It’s time to bust another dry skin myth!
If you subscribe to my emails, you likely saw my email from 2 weeks ago, which means you know that not washing your face to keep it from drying out is a myth that does more harm than good!
If you saw my email from 3 weeks ago, you know why the wrong cleanser can poke holes in your skin’s protective barrier (find the right cleanser with this quiz).
Today, we’re busting another myth about dry skin!
(pst.. busting myths is one of my favourite things to write about 🤓)
DRY SKIN MYTH:
Dry skin requires a thick moisturizer
While it’s a myth that dry skin requires a thick moisturizer, I’m the first to admit that sometimes they feel oh-so-good to apply!
I’m also not going to stop you from applying whatever feels best to YOU…
BUT…
… you should know what the temptation to always reach for a super thick cream can be doing to your skin.
THE TRUTH about moisturizers
- Thick moisturizers can take longer to absorb, which can block pores.
- This can lead to clogged pores, blackheads, and breakouts, depending on what the moisturizer is made out of.
- That also means that your skin might absorb only some of the goodness that thick cream offers.
- Lighter formulas typically get to work faster by absorbing readily. They quickly deliver beneficial nutrients to your skin – exactly what we want when trying to hydrate and heal dry skin.
- Lighter formulas can, when well-formulated, deliver just as much barrier-repairing support, moisture, and deep hydration to the skin as thick creams (in fact, when it comes to hydration, they perform better)!
How thick is too thick?
It’s hard to answer that without getting into the nitty gritty of skincare formulation, but what you want to look for if you have dry skin is ingredients that
- provide hydration like aloe vera, fruit extracts (like cucumber or kiwi), floral extracts (like rose or calendula), and herbal extracts (like green tea). Hyaluronic acid is also a great hydration-boosting ingredient.
- provide barrier-building essential fatty acids like those found in jojoba seed oil, safflower seed oil, or pomegranate oil.
- protects your skin from hydration loss, especially if you’re prone to dry skin, no matter what season it is. Protective ingredients that won’t clog pores include mango butter and shea.
COMING UP…
I’ve got another dry skin myth to bust, but I’ll send that to your inbox in a couple of weeks if you’re a subscriber (or if you’re reading this post well into the future, check the blog for my next post).
Next week, I want to talk about exactly what’s going on with our skin each day of our menstrual cycle.
If you experience cyclical breakouts each month, you won’t want to miss it!
P.s. Would you like to make sure you’re using the right moisturizer for your skin? This handy quiz can help!
