Does moisturizing only matter for dry skin type? Moisturizing mainly focuses on the stratum corneum, the outer layer of skin and when this layer is properly taken care of, it protects your skin from irritants and inflammation. The stratum corneum consists of fatty acids and ceramides in which moisturizers would help maintain the skin health by maintaining water retention. Moisturizers work to improve comprised skin barrier that leads to increasing trans-epidermal water loss associated with various kinds of dermatitis.
Water from deeper epidermal layers moves upward to hydrate stratum corneum cells and is often lost to evaporation. Epidermal water content is essential to prevent skin dryness and maintain plasticity. Hence, everyone should be moisturizing, even those of you with oily skin.Â
Moreover, moisturizers are the holy grail for dry skin especially when facing symptoms like dryness, tightness, pain, itch, stinging, and tingling. Moisturizers work effectively to overcome dry skin underlying dermatoses, interrupting dry skin cycle while maintaining skin smoothness.
The benefits of Moisturizing
- Improves your skin barrierÂ
- Helps maintain skin elasticityÂ
- Helps fight wrinklesÂ
- Helps balance the skin oil production
How do you choose the right moisturizer ?
THE PATCH TESTÂ
- Choosing the right moisturizer could be a hassle and a very long journey. However, individuals can try the patch test in which they apply a small amount on your inner arm where your skin is thinner and wait a day or two to see if you test your reaction. Gradually you can move up to the face by applying it to a small area along your jawline to see if you develop any new pimples before putting it all over your face.
- It’s also crucial to check the label for potentially irritating ingredients, like chemical exfoliants (salicylic acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid, for instance), retinol, and botanical extracts. These can be irritating to anyone, but those with sensitive skin are most likely to react to these ingredients as well as fragrances and preservatives.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT MOISTURISERÂ
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Moisturizers consist mainly of 3 ingredients that help with different skin type such as humectant, emollient and occlusive. These ingredients determine the type of moisturizer and suitable skin.
- Great for all skin types, especially oily skin types
- Draws water to skin cells to keep skin hydrated
- Absorbs very quickly
- Type of moisturizer:Â Gel formulas
Emollient dominant /based moisturizers
- Great for normal, dry, and combination skin types
- Helps repair your skin’s barrier
- Creamy consistency
- Type of moisturizer:Â Light cream or light lotion formulas
Occlusive dominant/ based moisturizersÂ
- Great for mature, dehydrated, dry skin types
- Thicker in consistency
- Blocks the evaporation of water- perfect for dry skin
- Type of moisturizer:Â Balms, thick creams
- Gel - combination to oily skin type
- Creams- Dry to combination skin type
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Liquid/lotion- combination skin type and, depending on the formulation, some oily skin types can use liquid/lotion type of moisturizers