collagen type II, 500 mg, from Abyss Ingredients in Brittany, at the dose used in its placebo-controlled study on women aged 45 to 59, which we go through in our article on Cartidyss®.
• Hyabest® hyaluronic acid, 120 mg, from Kewpie Corporation in Japan, at the dose used in the studies above.
• Ceramosides™ phytoceramides, 30 mg, a plant lipid extract from Seppic in France, at the daily dose used in its human studies, covered in our article on Ceramosides™.
• Vitamin C, 60 mg, as PureWay-C.
• Vitamin B2, 1.4 mg.
• Biotin, 50 µg.

The three vitamins sit at a nutritional level. Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin. Riboflavin contributes to the maintenance of normal skin. Biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal skin. More in our article on vitamin C.

A serum on the surface and a supplement from within are not competing options: a considered skincare routine supports the skin from outside, and the studies above describe what was measured from inside.

We have done the selection so that you do not have to. Beauty Complete gives you Hyabest® hyaluronic acid at 120 mg per daily dose, the amount used in its human studies, with Cartidyss®, Ceramosides™, vitamin C, vitamin B2 and biotin. Our skin page collects the wider context. You can stop looking.

See Beauty Complete, marine collagen and hyaluronic acid

Go deeper

• Guide: skin from within
• Dry skin: why it changes with age
• Cartidyss®: the fish cartilage collagen in Beauty Complete, and what its study measured
• Ceramosides™: the plant ceramide in Beauty Complete, and why we chose it
• Vitamin C: resilience, repair and normal collagen formation
• Branded ingredients: what the name on the label guarantees
• The biology of radiant skin
• Guide to collagen supplements
• Beauty Complete with Hyabest® hyaluronic acid

Frequently asked questions

Can hyaluronic acid be absorbed when it is swallowed?
Research suggests that oral hyaluronic acid is broken down into smaller fragments during digestion, which may then be absorbed and distributed through the body. The exact pathway continues to be studied. The human studies on Hyabest® measured differences against placebo after daily intake.

How much oral hyaluronic acid per day has been studied?
In the twelve-week study, participants received 120 mg of sodium hyaluronate daily or placebo. The 2024 study used 119 mg daily for eight weeks. Beauty Complete contains 120 mg of Hyabest® per daily dose, the amount used in the twelve-week study.

What did the twelve-week study actually measure?
Randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled, it followed 40 healthy adults aged 35 to 64 and assessed facial hydration, transepidermal water loss and wrinkle-related measurements. By week 12 the Hyabest® group differed significantly from placebo on all three.

What is Hyabest®, and why does molecular weight matter?
Hyabest® is a high-purity sodium hyaluronate from Kewpie Corporation in Japan, produced by bio-fermentation rather than extracted from animal tissue. The form in Beauty Complete is Hyabest® (S) LF-P, with a controlled molecular-weight range. Hyaluronic acid exists in different molecular sizes with different characteristics, and a human study comparing molecular weights reported improvements in wrinkle-related measures with the 300 kDa Hyabest® form.

References

Hsu, T.F.; Su, Z.R.; Hsieh, Y.H.; Wang, M.F.; Oe, M.; Matsuoka, R.; et al. Oral hyaluronan relieves wrinkles and improves dry skin: a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Nutrients. 2021;13(7):2220. DOI: 10.3390/nu13072220.

Oe, M.; Wang, W.; Kuriyama, K.; Takeda, Y.; Kimura, M.; Matsuoka, R.; Miura, N.; Muto, J. Oral sodium hyaluronate moisturises skin in healthy adults: an 8-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Food and Nutrition Sciences. 2024;15:1095 to 1105. DOI: 10.4236/fns.2024.1511071.

Oe, M.; Sakai, S.; Yoshida, H.; Okado, N.; Kaneda, H.; Masuda, Y.; Urushibata, O. Oral hyaluronan relieves wrinkles: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study over a 12-week period. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology. 2017;10:267 to 273. DOI: 10.2147/CCID.S141845.

Kewpie Corporation. Hyabest® ingredient, molecular-weight and clinical research information.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. It summarises ingredient characteristics, published research and manufacturer-provided information. Individual needs and experiences may vary. Consult a qualified healthcare professional with questions about supplementation, allergies, medication or personal health.