A moisturizer has to be right for your skin condition, such as if you have dry skin or oily skin. It also has to have the right texture for your skin condition, such as lightweight formula or heavier. All this is based on the ingredients that the moisturizer has.
What is the purpose of a moisturizer?
The main purposes of a moisturizer (face and body) are:
- to help repair the skin barrier. This is more so, if the skin has become sensitive over time with excessive products use, the use of perfume on the skin. Sometimes also when someone has dry skin, and they do not apply a moisturizer, and then the skin feels drier when out in colder weather. The skin looks dry and might feel itchy. Sometimes there might be flares of eczema.
- prevents trans-epidermal water loss that leads to excessive dryness. This is when the skin become ‘dehydrated’ from loss of water. So the moisturizer helps to ‘seal’ the moisture and water into the skin. For this sometimes it is best to pat dry the skin after cleansing and apply the moisturizer over damp skin. This helps to ‘trap’ the water into the skin together with the moisturizer.
- esthetic improvement of the skin. The skin would look plump, healthy, smooth, soft. When the skin is pinched, it will ‘spring’ back quickly to its natural state. This hydrated appearance also helps with reducing those fine lines.
Who is to apply a moisturizer?
Everyone!
- People who tend to have oily, acne prone skin, choose a moisturizer that is more of a lightweight lotion. The moisturizer will help to prevent dryness from the other products you are using that might end up drying your skin.
- People who tend to have sensitive skin, need a moisturizer to protect the skin against the environment.
- People who tend to have dry skin, eczema skin, require a ‘richer’ moisturizer to repair the skin barrier. The richer moisturizer would also help to ‘trap’ water into the skin. The moisturizer is seen more as a treatment.
What ingredients to look for?
I am grouping the ingredients based on their group
- Emollients help to make the skin soft and smooth, and repair the skin barrier. Some ingredients are ceramides, esters, lipids, oils. Our skin has natural producing lipids (like oils), however the environment, harsh products, age tend to reduce the production of these lipids, often leading to a weakened skin barrier (top layer of the skin). A weakened skin barrier leads to trans-epidermal water loss (kind of like the evaporation of water from the top layer of the skin), and a weakened protection (now that the top layer of the skin is weakened/damaged, harmful things like bacteria, irritants can easily pass through the skin). All this can lead to dryness, itching, acne, sensitive skin, eczema. So emollients help to fill in the spaces in the skin where the barrier has been weakened, leading to soft, hydrated skin. Emollients are good for all skin types – choose a lighter formula for oily and acne prone skin.
- Humectants help to ‘bind’ water into the skin – they kind of ‘grab’ the moisture in the air and on the top layer of the skin and hold it tight in the skin. Some ingredients are aloe vera, alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), hyaluronic acid, peptides, sugar alcohols (glycerin, sorbitol), urea. These are good for all skin types, especially for normal to slightly dry skin. They also help with the appearance of fine lines, as it plumps up the skin. However this is temporary, as when the product is no longer on the skin, the effect is gone too.
- Occlusives lock the moisture in by creating a barrier on the top layer of the skin. Some ingredients are lanolin, mineral oil, petrolatum and silicones. Due to their thick heavy formulation, they are best for people with very dry skin, eczema and psoriasis.
What ingredients to avoid?
- fragrance as it tends to sensitize skin. Especially if the skin is already irritated, broken, and sensitive, perfume tends to aggravate the skin even more.
- all natural botanical ingredients, like essential oils (aloe vera is ok) as they make the skin sensitive over repeated use.
Some moisturizers that I would recommend
Oily Skin
CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 30
CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion PM (can use this one for morning and night)
Normal to Dry Skin
CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion
Dry to very Dry Skin