Keeping Skin Moisturized - Good and Bad Oils

I mentioned previously that oils found in skin care products may not help the skin. One of the most common found in skin care products which actually block pores and can dry the skin out is mineral oil. It is inexpensive and makes the lotion go on smoothly, but it has a petrolatum base which blocks pores and does not allow the skin to breathe. If you see petrolatum or mineral oil in a product, this would not be the best thing for your skin.

When you read labels get familiar with the oils which are actually emollients which help the skin by increasing water levels and act as a natural barrier on the skin surface. Some of these emollients which come from nuts or plants are; Shea Butter (Butyrospermum Parkii), Babassu oil (Orbignya Oleifera), Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia Chinensis), Kukui Nut Oil (Aleurites Moluccana), and Evening Primrose Oil (Oenothera Biennis). Again be reading those labels

Moisturizing Your Skin

One of the things that happens to us as we age is our skin tends to dry out. If we are in arid or very dry climates, it tends to be worse. My suggestion is that you use a good moisturizer that contains humectants and either stearyl or cetearyl alcohol to give your skin the most moisture you can.

The best time to apply the lotion is right after you shower. Don't completely dry the skin, leave it a little bit damp. Then as you apply the lotion you are give the skin a little extra moisture. This will help keep the cells healthy and give your skin a soft appearance.

In the aging process, the keratin level in the skin drys out. As this happens, you will see the eruption of the keratin. It will appear as a light brownish spot that is raised and has kind of a firm or hard crust. There are usually many of these on the body. They should be looked at by a health care professional to be sure they are not cancerous lesions. Most likely they are what we call keratoses and it's just that keratin level eruption on the skin surface. They usually don't go away once you have them, but you can help prevent them with the application of lotion at least 2-3 times a day to keep the skin well moisturized.

Moisturizers and Alcohol

I mentioned the other day about reading the labels. You may know to look for alcohol as an ingredient in hand and body lotions and moisturizers. You should also know that alcohols have different molecular weights. Now I know that's probably of no interest, but what should be of interest is that alcohols like Cetearyl Alcohol actually act similar to humectants in that they hold water in the tissue because of their molecular weight.

If a label just says alcohol or ethyl alcohol then the alcohol is a drying agent because it evaporates quickly and when it does, it takes water away from the tissue.

So be sure to read the label to see if there is a specific type of alcohol listed in whatever moisturizer you plan to use.

Moisturizing Your Skin

If you've been out in the sun or you live in a dry climate, you will want to be moisturizing your skin with good moisturizing lotions. Be sure to read the labels. The first thing to look for with any lotion is whether it has humectants in it. Humectants are molecules that have an affinity for water. They actually will pull water from the air into the molecule. As you apply this to your skin, it pulls water into your skin which is what the skin needs. It is a misconception that oils moisturize the skin. Oils block pores and don't allow the skin to breathe. If you think about it, tanners use oils to dry out hides of animals. Not all oils are bad and I will address that later.

Humectants that you can look for on the label are glycerine, propylene glycol, glyceryl triacetate, sorbitol, xylitol, maltitol, polydextrose, quillaia, lactic acid, urea, sodium PCA, and hyaluronic acid.

Humectants not only moisturize the skin but they also work to maintain the nature moisture found in the skin. So look for them in your lotions.