The Best Moisturizer for Each Skin Type

Beautiful, healthy skin can be achieved if one regularly uses moisturizer. Facial skin must be nourished because it is more delicate than body skin and is usually not protected by clothing. Unfortunately, with the wide variety of products available in the market today, it may be difficult to choose which is best for one’s skin. The one thing to keep in mind is to choose according to one’s skin type because each skin type will have its specific needs and problems.

Generally speaking, skin can be categorized into four types: normal, dry, combination, and oily. It is important to take note, however, that there may still be variations in each type. For example, two people may have dry skin, but one is dryer than the other. Still, knowing one’s skin type will help narrow down the best choices of moisturizer available. Once skin type is determined, it is also necessary to know the skin’s special concerns like whether it is sensitive, acne-prone, or aging.

To begin with, normal skin is balanced skin. It produces the correct amount of oil which means it will not feel too oily or too dry at any time of the day. Dry skin is a type which does not produce enough oil leading to feelings of itchiness and tightness. On the other hand, oily skin produces too much oil resulting in a heavy, greasy feeling just hours after washing. Combination skin is a type which combines the normal, dry and oily types. For example, one can have dry cheeks but the skin on the forehead, nose and chin may be oily or normal.

The best type of product for each skin type will give the skin what it needs. The goal is to make the skin balanced or to feel like the normal skin type. Dry skin will require a product with emollient ingredients like shea butter, jojoba oil, grape seed oil, olive oil and the like. There are also ingredients which help the skin retain moisture like hyaluronic acid.

Oily skin will require the opposite. To balance this type of skin, it is necessary to give it a purifying product such as those containing salicylic acid or tea tree oil. These ingredients help to clear up the excess oil in the pores. They also help clear pimples which is a plus for oily skin since this type is usually also acne-prone. Meanwhile, for combination skin, the best solution would be to use two products, one for each skin type.

What about normal skin? If a skin care product must help the skin become like normal skin, then does it follow that this skin type does not need anything at all? Not necessarily. For those fortunate enough to have normal skin, skin care products can be chosen according to the extra benefits they can give such as anti-aging properties or for its sun protection benefits.

For special concerns like sensitivity, the product must only contain hypoallergenic ingredients. One common misconception with ingredients is that if it is natural it is hypoallergenic. This is not necessarily true because people’s sensitivities vary. Those with sensitive skins must do a skin test first when trying out new products. This is where they apply the product to a hidden patch of skin like the inside of the elbow and see if it will cause irritation.

The special concern of aging will require specific ingredients which can exfoliate dead skin cells and increase the production of collagen. It is wise to stick with proven ingredients to avoid wasting money. Alpha Hydroxy acids or AHAs and retinol are already proven excellent anti-agers.

One last important note in choosing the best skin care product is to remember that skin concerns change through time. Skin gets dryer as one gets older so the products one used in one’s 20s may no longer work during one’s 30s. Climate changes also affect the skin. Humidity may make skins oilier while cold may make skin dryer. All these considerations may make choosing a moisturizer difficult, but the narrowing down of possible good choices according to one’s skin concerns will help.

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