Is a Facial Moisturizer Bad for Your Skin?
A facial moisturizer has many much-needed benefits and is essential to routine skin care and maintenance. Helping your skin maintain the right amount of moisture will not only help protect your skin, but also keep you looking fresher and younger for longer. But does this product do for your skin and why could it be bad?
What Does Moisturizer Do for Your Skin?
A good skincare routine is essential for healthy, glowing skin. Moisturizer should be a part of regular care and maintenance to keep your skin looking and feeling great. Not only will your natural skin glow, but your skin will also stay healthy, protected from harmful sunlight, and wear makeup better. It turns out that moisturizer helps do a lot for the skin. Moisturizer can help you:
● Look Younger Now: A good moisturizer can help make lines and wrinkles finer, making the skin look full, elastic, and plump.
● Maintain Youth Longer: Applying moisturizer once a day can help eliminate deep wrinkles later in life. A little maintenance today can help keep your skin healthy and youthful long-term.
● Stay Hydrated: Keeping your skin well-moisturized, especially in the dry winter, can help maintain your skin’s lipid levels and keep the outer layer of skin, which is designed to protect you, in place.
● Feel More Comfortable: A moisturizing routine can keep your skin feeling and looking better. Without a regular moisturizing routine, skin can appear red, flakey, or can even start to peel. Dry skin becomes irritated and red.
Additionally, special moisturizers with specific additives can help combat ongoing skin challenges. Moisturizers can be formulated with additional vitamins, SPF, or even medications to help fight acne or red and itchy skin.
So, How Is Moisturizer Bad?
While there are undoubtedly several benefits to moisturizing the skin, some researchers and dermatologists point out the downsides to moisturizing. Adding moisturizer to the skin can help keep it hydrated and protected, but it turns out too much moisturizer can cause too much protection.
When applied excessively, too much moisturizer can keep dead skin in place for too long instead of allowing it to naturally slough off. When the body can’t exfoliate naturally, it can lead to more significant problems. Your skin may appear flat, matte, and dull, eventually leading to skin conditions.
With too much moisturizer, the thin layer of dead cells can prevent new skin cells from forming. Without new skin cells, the body can’t go through the natural rejuvenation process that occurs daily. Eventually, too much moisturizer can cause the skin to become overly sensitive and permanently change how your skin functions.
How Much Moisturizer Should You Use?
Finding the right balance is essential for optimum skin health. While you want your skin to naturally replenish dead skin cells with healthy, hydrated, youthful cells, you don’t want so much moisturizer that you impede this process. Using too much moisturizer could be just as problematic as not using enough.
You want to use enough moisturizer to cover your face when you rub in the lotion, but not enough that moisturizer residue lasts on the surface after minutes of rubbing and spreading. Your moisturizer should be absorbed relatively quickly. Ensure your moisturizer product lasts for a few months, not a few weeks. If you burn through your moisturizer supplies too quickly, it could be a sign you’re using too much.
Also, pay close attention to your skin. If you notice your skin becomes bumpy, collects too much oil throughout the day, or you’re battling blackheads and clogged pores more often, it could be a sign you need to scale back the amount of moisturizer you’re using. If you’re using moisturizer as a regular part of your skincare routine, be sure to include an exfoliation process at least weekly to remove any stubborn dead skin cells that haven’t naturally flaked off.
How Often Should You Moisturize Your Face?
Most dermatologists accept that moisturizer used in the correct quantity generally has positive health benefits. Try to use moisturizers about twice daily, applying it once in the morning and once before bed. Applying twice a day ensures your skin stays hydrated and protected for a full 24 hours. Be sure to only apply moisturizer at night after you remove your makeup and after your face is freshly cleaned and free of dirt.
A healthy skincare routine can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. While too much moisturizer can negatively impact your overall skin health, eliminating moisturizer entirely from your routine could be worse. If used in the right amount, moisturizer can help keep skin hydrated, eliminate fine lines, and help keep your face looking fresher, youthful, and brighter for longer.
