Parkway Medical Blog

There are a host of moisturizers available for use, from those bought at a store for $5 to much more sophisticated products costing a lot more.  Which is right for you depends on what you want to accomplish.  Moisturizers really do not wet the skin, because adding water simply creates  more evaporation, actually drying the skin. (Think of repeated skin washing and the resulting dryness.)  Instead, moisturizers prevent water loss by using a barrier and attracting water to the dehydrated skin.

Emollients smooth skin, but do not moisturize.  They do this by filling in the spaces between the cells of the superficial skin.  In other words, they flatten out the rough edges between the cells.  It makes skin feel smooth, but does not moisturize well.  Less expensive moisturizers contain water as the largest component,the water evaporating when it delivers other products to the skin.  Therefore, it has to be re-appliedfrequently.   The less expensive products contain a lot of water and emollients.

Barriers and rehydration solutions help moisturize by keeping water in and rehydrating.   Ingredients  thatact as barriers include  dimethicone, and cyclomethicone.  Humectants, substances that attract water to the skin, are glycerine, sorbitol, propylene glycol, hyaluronic acid, sodium pyrrolidonecarboxylic acid, and proteins.  Don’t try to pronounce these, simply look for them in the ingredients as they will truly help moisturize your skin.

So what about wrinkles?  Do moisturizers really help?  Yes, they do.  But, it needs to be a good moisturizer that not only creates an occlusive barrier to prevent water loss, but also needs to contain “humectants” that help attract water to the cells.  This leads to more hydration and less wrinkle appearance.

Finally, products that create a temporary colored layer on the skin surface, place a semi-permanent stain on the skin cells, or increase reflection from the skin surface with light reflecting particles, help improve the skin’s appearance.  Mineral make up does this well when placed over moisturizers.

To really determine what is right for you, see someone who specializes in skin cosmetics or aesthetics to get the right mix.