Let’s debunk seven myths about skin together and hopefully my knowledge and experience can clear things up and help you on your path to moisturized skin.
Myth no. 1: Keeping my body hydrated will keep my skin hydrated too
Drinking water is essential, but mostly so that we don’t die.
Not drinking enough water will make your skin drier, but it will also affect the rest of your body.
I once read an article about a girl who drank 5 liters of water per day and supposedly it completely transformed her skin…
Well, that doesn’t sound quite right!
Drinking 5 liters of water every day for a month won’t change much, except the size of your bladder.
Any changes that do occur happen because the body gets rid of toxins and because sugar is absorbed more slowly… but that’s an entirely different story and things are a little more complicated than just drinking an entire ocean of water.
Myth no. 2: Low temperatures make dry skin
Not true! The skin is dried out by dry air, as it sucks the moisture out of your skin when it’s not protected by clothing or a natural layer of fat.
You might remember this from primary school – osmosis or the movement of substances through a permeable membrane.
Rings a bell?
A similar process happens with your skin and the moisture in the air.
If you take one thing from this, know that your skin is much more dried out in the summer because of sun exposure and salt.
We don’t usually notice it because the air humidity level is much higher in the summer, but your skin is much more prone to drying out in the summer than it is in the winter.
Myth no. 3: Using a toner is a must
This myth is the most hilarious and most infuriating of them all!
Women are conditioned into buying toning products and face sprays that supposedly balance out the skin’s pH levels.
Neutral pH, says the packaging, but the skin’s pH isn’t even supposed to be neutral!
Maybe the next best step is just applying acid or soap to our faces? (Spoiler: It’s not.)
Let’s just say that the cosmetics industry has conditioned people to believe truly confusing and inaccurate things, so I’ll just get back to being angry about it here in my corner.
Myth no. 4: Dry skin must be exfoliated
Sweet baked baby cheesus! Exfoliating the only layer that protects your skin and helps it retain moisture sure is a good idea!
But wait… it’s not.
Leave your dead cells to protect your skin and let’s move right on.
Myth no. 5: Moisturizer must be applied to wet skin in order to retain moisture in the body
This logic should work, but there aren’t many moisturizers that actually retain moisture.
Occlusive products do work like that, but finding a moisturizer like that is an impossible task if you don’t know exactly what to look for.
Body butters and oils are usually your best bet, but you can’t know for sure whether the product actually does its job or not.
Sunscreens are a good example – they give you the feeling of moisturizing, but they don’t actually moisturize your skin.
The main issue is that most ‘moisturizing’ products contain silicone oils, which brings us to our next myth.
Myth no. 6: Long term use of the same moisturizer dries out your skin as the skin gets used to the product
One big nope!
The skin doesn’t dry out because it gets used to the product, but because that product likely contains silicones and emulsifiers, which give you the wonderful, but temporary, feeling of being moisturized, while the skin absorbs the product quickly.
It’s an instant solution and everything cosmetics companies aim for.
And of course you will use a product that gives you an instant feeling of moisturized skin… Right?
Please remember this the next time you’re looking for a moisturizer – the moisturizers that make your skin feel moisturized instantly tend to dry out your skin in the long run.
Why that happens is a bit of a long story, so more on that later, but for now let’s wrap this up with our last myth.
Myth no. 7: Dry skin needs a water-based moisturizer
First thing’s first… almost all moisturizers are water-based.
Water-based products tend to absorb faster and so they don’t protect the skin from losing moisture… they only moisturize the skin temporarily.
Dry skin needs a mixture of oils that are quickly absorbed and some durable fats, such as lanolin, which stays on the skin without moving.
This is what we call occlusion. The main idea is to moisturize dry skin with an occlusive product, which enables the skin to retain moisture.
This encourages the skin to improve drastically and remain moisturized in the long run.
Chicatella is a product that does exactly that and it has already sparked a tiny revolution.
So far it has helped more than 10,000 Slovenians overcome dry skin issues.
Until next time,
Nika.
