When we think of hydration, our mind tends to go to two things: drinking water and moisturizing our faces. But hydration is so much more complex. This post will explore the different ways we can hydrate our skin topically.
Moisturizers definitely are one way. It's an umbrella term and can take many different forms: face lotion, facial balm, hydrating gel cream, cream, night cream, sleeping mask, salve, ointment. Some of us don't use just one either, often designating a daytime moisturizer and a night cream, two products to be used separately depending on which celestial body is in the sky. There's a reason for that–it has to do with our circadian rhythm and how that affects the biologic processes at the cellular level from our epidermis to our dermis. Also just temperature differences between day and night.
There's a camp of folks that says oily skins do not need a moisturizer, that it will only clog already congestion-prone skin. There are two fallacies here: oily skins are prone to acne and moisturizers are clogging. Truth is not everyone with oily skin breaks out and not all moisturizers are comedogenic. Oily skin certainly can use a moisturizer as long as it's compatible with their skin and with the rest of their skincare routine. For anyone, oily skin or not, products need to play well together for your skin to get gains.
Let's say you have extremely oily skin and just about any moisturizer you've tried has resulted in unwelcome pimples or worse, cysts. 😰 Even the most oily skin needs hydration in order to be healthy so I'm happy to report that you can hydrate your skin with other things beside a moisturizer!
And this goes for other skin types too. Normal, normal to dry, normal to oily, combo, and sensitive skins have the luxury of being able to layer other hydrating products with a moisturizer with virtually no fallout. In fact, chances are they'll see better results by doing that, especially with age. On the other hand, oily skins would do well to trial-and-error with these moisturizer alternatives to find out which things they can layer to good effect or need to use singly to get hassle-free hydration.
You may be familiar with a couple of these hydrating alternatives already. They are: toners, essences, serums, facial sprays or facial mists, and masks. You may be using all of them right now and had no idea they work in concert to help keep your skin's hydration balanced. ⚖️👏🏼
How do you know if a product is hydrating or not? If "hydrating" is in the product name, it's usually designed to do what it says. If you see humectants such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin or emollients like shea butter and jojoba oil in the ingredient list, that product should increase your skin's hydration levels.
You can always go by feel–does your skin feel plumper, even bouncy, and moist to the touch after using something? Hydration, score! 🙌🏼 Or does your skin feel parched, puckered, and dry to the touch? That particular product may be too stripping for you. The only time this would be acceptable is after cleansing or exfoliating, which is even more reason to use hydrators...for compensation.
Moisturizers and their less lotion-y counterparts are called hydrators. Hydrators are any products that supply the skin with hydration or help promote hydration within the skin. Anyone interested in having healthy skin will make sure to drink water and eat water-rich foods, and also use at least one hydrator as part of their skincare routine. In this case, it really is the more the merrier, unless you have very oily skin. Sebum is a natural lubricant that effectively prevents moisture loss so you're already winning the hydration game if you think about it. 😉
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