Skin Care - Moisturizing

If there’s one thing you do for your skin to keep it looking and feeling great, as well as staying healthy - it’s to moisturize! I can’t stress enough how important this skin care step is for everyone.

Myths: *My skin isn’t dry, so I don’t need to moisturize.

*I have oily skin, I don’t need any added moisture!

*I live in a humid climate, so I get moisture from my environment.

It doesn’t matter what kind of skin you have - normal, dry, oily, combination, uneven, sensitive, inflamed, acne-prone, white, black, Asian, Hispanic, any kind of skin! You should most definitely moisturize.

Truth: *Dry skin isn’t the only skin that needs moisture. People who have dry skin just need EXTRA moisture. Moisture for normal skin is just as important to the health of your skin.

* Think of it this way - skin is kind of like hair. Everyone’s is different; some people have oily hair, and others have dry hair. Just like skin (some have oily, some have dry). Even though you may have oily or greasy hair, you still use conditioner, because your hair still needs that added moisture. The natural oil from your hair isn’t sufficient moisture to keep your hair at it’s best health, and the same goes for your skin. Using a conditioner (the right way! Refer to my post about shampooing & conditioning hair) won’t make your hair extra greasy, but it will moisturize and tone your hair. A facial moisturizer does the same thing! It isn’t the SKIN that’s producing the oil - it’s the glands. The skin still needs some of that added moisture, even though your glands are a little production happy.

* Humid climates have just as much potential to create dry/cracked skin as arid climates. Plus, it doesn’t matter what climate you live in! Skin doesn’t care. Skin still needs moisture.

All moisturizers are NOT created equal - if you have oily skin, the key to finding the right moisturizer is to find one that is oil free. If you use one that’s VERY thick and creamy, meant for extremely dry skin, that’s how over-oily skin can happen. That’s where most of the misconceptions come from! People don’t know how to choose the right moisturizer for them.

There is a wide variety out there, made for all different types of skin. Some are extra strength for very dry skin, some are simple no-fuss, some are oil-free, some help acne as well, some are for sensitive/inflamed/uneven skin, some are for colored skin. Explore your skin care aisle!

What moisturizer do I use?

Clean & Clear Dual-Action Moisturizer

This stuff is my absolute holy grail. It’s oil-free (I have normal to dry skin so that’s not essential, but it’s always much better for your skin to be oil-free) and also helps prevent acne. This stuff has kept my skin absolutely beautiful for years. If I had to choose to only be able to do ONE step of my skin care routine, this would absolutely be it. It’s unscented, which is a BIG must for me. I already have enough smells going on! Lotions, perfumes, body sprays, hair serums and mousses, shampoos, conditioners, body washes, soaps, minty breath, and who knows what else! I prefer that this stays scentless!

I use this 2-3 times a day. I use it in the morning after I wake up, at night before I go to sleep, and I'll use it if I take a shower or wash my face in the middle of the day. I just take 1 or 2 (usually 1 and a half) pumps and rub it into my skin - simple.

Another person who swears by moisturizers is my mom. She’s turning 45 very soon (which definitely isn’t old, but hey) and she doesn’t have a single wrinkle to speak of. I see women HALF her age with more wrinkles than her! Her skin is so beautiful. She attributes it ALL to moisturizing. She says she’s moisturized ever since she was a teenager and that’s why it’s been preserved the way it is. She looks 10 years younger than she really is - which gives me hope, since I’ve been moisturizing for a long time already! Haha. She even goes out in the sun all the time and her skin is flawless. I’d include a picture, but she’d kill me. Ironically she hates pictures of herself... don’t we all. ;]