Foundation of Skin Care (Part 3)

Skin care does not stop at cleansing and exfoliating. The next step is moisturizing. It is required for all skin types, and yes… even for those with oily skin. I’ll elaborate on this topic in my future post. For now, let’s just concentrate on moisturizing your skin. However, there is an exception for those with acne prone skin. Olay Total Effect moisturizer is a product that you should consider as it has received lots of good reviews.

Step 3: Moisturize
Why do you need to moisturize? Reason, because it increases the skin's water content (to avoid dry/flaking and wrinkly looking skin). Another reason is that not only it protects the skin, it also encourage an orderly desquamation (shedding of the outer layer skin) process that makes the skin appear smoother.

How about moisturizing the eye area? Well, some skin experts strongly recommend eye creams because the skin around the eye contains no fatty tissue. They are very thin and susceptible to wrinkles. Therefore eye creams are formulated to 'thicken' the area around eyes and keep it sturdy. However there are other experts that claimed normal moisturizers also do the job as well. So it’s up to you to decide which is best for your skin.

Experts say that a good moisturizer should contain the following ingredients:

• Emollients such as Jojoba, squalene and lanolin. They are the best as has the most similarity to skin’s natural moisturizing agent(sebum) and it is also least comedogenic or clog pores.


• Water-binding agents such as ceramides, hyaluronic acid, elastin and amino acids that helps to retain moisture in the skin. Besides, Humectants such as sorbitol, glycols, glycerins and sodium PCA helps to attract water to skin and are important for skin damaged by sun and dehydration.


• Soothing agents and anti-irritants, such as bisabolol, allantoin, burdock root, aloe, licorice root, glycyrrhetinic acid, green tea and chamomile extract to help skin balance out the ingredients that could cause irritation.


• Antioxidants to help to prevent some of the damage caused by free radicals. Antioxidants protect cells by external causes (e.g. skin damage due to sun, pollution, wind, and temperature) and internal body causes. However, there is one thing to take note. Antioxidants can easily deteriorate due to repeated exposure to air and sunlight. In order to be effective they must come in stable packaging. Therefore, good moisturizers containing antioxidants should be packaged in opaque tubes or dispensers with small openings to minimize air exposure to protect the antioxidant property.


• Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs such as glycolic acid and lactic acid) and beta hydroxy acids (BHAs such as salicylic acid) helps to clear pores and remove dead skin. AHA may cause skin to be sensitive to sun light, so if you're using an AHA product, make sure u have sun protection.

Lastly, another skin tip, experts recommend that moisturizer should be applied right after showering while your skin is still slightly damp. Preferably within 3 minutes of showering as it helps to keep in the moisture. Hope this helps...