Every woman knows the importance of moisturizers in her daily routine. The harsh environments of home and work take a toll on a woman’s skin, robbing it of vital moisture and making even young skin feel drawn and tight. So we turn to moisturizers on a daily basis to counteract this assault. The best moisturizer is one which leaves your face feeling refreshed and revived without leaving it greasy and slick. But what is that moisturizer, the best moisturizer? Unfortunately, there is no one answer. I had hoped to be able to share my discovery of the best moisturizer with you all. But alas, it seems what works best for me may not be what is best for you and vice versa. Everyone has different skin challenges. Some of us have very dry skin, some only dry in areas. Some have problems of serial sun exposure. Others have the challenge of acne or rosacea. The best we women can do is to find our own answer in the recommendations of others with similar skin types. So I invite recommendations and tips from you all on what works for you if you have found your best moisturizer. And if you are still looking, tell us what didn’t work and especially why it didn’t work.
I want to start a series of posts addressing the most basic question. In fact the question this blog is named after. What is the best moisturizer. As has become apparent, the answer is,”It depends”. People have different skin types and different challenges. So I’d like to introduce a series in which I explore the major types of skin and what is best for each. Then I’ll suggest a couple of moisturizers for that skin type, concentration on the maybe not so well known but quality products out there. You can choose one of these or find a similar product in the usual product lines.
I start with the most basic type. NORMAL. Normal skin is skin which is not too oily or too dry. How’s that for technical? Although it is called normal, my suspicion is that it is a minority condition, with most being on either side, either too oily or too dry. I could be wrong, but that’s the way it seems to me.
So what does normal skin need? It needs to stay normal, that is, balanced. Moisturizers used in this class are not trying to change the condition, just support the status quo. Normal skin persons should choose a moisturizer which is water based. This supports the moisture need. It often features a light oil such as cetyl alcohol (not really an alcohol) or a silicone type ingredint such as cyclomethicone.
A couple possible products for this type skin are AHAVA Smoothing Moisturizer or Kinerase Cream. These products may not be the cheapest around but remember that in moisturizers choose quality over quantity. Also, with higher end products you typically use less per application because they are concentrated.
Category : best moisturizer
As many of you may have, a few weeks ago I read a news article regarding a possible link between moisturizer use and skin cancer, specifically squamous cell carcinomas. This is certainly a frightening thought especially considering our regular use of moisturizers. It seems that researchers were trying to determine if caffeine might be helpful in treating skin cancers. They wanted to test which type of moisturizer might work best with the caffeine. So they exposed some little white mice to radiation and then treated them with several common moisturizers (Dermabase, Dermovan, Eucerin, and Vanicream). Unexpectedly, there was an increase in the number of tumors.
Now does this mean that we should all immediately clear our shelves of all moisturizers, especially the ones they used? No, just No.
I don’t know if you have noticed the many studies on coffee over the years. One year its an evil concoction which will kill us all and the next its a miracle elixir which will cure all your ills. Seems they cannot come to a concensus.
My point is that Science is a wonderful thing, but it certainly has problems giving us absolute truths. Concerning the moisturizers, mice are not human. They may have similarities (which is why they test with them) but they are not an exact match. Moisturizers may just be harmful to mice and not us.
Our skin needs the moisture. I ask you to imagine your skin if you could not treat it as you do. The dry, itchy feeling would drive you crazy, not to mention the damage you would do with all the scratching.
No, the prudent thing is to continue pampering your skin, mindful that there may be dangers. Use sunscreens when you are exposed. Keep a watch on moles as they always tell us. Hopefully this is just a reminder to the producers of our products that products need to be tested fully to avoid just this type of surprise for millions of women.
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