How to choose the right moisturizer, with age, the skin tends to lose water, and moisturizer becomes essential. But do you know what ingredients are in creams and how to choose the best one for you?
A moisturizer increases the amount of water in the skin, fixing it or preventing its loss. But also, it can carry other nutrients.
The division between a moisturizer and a nourishing cream is not as categorical as cosmetic advertising sometimes claims.Choosing a good moisturizer can also have a beneficial effect.
WHY DO YOU NEED TO HYDRATE YOUR SKIN
- The skin is made up mostly of water, which stores in its deepest layers.
- In an optimal state, to hydrate all the layers and perform its protective function correctly.
- This water migrates little by little until it reaches the skin’s surface (the stratum corneum), where it evaporates.
- This last layer is the most visible and must be around 13% hydrated to show a luminous and radiant appearance.
- It begins to appear somewhat rough and dull below that amount, and wrinkles become noticeably more marked.
- The use of a moisturizing cosmetic helps you maintain optimal water levels, but many causes influence the hydration of the skin :
- environmental factors
- the amount of water ingested
- contact with certain detergent products
- skin type
- age
WHAT CAN A MOISTURIZER BRING
Any cream is composed of an aqueous phase, a fat part. This emulsifying substance binds both stages and, if necessary, a product that allows to preserve the product or improve its cosmetic qualities.
The aqueous phase
- It usually constitutes 60% of the product.
- All moisturizing cream is made up mostly of water.
- In it, and dissolve hydrophilic substances, such as:
- Hygroscopic substances can absorb and retain water in quantity: Glycerin sorbitol, propylene glycol, and macromolecules of natural origin.
- Urea, which is a natural moisturizer found in the skin.
- Substances capable of retaining water by forming a gel make it challenging to evaporate, such as aloe gel, carboxymethylcellulose, and hydroxyethylcellulose.
- Amino acids and sugars capable of binding and retaining water and helping to form collagen and other proteins.
Principles active as vitamin C, with antioxidant and trace minerals needed.
The oil phase
- The last layer of the skin is a lipidic barrier, that is, an oily barrier.
- Therefore, the cream that you apply has to contain a certain amount of oil to penetrate.
- In addition to oil, in this phase, there are substances with determining functions for the skin:
- Fatty acids, which help restore the lipid barrier. Of particular importance are the polyunsaturated omega-3, -6, and -7, whose deficit causes dryness and roughness of the skin.
- Among them are vegetable waxes (carnauba, candelilla) or bee waxes. Being natural, they are very similar to the skin and do not cause petroleum derivatives, silicones, vaseline, paraffin, and other hydrocarbons.
- Substances are similar to the sebum produced naturally by the skin, such as phospholipids, ceramides, and fat-soluble vitamins (A and D).
Emulsifiers or surfactants
- They make it possible to mix both phases.
- Although they are found in small amounts, they can change the skin’s permeability and lose its barrier properties.
- It is therefore advisable to choose non-damaging surfactants and avoid those derived from glycols, such as PEGs.
- Some preservatives can be dangerous and must taken into account when choosing the cream.
HOW TO CHOOSE AND APPLY YOUR MOISTURIZER
- It must have a maximum of natural ingredients.
- It must adapt to the type of skin.
- In the case of a young person with healthy skin, the goal will be to maintain it.
- In oily or combination skin, a correct regulation of sebaceous secretion should seek.
- And on dry and mature skin, products that nourish and hydrate it.
- In general, a moisturizer should apply in the morning, while a nourishing one is recommends more in the evening.
- Its apply on clean skin, after the toner, the serum, and any treatment, but always before sunscreen.
