Daily moisturizing is vital for skin health. Not only does a moisturizer help maintain and protect your skin’s barrier, but it also makes the skin look and feel, plumper, more elastic, while keeping it well-hydrated. Yet, sadly, not everyone considers moisturizers to be a must-have part of their daily skincare regime, especially people with oily and acne-prone skin.
The good news is that there are moisturizers out there that are suitable for every skin type. It’s all about knowing your skin and its needs and picking the right product for yourself. Here are a few parameters to consider when choosing a moisturizer.
- Skin type
What is your skin type? Is it dry, oily, normal or a combination of types? Do you experience frequent breakouts or is your skin extra sensitive? You need to be aware of this information because different products are formulated for different skin, and contain ingredients that benefit that particular skin type. Your skin type also helps you decide the texture of your moisturizer.
Dry skin: A rich and heavy moisturizing cream is the best option to combat dryness because it contains both water-based ingredients called humectants as well as oil-based ingredients known as occlusives. Humectants like glycerine and hyaluronic acid draw in moisture to the skin, whereas the occlusives like squalane, shea butter and other oils help retain that moisture.
Oily skin: Those with oily skin need to include an effective moisturizer in their skincare routine just as much as any other skin type, because when oily skin experiences dryness, it causes the oil glands to produce more oil in order to compensate for the lack of moisture in the skin. As for moisturizing, oily skin responds best to gel-based moisturizers. Gels are light, water-based and free of oil based ingredients, so they don’t add any additional greasiness to the skin.
Normal skin/Combination skin: With normal skin, you have more varied options as your skin doen’t usually fall into extreme categories. If you experience some dryness, you can go for creamy moisturizers or thick lotions with having both oil and water ingredients. On the other hand, if you want something lighter, go for lightweight, gel-based moisturizers which have more water content. Gel-creams are another great option for normal to combination skin types.
- Added Benefits
While moisturisation and hydration may be their primary function, a lot of moisturizers provide additional skin benefits including brightening, balancing, exfoliation, sun protection, acne control, anti-ageing, and the list goes on.
So depending on which phase your skin is going through, you can choose a moisturizer that performs various tasks for your skin, so you don’t have to add too many unnecessary products to your routine.
Some of our favourite moisturizers include Lisén Infinite Illumination, a 2-in-1 brightening and hydrating gel creme, as well as Lisén Absolute Harmony, a nourishing, skin-balancing gel moisturizer.
- Time of the day
A lot of people prefer using different moisturizers for their daytime and nighttime skincare. But it isn’t a necessity. You can use the same moisturizer both day and night, or, if you want your moisturizer to perform different functions at different times of the day, you can choose to include two different products in your skincare regimen.
Take, for example, if you use a moisturizer with SPF, you’ll definitely need a different cream for the evening.
Generally, morning creams are formulated to focus on nourishment as well as protection from the sun and the external environment. On the other hand, night creams are more focused on repairing the skin and include regenerative properties to help restore skin’s vitality and fade away fine lines and wrinkles.
- Seasonality
Your skin’s moisture needs can change with changes in the season. Colder temperatures tend to dry out the skin more, whereas during hot and humid weather the skin produces more sebum on its own.
So, while a lighter moisturizer in the summers is more than sufficient, the skin requires thicker, more emollient formulas during winters.
- Labels
Labels on any skincare product can provide you with a lot of essential information. So when choosing a moisturizer, go through the label and check for features that you believe are important for your skin type or even you.
For example, if you have acne-prone skin, look for moisturizers labeled “non-comedogenic” or if you have sensitive skin, you can look for the word “Hypoallergenic” or “allergy-tested” on the label.
Finding the perfect moisturizer can be a bit of a journey. Oftentimes, you will have to get through some trial-and-error in order to figure out what is the right fit for your skin because different things work for different people. But we hope the tips listed above will help make things at least a little easier for you, so you can ensure your skin gets exactly the kind of nourishment it needs.