Q: I want to buy a cream with a “Botox effect.” Can skincare products work “like injections”?

In short: no, because the substances in these products do not penetrate the deep layers of the skin (the dermis). Delivering something there can only be done invasively.

How Injections Work

Take Botox and Dysport as examples – these substances block signals from the nerve to the muscle and are injected directly into the muscle. It’s clear here: a cream cannot provide a “Botox effect” and cannot smooth deep wrinkles – topical products cannot affect muscle tissues.

What about hyaluronic acid? When you get injections with this component (biorevitalization), it is delivered into the dermis, where the acid can hydrate, restore the structures of the extracellular matrix, and even, to some extent, stimulate collagen synthesis. The effect lasts, on average, from 3 to 12 months – depending on the type of product and individual metabolism. Hyaluronic acid injections make the skin noticeably firmer and more elastic, smooth wrinkles, and prevent dryness, but once the product is completely metabolized, everything returns to its previous state.

How Skincare Products Work

When any product is applied topically, whether it’s a serum or cream, there’s always one obstacle – the skin’s protective barrier. It doesn’t matter what’s trying to get through it – a beneficial molecule of hyaluronic acid or a deadly microbe. Only small (up to 300 kDa) fat-soluble compounds can pass through an intact barrier on their own. All others, including larger molecules, water-soluble substances, and charged compounds, are blocked by the stratum corneum. Therefore, in topical products (creams and serums), hyaluronic acid affects the stratum corneum and works as a moisturizer; it doesn’t influence collagen production. The same protective barrier prevents the substance from penetrating into the dermis.

So..?

Does this mean hyaluronic acid (and other ingredients) are unnecessary since they don’t penetrate the dermis? No, it doesn’t – they have a different role. Injections trigger deep processes, while creams and serums work on the surface – hyaluronic acid in skincare products hydrates the stratum corneum and helps retain moisture in it, ceramides and fatty acids restore the lipid barrier, and antioxidants slow down lipid oxidation. If the skin lacks moisture, the cells function poorly, the skin becomes dry, so it regenerates and renews more slowly.