I grew up believing that I must use facial moisturiser twice a day. I have been using it on my dry skin for the past 35 years. Cosmetic firms make wild claims about various products, but nowadays I’m also hearing reports that this stuff is bad for the skin long term and can actually make me look older than I am (early fifties).
If I don’t use moisturiser my skin actually flakes. Help, who do I believe?
When I Google search for data about this, I come across this article by NIH in 2007 which says
Here is another study from 2008 (pdf alert) that has a more general conclusion: It depends, apparently, on the formulation of the product, and the skin type.
The general worry seems to be that long-term use of moisturizer can damage the skin’s water barrier, allowing the naturally-produced water to escape more easily. I’m not readily finding any more recent findings that might be more conclusive one way or the other.
A dermatologist might be able to give you a better answer and a skin-care regimen that would have the best chance to prevent damage. This might include using non-soap-based facial cleansers instead of water, and particular moisturizers that have a minimum of chemicals. For myself, I like Aveeno products with colloidal oatmeal (there might be better, less commercial brands that I don’t know about that also have colloidal oatmeal) because I have sensitive skin and it doesn’t irritate.
Roddy
I’ve had a few dermatologists and none of them advised against using a moisturizer. Granted, they could all just be in the pocket of Big Lotion…
When my father had a melanoma on his face, his doctor recomended two products for moisturizing the face. Both are relatively inexpensive.
Moisturelle – I think you can get this in cream or lotion, but I’ve never wanted to use anything but the cream. It comes in a large jar and does the job when I take time to take care of my face. I use it as a cleanser and as a base under makeup.
Eucerin – Smaller jar but very rich without being costly. Especially good for nightime use.
Both are available at Walgreen’s and probably other drugstores too. Drinking a lot of water makes a big difference too.