Tipping Thursday: Skincare Part III-Moisturizer

For this week's Tipping Thursday, I'm going to cover moisturizer.  This can actually be quite intimidating for some people.  I'm going to make it a lot less scary and easy to understand.

Simply put, your skin needs moisture.  The everyday elements that your skin is exposed to take that moisture away.  Just washing your face can strip it of its natural moisture, even using the gentlest cleanser you can get your hands on.  The place that shows that the most is your face. Our skin will line and wrinkle more easily if it’s dry.  Even if you have oily skin-MOISTURIZE!  And moisturize EVERYDAY!  Moisturizer keeps our skin supple and younger looking.  That is why is it so important to use a moisturizer.  Picking the right one can be overwhelming because there are so many to choose from.  That, and a lot of people don't know what their skin needs and use the wrong products. 

 Just like with choosing a cleanser, you need to know your skin type.  Also, are there other things you'd like you moisturizer to do, like get rid of wrinkles?  If you skin is on the oily side, make sure to use a light-weight, fast-absorbing moisturizer.  The less time the moisturizer sits on top of your skin, the better and the less likely you are to get that sticky shine.  If you have dry skin, resist the urge to slather on a heavy cream and stick to a moisturizer that's just a step above light-weight.  You could even go with light-weight and do two or three thin layers on your face, allowing each one to sink in before applying the next.  You never want your moisturizer to feel like it's just sitting on top of your skin.  It needs to be absorbed to do its job.  If you have that feeling, your moisturizer is too heavy.  Like with a lot of skincare and make-up products, finding the moisturizer that works for you might take some trial and error.  What works for your best friend might not work for you. 

No matter what your skin needs are, always, always, ALWAYS use a moisturizer with at least 15 SPF and no higher than 30 SPF-higher than that and you're getting smaller and smaller amounts of added protection, which means a higher dose of unwanted chemicals.  The sun is the most damaging element to our skin and the delicate skin of our faces especially needs protecting.  And going back to "what do you want your moisturizer to do for you," look for ones that accomplish several goals in one lotion-the less "stuff" you're putting on your face, the better.  That keeps your skin from being overwhelmed.

When applying your moisturizer, try massaging it into your skin-this will tighten and firm the underlying fatty tissues and keep them plump.  Moisturizers are one skincare product that I say keep oil-free 100%.  This is one area you don't want extra oils rubbed into your skin.  

Hope that helped!