The Correct way to Apply Moisturizers
Using the best moisturizers will not be of much help if you don't know how to use them correctly.
We are sometimes asked what causes dry skin. First, you need to understand that you can have dry skin for a number of reasons, which includes:
1. Genetics. Some people are born with it. These people normally have a family history of eczema or asthma.
2. Our skin produces less oils as we age. This is why we become prone to chapping, skin barrier damage, and eczema as we grow older.
3. Constant exposure to solvents, hot water, and soaps can dry our skin because they strip the skin off its natural oils, causing damage.
Regardless of the reasons, dry skin is vulnerable, damaged, and more porous than moisturized and hydrated skin. Irritants like allergens and solvents get in faster and water escapes more easily. Dry skin is also more prone to itching and eczema.
To have a healthy skin barrier, your skin needs to be hydrated. So what are the best practices you should adopt to prevent and treat dry skin?
1. Avoid bad bathing habits. Depending on how you do it, bathing can be good or bad for hydrating your skin. To encourage skin healing, bathe in lukewarm to warm water, never steamy hot! Hot water increases skin inflammation and removes skin oils. Use only mild soaps. We like naturally made soaps with glycerin.
2. How you moisturize matters. Hydrated skin is skin with oil and water mixed into the cell layers. When you bathe, your skin soaks in water, and you need to trap that water or else, it will evaporate, leaving you with drier skin. This means that within three minutes after toweling-off from your bath or shower you must pat your skin dry with a towel and then apply a thin layer of moisturizing cream or oil to your skin. This traps the water. DO NOT WAIT LONGER THAN THREE MINUTES. Moisturizing product options include:
Many lighter lotions have water added and contain much less of the important oil ingredients. They are only helpful for maintenance skin care once your dry skin is healed. My favorite moisturizer is made with a combination of all of the above, and yet are cosmetically elegant to use and well priced. Check out YEOUTH's L22 Anti-Aging Moisturizer. Note the key ingredients:
