Moisturizing skin is one and the only staple thing you should do, you must do regardless of what age youโre. Your newborn baby after some days needs a cream. If youโre reading in kindergarten or high school, you need it for your whole life. Without moisture skin will shrink, look dull, age faster, and eventually crack. Our body has every system but when it comes to the cold, the body canโt provide the necessary hydration to your skin no matter how much water you drink. Skin is the protector of our body. It protects every muscle fiber, and nerve from the outside and it needs care from the outside. If you do nothing for your skin the minimum thing you should do is Cleanse-Moisture-Sunscreen.
What are Creams?
The cream is a proper mixture of oil and water with emulsifiers to provide and protect the skin. Moisturizers are no new, they came a long long way. During Cleopatraโs time, she used milk in baths for hydrating the skin.
Other Benefits of Creams
Moisturizers come with different benefits with one common benefit which is locking the skin hydration. Some creams target aging problems like fine lines, some target building the skin layer or repairing damaged layer, some cream targets soothing skin.
Lock Hydration
If your skin is very dry you need moisturizers. Itโs a basic conception. But more importantly, moisturizers improve the skinโs hydration level not directly that much. Before applying moisturizers applying a moisturizing serum is very important. Then use a cream to lock the moisture. Locking everything is a very important step. Most of the products we apply to the skin are evaporated or react with the environment. Use Cream to lock everything, especially the hydration of your skin. Itโs proven that creams increase the water content of the stratum corneum.
Better Protection
Creams contain oils. And oils donโt get absorbed within the skin. It stays on the top of the skin. I never liked facial oils that much. Maybe for the weather here, we never feel the need. The point is that using something which stays on top of your skin means itโs protecting your skin from outer damage like dehydration. Using creams underneath sunscreen also improves the barrier. It is something that keeps inside things inside and others outside.
Shiny-Lively Appearance
Because of the present oil molecules in the cream skin appears more lively. Oils in a good cream will never feel oily because of the proper ratio of water, oil, and a mixture of other ingredients. If you like dewy looks like me then you canโt dislike creams. I know some like matte finish and thatโs okay because there are creams that provide a healthy matte look. Remember matte does not look healthy always because healthy skin will shine.
Improve Elasticity
Our skinโs Hyaluronic acid is drained when it comes to contact with UV rays or has a poor diet, and also naturally with aging. One of the very common ingredients of Moisturizers is Hyaluronic acid. Using a serum and moisturizer with hyaluronic acid will improve the moisture level of the skin significantly and thus improve elasticity. Collagen is an important thing when it comes to elasticity
No Inflammation, Wrinkle, or Fine Lines
Moisturizers soothe skin like any other skincare item. But if your skin is very sensitive then using a good cream is an intelligent choice. The problematic skins โ eczema, Rosacea skins can get a huge benefit from proper creams. Though for situations like this always consult with a dermatologist rather than an aesthetician.
Is it Necessary to Use a Moisturizer?
Itโs almost a necessity, especially with the age. Let me explain. When youโre in your early teen and the weather is not cold then you may not need a cream because your skin has (should have) enough hydration and the skin barrier are strong & healthy. In my case, itโs very hot here that I canโt use the cream daily. So I love to use Lotions (Light Liquidy Cream) a few times a week. But thatโs because Iโm 24. When Iโll age no matter what the weather is Iโll always provide extra care. So basically Creams are a necessity but you may skip them if your age is a teen or itโs too hot to use cream. But I wanna point out that I hydrate my skin with proper toner (Some times serum) then I use Sunscreen. Sunscreen also helps to lock everything because it works as a barrier.
Is it Enough to Use just a Moisturizer After Washing Face?
Itโs okay to use just moisturizer/cream if you are a teen, not after that. Reason: At an early age our skin contains enough hydration, and has the necessary elasticity. So if youโre using just cream, itโs enough to protect your skin. But later like in your late teens or early twenties you must provide an extra layer of hydration. Remember creams do not provide that much moisture, it protects.
Why Your Face Should be 24*7 Hydrated?
Our body is made of about 70% of water because it needs water. Skin is a huge part of our body. Our skin needs about 65% water for maintaining everything. So scientifically yes, of course, Every cell has water and Not just a face, every area should be hydrated enough to work.
How to Apply a Moisturizer?
Cleanse your skin properly and then you can apply moisturizer. This is the minimum thing everyone must do. Now in between cleansing and cream, there are multiple steps you may adopt with age. There is exfoliating and detoxifying in the cleansing step. And then You may use toner-essence-serum-ampoule-cream. You will not get that much benefit if you use serum, and ampoules at an early age no matter what marketing policy they have. Middle-Late teen or Early twenties is the proper age for using the serum. Know your skin aging before spending dollars. Donโt forget to use Sunscreen at last if itโs daytime.
Using Creams Accordingly Age
If you think you can use the same brand same cream forever youโre wrong. In my family, my mom always purchased Jhonson baby cream for winter. As thatโs a baby cream I used to think itโs best for the skin. My mother always thought that. So my brother and I always used that, until I get to know about skin. Recently Iโve tried johnson cream again and was dissatisfied. It did not provide any hydration as I expected. Later when I saw the ingredients I was so disappointed because it has alcohol. The ingredients are not harmful or anything but why a drying ingredient for babies? And I have used that for almost twenty years!
In Teen
Use any simple, cheap cream. All you need to do is hold the moisture of the skin. Cleanse your skin properly and use light cream. At this age, your skin supposes not to be dry. If so use a hydrating toner like ISNTREE Green Tea Toner or Innisfree Green Tea Toner. Both are my very much dear. Do not use heavy cream until itโs cold. Heavy cream does not solve the hydration problem if your skin is dry inside.
In 20s & 30s
The 20s and 30s are a very vital time for skincare. Most skin problems come at this time. You need to use proper toner-serum cream with proper cleansing and exfoliating of the skin routinely. Keep your skin hydrated all the time. Damp skin solves many problems like fine lines, plumping the skin, and making it shiny.
For Hydrating the favorite two creams are Innisfree Intensive Face Moisturizer and Belief Aqua Bomb. Both are super moisturizing. Iโm mentioning two creams that do not mean there are only two good creams. Iโll update the post after trying new products.
In the 30s skin, the barrier becomes thin and damaged. At this time hydration repeating the skin is very important. Even if your skin is not damaged always start using ceramide products so that it stays strong. Remember skincare items prevent everything better than changing it back. Itโs easy to not get tanned rather than remove the tan. I hope you understand what I meant. My favorite skin barrier strengthening products are COSRX Balancium Comfort Ceramide Cream, Iโm From Rice Cream with 41% rice bran essence and ceramide, ETUDE SoonJung 2x Barrier Intensive Cream.
Above the 40s
In the 40s we need to maintain our skin. You may add an ampoule to your skincare routine if you can. The important thing is you have to keep 2-3 types of products with you and use them alternatively. Because from the late 30s or early 40s skin needs everything you can provide. If you did not start using retinol or any anti-aging product yet then itโs not too late to start in your 40s.
Type of Moisturizers
Lotion, Gel, and Cream moisturizers are available in these three forms nowadays. Lotions are milky moisturizers. Oily skin and even Dry skin people will love it. Gel moisturizers are preferable for oily skin types. I never used any so I donโt know. But what I know is the old formula cream and new formula lotion have some differences. Creams protect the skin, and canโt penetrate that much while lotions provide hydration.
Where I Need to Apply Cream/Moisturizer?
Everywhere. Our skinโs primary basic need is hydration and then anything else. The cream is more needed to lock the hydration. It works in reverse. Our skin contains a certain amount of hydration depending on diet and age. If we can hold it even that would increase the hydration level of our skin. For my body, I use body butter occasionally. If itโs winter probably daily. For the face using just cream is not okay. A deep hydrating Toner, Essence, or Serum is very much needed for every skin type because they go deeper into the skin.
How Many Times Do I Need to Use Moisturizer?
Moisturizing is depended on the age I have mentioned before. But excluding the age factor weather plays a very important role. If humidity is high and hot then you probably donโt need cream but as it goes down toward dry and cold weather the more you need creams. If itโs 0โ then I would use the cream at least four times. After waking up in the morning, after taking bath at noon, then in the afternoon-evening time and again before going to bed. Also, keep a humidifier in the room. So you have to decide based on your skin how many times you need a cream.
What Is The Best Time For Using Moisturizer?
After bath and before going to the bed at night. If you want just one time to cleanse and use your skincare before to bed. Because skin products will work wonderfully at night and can stay there for 8 hours without you touching your face.
Good Ingredients to Look For in a Cream
There are many ingredients you can look for in a moisturizer. Hyaluronic Acid, Amino acids, Ceramides, Vitamin E, A, like Retinols, Green Tea extract, Butters, Vitamin C, Centella extract or Cica, etc.
How to Choose a Moisturizer?
Everybodyโs skin is different therefore the need is. Understanding your skin is very important. Here are three main things to know before skincare.
Skin Type
There are four types of skin depending on how much oil your skin produces. These are dry, normal, combinational, and oily skin types. Now nobodyโs skin is 100% normal because of the weather. Normal skin tends to dry a little in winter and becomes a little combination type in summer. If so, your skin is pretty normal. If your T-zone which is forehead-nose and chin is always oily despite the weather then you have combination skin. If your skin is very dry in the summers then you have dry skin and if your skin seems oily even in winter then youโve oily skin. Now any type of skin can be sensitive or acne-prone. If your skin is acne-prone then you better solve that by consulting with a dermatologist. If your skin is sensitive use Centella product. DearKlairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream is a good cream to calm the skin. For Sensitive skin, another good option is Dr. Jart Cicapair Cream.
Season
In Summer using Lotions is my favorite. Though for Winter You need more, you need a rich cream that can protect you from the harsh climate. Innisfree Intensive Face Moisturizer and Belief Aqua Bomb are really good for deep moisturizing. My two favorite lotions are Innisfree Blueberry Lotion and COSRX Facial Lotion with Birch Sap.
Skin Aging
With aging, we need more moisturizers for our skin. For that only using rich moisturizers is not enough. Rich moisturizers canโt penetrate through the skin but light products can. Use hydrating toner like ISNTREE Green Tea Toner or Innisfree Green Tea Toner. COSRX Hydrium Triple Hyaluronic Moisture Serum is great for dry skin. And then use moisturizing creams or creams with other benefits like skin barrier repeating. Because of aging, we need to prevent decay. Now that youโve used moisturizing toner-serum lock it with a ceramide cream like COSRX Balancium Comfort Ceramide Cream, Iโm From Rice Cream with 41% rice bran essence and ceramide, ETUDE SoonJung 2x Barrier Intensive Cream.
How to Increase Moisture Level of Skin Naturally?
Does not matter what product you use the proper diet with essential fats, minerals, and vitamins. Sleep for 8 hours straight or a minimum of 7 hours. Remember, sleeping straight for 7 hours is better than dividing it into 4+4 hours of sleep. Take your shower quickly. I know some days we need an hour for shaving-shampooing-scrubbing-masking-etc. But take whatโs needed, not more than that. We lose water in touch with water. I donโt drink a lot of water so I canโt say you should. But I try to schedule it. Like, I always drink water before and after taking shower. So as soon as I finish my shower I remember drinking water. That way I can at least intake the minimum water I need. Alcohol can dry out our skin. Using products with alcohol is as bad as consuming them. Limit it. Limit the amount of coffee. You donโt have to follow a strict lifestyle like Victoriaโs models but you can limit it. For example, do not drink coffee more than two times. Replace it with tea or anything. Avoid smoking, if you canโt at least limit it.
Some Myths about Moisturizers
Myths:
- Rich moisturizers provide a lot of Hydration. False.
- Using Moisturizers with SPF means I can Eliminate Sunscreen. NO!
- Oily Skin People donโt need Good Creams. Wrong, wrong wrong!
- I need Separate creams for hands-legs, body, and face. No. Though I use separate body butter for my whole body (except the face) because using face lotions on the whole body will cost a lot! But the fact is you can.
So, Is my Skincare Completed after Using Creams?
NO! At least not for day times. You need Sunscreen and a lip balm. Sunscreen is a must. And lip care is something many forget.
- Oil Cleansing. First Step of Double Cleansing.
- Cleanser (Water-based) or Facewash. Instead of using both some may use Cleansing cream, balm, or milk with an emulsifier which will help to remove all kinds of oily, watery dirt from the skin
- Exfoliate
- Detoxifying
- Mist spray. You may use Softener in this step.
- Toning and Moisturizing deep with Rich Korean Toners.
- Essence
- Serum
- Ampoule
- Sheet Mask (Conditions are applied on which step you need to use it based on the texture of your sheet mask, READ THE POST)
- Lotions
- Moisturizer
- Eye Cream
- Sunscreen
- Lip Balm
Confused about why I kept some products in this way? Hereโs my explanation that why you need to use products in this way!
