Comments on: Moisturizer: The Big Lie?

By: april

april — Mon, 10 May 2010 23:34:14 +0000

I am an esthetician and I’ve had many clients with your exact problem.
The first thing I must let you know is nobody is lying to you , moisturizer is necessary for alot of reasons, one being it protects your skin from free radicals, two it seals in any treatment you put onto your face such as if wash you face with a cleanser that had ingredients in it such as alpha hydroxy acids to help with your acne ,if you didnt have on moisturizer after, the acids would not be as effective, the moisturizer would lock the acids in your pores, three moisturizers believe it or not hydrate your face. my suggestion would be you are not obligated to one skin care line. there are thousands of different types of skin care products, I tell my clients to try as many different products until there satisfyed with their results. So try a different product besides the body shop ,who knows. I will recommend one that worked for one of my clients is Dermalogica oil free moisturizer.

By: Teri Dourmashkin

Teri Dourmashkin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:32:09 +0000

Having had very oily skin over the years (my skin is more “normal” now), I never used a moisturizer, despite being told by all of the skin care experts, that I needed one. I think it is very important to listen to your skin. Sometimes, oily skin can have dry patches right over the oily areas. In this case, you may want to use a light moisturizer. Combination skin may want to apply moisturizer over only dry areas, including the eye area. It is important to use a light weight sun block every day with a minimum of an SPF 15. Some natural oils can be very light (such as jojoba, sesame seed oil, apricot kernel oil) and can be fine for some with oily skin. These oils are completely non-greasy and may not make skin feel oilier when applied. As we get older, we do want to use high quality products with anti-aging ingredients such as antioxidants. R-Lipoic Acid is a great antioxidant to use. Depending upon how oily your skin is, you can opt for an anti-aging cream with light natural oils, or even a serum which is oil free.

By: Marcy

Marcy — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:52:04 +0000

Why is the beauty industry is one big scam:
1. Cosmetics only provide us with an enhanced appearance but in most cases they do not and should not change the structure of our skin. If they do, then those are drugs and should not be sold as cosmetics (it’s unethical and against the law). However, it still happens.
2. Some dermatologists see moisturizing as non essential. If you have oily skin it’s self-moisturizing unless you dry it out. There are even some who think that moisturizing can cause rapid aging because your skin gets used to “being lazy” and not producing oil (much like being addicted to lip balms).
3. By using series of products such as toners, moisturizers, eye creams and the list goes on you regulate the moisture (or lack thereof) in your skin but you will not change your skin type. The salespeople encourage you to do what is completely unnecessary, expensive, and time-consuming.
4. All those brands are owned by bigger brands, e.g: The Body Shop is owned by L’Oreal etc. Therefore, they sometimes use similar ingredients. And regardless of brands, if you look at the ingredients most products are similar in composition.

Conclusion: don’t moisturize, wash with just plain water, you can use a diluted lemon juice to cut back the oiliness or a bit of plain soap. Don’t worry about wrinkles and pimples- we all get them, you can do little to prevent them. Enjoy the outdoors, sun and sea water dry up pimples (without sunscreen and in moderation)…what else? wear less makeup (skip foundations, blush, powders, and concealers) and use baby wipes or sunflower oil as make up remover (or anything that is non-drying and not formulated specifically for this goal). Study science: chemistry is a good way to understand what those creams are made of and being able to become not only a wise consumer but the maker of your own destiny.

By: laurenk

laurenk — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 06:29:20 +0000

So what I use at night is Eucerin, and it’s AMAZING. I have extremely oily skin, and this stuff doesn’t make me break out any more than usual, or make me any more oily than usual. I LOVE this moisturiser. You can find it at most drugstores. I found it at Walgreens.

I also recommend anything by Origins. Everything is at least partially natural, and it smells great. Their “A Perfect World” moisturiser is superb. I also have further skincare tips if you’re interested.

By: jenn

jenn — Wed, 30 May 2007 21:35:49 +0000

Part of your issue may be the type of toner you are using. If you are using a toner for acne skin it is more than likely over stripping your skin of its natural oils. Your skin needs some oil to keep it nourished and hydrated properly. This is a common mistake people who have acne or oily skin make. You should cleanse with a gel cleanser, tone with an alcohol and acid free toner (Burts Bees makes a nice carrot toner) and use and oil free moisturizer with spf like the one mentioned above by neutrogena. Your skin is just out of balance. Toner should condition your skin, not strip it. It is the same theory as using conditioner on your hair after you shampoo. Your skin should NOT feel dry or tight after you cleanse and tone. That is why so many people use moisturizers that are too heavy for them. This is just the opinion of a humble esthetician. Hope it helps. Also there may be areas of your face you do not need to moisturize. I tell a lot of clients not to moisturize their nose.

By: attica

attica — Tue, 29 May 2007 18:15:14 +0000

I have oily skin, prone to eczema. (So: Grease and flakes!)I had a dilly of a time finding skin care that suited, but I succeeded. In the morning, I do a non-alcohol toner, use Prescriptives Super Flight Cream (regular flight cream is fine as well) with Nivia Q-10 for my eyes, At night, I use an alcohol astringent and an alpha-hydroxy exfolliant to deflake. The Prescriptives is the first moisturizer I found to give me enough heft to survive daily exfolliating without breaking out, but without the grease. I wash with Clean & Clear’s Morning Burst, which de-oils me nicely without scrubbers.

Moisturizers vary a LOT from formulation to formulation. Keep experimenting. Try exfolliating, too. If you use a gentle enough one, it may help you avoid so many acne breakouts.

By: Alice

Alice — Fri, 25 May 2007 14:01:53 +0000

I was once told by a very nice Clinique lady that after washing and using toner and eye cream, you should wait 5 minutes, then put a teensy bit of moisturizer anywhere that feels dry and tight. That’s what I do, and it works for me.

I was also told to stop using products for oily skin even though I was breaking out, because although my skin was oily, the oiliness was because I had dry and sensitive skin and I was aggravating it by using harsh products, which created more oil.

That sounds confusing, but my skin’s been realy good since I took Clinique lady’s advice! I’d still be using their products if they weren’t so freaking expensive.

By: jdkjd

jdkjd — Thu, 24 May 2007 21:19:58 +0000

I have oily skin and just use the Neutrogena oil-free face moisturizer with SPF. Never feel it after…

By: jennifer

jennifer — Thu, 24 May 2007 18:32:35 +0000

I agree with everyone who suggests lightening up on the moisturizer. I am a big fan of the Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion line (everyone commented on how noticeably different my skin looked after about 3 weeks of twice daily use); it is a bit pricey though. I’ve also had good luck with the oil-free moisturizers from Neutrogena.

My dermatologist has suggested taking it easy with astringents and toners as sometimes they can trick the body in to producing extra oil to compensate for the drying action.

By: ragdoll

ragdoll — Thu, 24 May 2007 14:12:19 +0000

So funny that I got a copy of a book at work by Carmindy, the make up lady from What Not To Wear, and she says (and I’ll quote, which I’m sure is totally illegal) the following about moisturizer:

“Use an oil-free lotion. A lot of women assume that if their skin is oily, they should skip moisturizer. Not true.”

Apparently, your skin overcompensates and then makes more oil, so you’ve got the right instinct in using cream in the first place, but her suggestion is to find one that’s oil free with alpha-hydroxy acids to help control the breakouts.

Kiehls has that lovely blue line and their moisturizer has acne-control stuff and I find it works very well. I also have a nice light lotion from Dermlogica called skin softening or something, which was in my acne kit.