Ingredients for Healthy Skin AND Healthy Singing! – Michael Montalbano

We at JUARA talk all the time about the hyaluronic acid contained both in our Tamarind Tea Hydrating Toner and the new Sweet Black Tea & Ginger Mattefying Moisturizer. This active water-binding ingredient is found naturally in many places, including the seed of the tamarind fruit, but what you may not know is that it occurs naturally in our bodies too! Crazy, right?

You know what's even crazier? The amount of hyaluronic acid your body naturally produces can affect the human voice in singing. I personally have gotten very interested in the study of vocal pedagogy over the last few years, finding out how the human voice physically works and how it applies to singing instruction. I never expected to find mention of this JUARA ingredient in my vocal studies!

When you use your voice, your vocal cords slam together and move apart hundreds of times per second. That can cause a lot of damage to those tiny folds of skin if they don't have some defense against fatigue and injury. The superficial layers of the vocal folds are where most ordinary vibration occurs, and they are also where hyaluronic acid is found. Essentially, hyaluronic acid helps your vocal cords bounce back to their original shape, avoiding injury and disfiguration.

*Quick sidebar: Hyaluronic acid is also contained in the human eyeball. If you want to feel first-hand how it helps your body bounce back, close your eye and press gently on it with your finger. When it returns to its original shape, that’s partially due to the hyaluronic acid at work!*

Different people are born with different levels of hyaluronic acid (along with many other varying components in the anatomy of their vocal cords). Generally, those born with more hyaluronic acid in their cords have more resilient voices that can stand up to more pressurized singing and still resist injury. This component contributes to reasons why some people are more predisposed to have bigger, heavier voices naturally. They can sing with somewhat more weight in their voices without wrecking the instrument. Of course, they still can't go crazy and start singing with no regard for vocal health, but it does mean that they can get away with a little bit more than those with less hyaluronic acid ;-).

So what do we do with this information? Start chugging JUARA toner and singing our faces off? Well, not only would that be a rather expensive drink ($27 per bottle is a bargain when you're using one pump per application on your skin, but gets a little pricey for a drink...), but it also probably wouldn't change the amounts of hyaluronic acid your body naturally produces in the vocal cords. Drat!

We do, however, now have some fun information on how one of JUARA's star active ingredients plays a part in many stars of the entertainment industry. Remember, though, just because someone has a slightly more resilient anatomy doesn't mean it's not important to sing healthily in order to have a lasting instrument!

-MICHAEL MONTALBANO (JUARA CUSTOMER SERVICE/NY-BASED SINGER/ACTOR)