Women who took 75mg Pycnogenol, a pine bark extract, for 12 weeks experienced increases in skin elasticity and hydration. Dry skin decreased noticeably in women who had dry skin prior to the study. Pycnogenol may work by increasing hyaluronic acid, a compound vital to the structure of skin cells. In this study, hyaluronic acid increased in skin by 44%. The production of hyaluronic acid begins to decline at about age 30. This drop-off is linked with accelerating wrinkle development. Skin Pharmacol Physiol 2012
