4 Benefits of Moisturizing Your Face
Thinking about skipping out on your moisturizer?
If you’re wondering what moisturizer actually does for your skin, you might be tempted to skip this essential step. Read on for four benefits of moisturizing your face — and learn why finding a supportive moisturizer that works with your specific skin type is absolutely essential.
1. Moisturizer fights dry skin
The most well-known benefit of moisturizer is its ability to help manage and hydrate dry skin. We require a relatively high amount of hydration to help our skin function optimally. Our bodies are primarily made up of water, after all. Providing your skin with that hydration from both the outside and the inside is essential.
Dryness can have a significantly negative impact on your skin’s health and appearance. Chronic dryness can lead to the early appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, impact your body’s ability to produce collagen and make it appear dull and lifeless.
2. Moisturizer helps protect your skin barrier
Your skin barrier is arguably the most crucial part of your skin’s anatomy. This layer of your skin is responsible for protecting your skin from environmental factors while keeping moisture inside your skin.
A weak or ineffective protective layer means a higher likelihood of blemishes, sun damage, dark spots and more. As beneficial as they are, other elements of your skin care routine (especially products that exfoliate the skin and remove dead skin cells) can also be hard on your skin — especially if you have sensitive skin.
A good moisturizer helps to keep your protective skin barrier intact. You can support it by using products with effective ingredients like retinol and salicylic acid.
3. Moisturizer can keep your skin looking youthful
Hydration is also key in achieving radiant-looking, youthful skin. When your skin doesn’t get enough moisture, fine lines and wrinkles become far more apparent.
One reason for this is that water is an essential component in collagen production — the protein most responsible for plumping up the skin. Dry skin appears dull, so making sure to include moisturizer in your daily routine is crucial.
In addition, some face moisturizers include SPF. And the impact of sun damage on your skin is so much more than just increasing your risk of skin cancer.
Even if your moisturizer doesn’t come with sun protectant, adding sunscreen as the last step of your routine is essential for keeping your skin looking as youthful as possible. Remember, UV rays and related sun damage are the leading causes of many of the visible signs of aging.
Antioxidants, like vitamin C and vitamin E, can also help boost the effectiveness of your moisturizer and support your skin texture, keeping your skin feeling and looking plump and healthy.
4. Moisturizer can help prevent blemishes
It’s a common misconception that people with oilier skin types don’t need to use moisturizer. In many cases, the skin can actually overproduce oils to counteract dryness in an effort to compensate.
Preventing breakouts means removing excess sebum and regulating oil production. Finding a moisturizer that works with oily skin can help you not only hydrate your skin, but also prevent breakouts.
You’ll want to look for one that is oil-free and non-comedogenic (which means it doesn’t clog your pores). Many people with acne-prone skin also prefer moisturizers without added fragrances or dyes, as they tend not to irritate the skin as much.
How do I pick the right moisturizer?
Like most skin care products, moisturizers aren’t one-size-fits-all. As you may have been able to tell from these four benefits of moisturizing your face, finding the right facial moisturizer involves taking your skin conditions and concerns into account.
A moisturizer that may work like a dream for someone with combination skin may not work well for someone prone to acne breakouts. That’s why there are so many types of moisturizers, from emollients to humectants.
Take a product like Face Whip, which contains many of the most beneficial moisturizing skincare active ingredients — ceramides, hyaluronic acid and squalane. When used regularly after thoroughly cleansing your face, you’ll start to notice plumper, smoother and more hydrated-looking skin (especially if you also choose a cleanser that works with your skin type).
There are also moisturizers that can help brighten the look of your skin, like High Beam. In addition to helping keep skin moisturized, High Beam helps to minimize the look of hyperpigmentation. You’ll end up with beautiful, radiant-looking skin in no time.
If you’re unsure what the best moisturizer is for your skin, we'd love to see you for a skin care consult. You’ll get one-on-one time to discuss your concerns and goals with one of our advanced practice providers. From there, we'll work together to come up with a plan to help you better care for your skin.
Often, this means leaving our clinic with a skin care routine customized to support your unique skin's needs. We can also help determine which of our treatments may be right for you. These appointments can make a huge difference in how much you love your skin — and you deserve to!
In summary...
What are the benefits of moisturizing your face? Although we highlighted a few, hydration has so many other positive effects on your skin. Choosing the right moisturizer can be an absolute game changer for your skin — keeping your skin barrier healthy and creating stronger, more radiant skin you'll feel confident in.
For more ways to address your skin concerns and improve your skin care routine, come see us at Skin Pharm!
Peer review
This article was medically reviewed by Chelsie Rogers, PA-C, a board-certified physician assistant with 6 years of experience in cosmetic dermatology.
SOURCES:
Microbiota and maintenance of skin barrier function | Science
Ceramides in Skin Health and Disease: An Update | PubMed
