Finding the Right Moisturizer for Your Skin
No matter what type of skin you have, experts recommend the use of a daily moisturizer to help your skin remain youthful, elastic, and effectively hydrated. This blog will help you find the right moisturizer for your skin.
Whether you have naturally oily, combination, or dry skin, moisture and hydration are essential to keeping it healthy.
Your skin is essentially a shield for your body. All skin has a natural lipid barrier and is like a shield for deeper layers of skin. This barrier requires proper hydration to stay balanced so that it can properly protect you from bacteria and environmental factors.
A moisturizer helps to seal and protect the surface of your skin.
Moisturizer Types
There are so many different types of skin moisturizers available, it can be difficult to know where to start in selecting the best moisturizers for your skin.
The best place to start is with simple common sense. If you have naturally dry skin, you will want a thicker, heavier skin moisturizer. If it is naturally oily, your skin will benefit from a lighter lotion.
There are a few basic types of moisturizers:
Ointment
They are typically thick and heavy, maybe even slightly oily. These are best for damaged and dry skin and may contain over the counter or prescription based medicinal ingredients.
Cream
They are generally thinner than an ointment and may contain nourishing ingredients to promote elasticity. Face creams are ideal for normal skin but depending on the ingredients and the viscosity (thickness), may be clog pores or prevent smooth application of makeup.
Lotion
This is the lightest option, as their lotion’s main ingredient is water. Lotions work well for people with oily skin.
This is the lightest option, as their lotion’s main ingredient is water. Lotions work well for people with oily skin. Those with oily skin also require a moisture barrier that doesn’t alter the protective pH of their acid mantle.
Serum
Typically, this is water based and has least amount of oil or ingredients that help prevent moisture loss with a higher concentration of nourishing ingredients and marketed to suggest concentrated effectiveness against skin care issues.
If you have naturally dry skin, you will want a thicker, heavier skin moisturizer. If it is naturally oily, your skin will benefit from a lighter lotion.
Conditioner
There are hybrid versions with the benefits of creams, lotions, and serums. They contain natural oils for nourishment and barrier function to help improve hydration, as well as additional beneficial targeted ingredients to help the skin’s function and well-being
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What to Look for
Even if you know what type of lotion or cream might be ideal for your skin type, it also helps to know what kind of ingredients will help your skin thrive as well as which ones may be counter-productive.
If you have dry skin, you will want a thicker, heavier skin moisturizer. If it is oily, your skin will benefit from a lighter lotion but ensure that the ingredients are non-comedogenic.
Antioxidants like Vitamin E, green tea, chamomile, or aloe vera help your skin avoid damage, promote healing, and keep your skin fresh and healthy. Ingredients like sunflower oil has been successfully used in protecting premature babies’ skin against infection and is known to help the skin improve its barrier function.
Sunscreen is recommended all over your body against prolonged sun exposure, but if you want to avoid wrinkles and sun damage as you age, cover your skin to minimize sun exposure and when using sunscreen, select sunscreens with SPF 30 or higher on your face.
To seal in moisture for very dry skin, use moisturizers with ingredients like glycerin, mineral oil, lanolin, and dimethicone. Note that dry skin may be caused by lack of exfoliation also and continued use of moisturizers with high barrier function may also clog your pores and help the build up dead skin cells.
What to Avoid
Oily or acne prone skin should be treated with non-comedogenic facial moisturizers that will not clog pores.
Colorings and perfume should be avoided altogether. They can actually have the opposite of the desired effect.
Facial vs. Body Moisturizers
Always be mindful that the skin on your face is much more delicate and sensitive than the rest of your body’s skin. Therefore, you may need to have separate moisturizers for your body and face.
As a general rule, it’s best to stick to using products intended for facial use on your face as body care ingredients are sometimes pore-clogging and less effective on sensitive facial skin.
While it’s important to find the products with the ingredients right for you, remember any skin care product needs to work with your skin’s natural system.
It’s important that your moisturizer works for you alongside a daily skin care routine for the best results in addressing issues such as dry, combination, or oily skin.
Moisturizing and hydration are an essential step, but are only one part of achieving and maintaining your healthy skin every day.