Skin Series: Part 4, Moisturize

This posting is part of a collection of posts based on everything that I had learned at a recent Sephora class.  For the previous posting in this series, click here.

Moisturize
You may be asking yourself why moisturizing your skin matters... there are actually great benefits!  You wouldn't go a day without drinking water, and moisturizing is no different.  It has both  immediate and future benefits.  Moisturizing makes your skin look healthy - and with ingredients like caffeine, moisturizing the skin can make the skin more plump and perky.  In the long term, hydrated  skin cells are able to more quickly turn over new cells, which means anti-aging benefits!  

When you seek out a moisturizer, there are so many options (good and bad, right?).  There are day moisturizers, night creams, BB/CC creams, tinted moisturizers, face oil, eye cream, décolleté and neck creams, as well as lip balms.  When choosing a moisturizer that is right for you, you'll want to keep your skin type, age, climate, and skin concerns in mind.  Once you have decided the type of product that you are looking for, there are several formulations to choose from including: creams, lotions, oils, gels, or serums.

Based on skin-type, here are some suggestions of what to look for:

Oily:  Avoid creams, and look for lotions instead.  Find formulas with exfoliating ingredients that are oil-free.

Dry: Creams are best, especially in the winter weather and cold climates.  Creams contain more oil creating more moisturizing product.  The greater the oil content the better the absorption. 

Combination:  Moisturizing combo skin is tricky, because different parts of the skin have different needs.  Seek out lotions with no acids that are gentle on the skin.

Normal: Applying a light-weight ointment to protect against the elements is ideal.

Sensitive:  Look for something gentle that’s oil-free, paraben free, and hypoallergenic.

Using the SephoraSkinIQ makes it easy to find products based on your skin type as well.

Sephora's Top Tips:

• Properly hydrated skin helps makeup apply smoothly and stay on longer
• Time saving tip: Brush your teeth after applying serums/oils.  This allows your product to absorb fully before applying moisturizer.  

Honestly, with my "normal" skin type, this is a step that often I often forget.  It will definitely something for me to personally work on. 

Next in the series, will be a post all about protecting the skin... if you guessed SPF, you guessed right!  

That's all for today!