And is a moisturizer for dry skin enough to fix the problem?

Dry skin is a condition that affects many women, and men. And selecting a moisturizer for dry skin isn’t easy. The first thing to do is to try and find out why your skin is dry.

There’s a range of causes of dry skin. Some of these causes will respond to high quality skin care products, and some will not.

And dry skin can be accompanied by all sorts of other problems such as skin redness, itching and skin sensitivity. And if the condition gets serious it can even lead to more problems. That’s because your skin is the first line of defence against infection from outside, and dryness and cracking can sometimes lead to infections entering.

Dry skin, or what is technically known as Xerosis, can be a serious matter as you can see. If you are suffering from problems that seem to lead to constant itching, cracking, redness and blotchiness then you ought first consider consulting your doctor. Some conditions require the care of a doctor or dermatologist.

There are specific skin conditions which may well require the care of a doctor, for example dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis, to name 3. Each of these can result in dry skin.

The causes of dry skin can be many. For example there are a range of personal and beauty products that will themselves dry out your skin. We have already talked about many of the chemical and petrochemical ingredients used in so many of our personal products including skin care products. Petrochemical ingredients in these types of products, along with various other chemical ingredients can themselves lead to skin problems including dryness.

And surprisingly some soaps may also cause drying of the skin for the exact same reasons. It is not usually necessary to wash all your body, and harsh soaps can often strip moisture and natural oils from your skin.

As well as soaps some bath oils and foams can also lead to skin dryness.

And some medical conditions as well as medications can also lead to a drying of the skin.

Some of your personal habits may also cause the problem. For instance having baths or showers that are too hot may do this. Too much time in the sun or hot winds can dry your skin.

Often a cold winter can cause or exacerbate the problem, because so many of us like to have the heat turned up high. This often results in a very warm environment with low humidity. Using a humidifier in winter can help.

As you can see dry skin has a number of causes. A good moisturizer for dry skin may well help, but there is more that you can do.

Firstly let’s consider what you need to look for in a good dry skin moisturizer. As previously mentioned the first thing to look for is a moisturizer or anti aging product that does not contain nasty chemical ingredients. The best moisturizer is a natural facial moisturizer that only contains natural ingredients that are known to be safe and are also good for your skin.

It may sound extraordinary but so many of the chemical ingredients found in mainstream moisturizers that you see on the shelves of your local store every day can cause skin problems themselves.

There’s a wide range of naturally occurring oils that make wonderful natural moisturizers, are good for your skin and are perfectly safe. Olive oil moisturizers, Jojoba oil moisturizers and Shea butter moisturizers are 3 great examples, however there are more.

The moisturizing properties of natural ingredients like these 3 have been known for centuries, however in our modern society, which is all about greed and profit, skin care companies use artificial chemical ingredients and petrochemical ingredients to minimize cost and maximize profit. They’re cheap, so they can spend more money on advertising and marketing.

However there are excellent niche natural skin care companies, one in particular, which subscribes to the principle that top quality products should work well without risking your health or your skin. They make a range of excellent natural skin care products utilizing ingredients such as Jojoba oil, live oil and Shea butter which are effective at replacing lost skin oils and maintaining moisture levels.

These products work equally well on all types of skin including sensitive skin, dry skin and oily skin. In fact they don’t need to make a dedicated moisturizer because the ingredients that we’ve previously spoken about are found in all their products, all of which moisturize successfully and all of which work very well for those suffering from dry skin. Read the rest of this entry

So you need a facial moisturizer. Natural moisturizing is always the best, (because many moisturizers are dangerous).

If you’re looking for a good facial moisturizer natural is always best. We’d like to look at why a natural facial moisturizer is always better than many of the mainstream beauty products and facial moisturizers commonly available. And to look at one specific example.

You may understand the benefits of daily facial moisturizing. Your skin produces natural oils, and these oils are very important in maintaining the ongoing health of your skin. Many natural factors such as wind and sun combine to strip out some of these natural oils and the result is that your skin naturally loses some of its protection.

A healthy complexion requires a certain level of natural oil, which is called sebum. Sebum helps keep your skin hydrated by limiting the loss of natural skin fluids. It also helps retain skin fluids which are often rich in organic nutrients. If your skin is lacking in natural oils these can be replaced with a good moisturizer.

Unfortunately however many consumers are not aware that many mainstream beauty, skin care and anti aging products contain ingredients which are actually harmful to your skin and even to your health. Gradually consumers are becoming more aware of this fact due to the activities of such organizations as Teens Turning Green and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. Both of these highlight the fact that many modern beauty products contain ingredients that are less than beneficial to your skin and health.

Lets have a look at a specific example. The Jergens Natural Glow Daily Face Moisturizer. From the name it sounds wonderful. It sounds like it should be natural, and produce a glowing complexion. Daily facial moisturizers such as this should be great for your skin.

However if you search at the Cosmetic Safety Database you’ll see a range of the Jergens Natural Glow products there with a hazard score, in almost all cases, of 7. The Cosmetic Safety Database ranks the likely hazard of a wide range of personal and beauty products on a score of 0 to 10, with 0 being safe and 10 being high hazard. A score of 7 is a “high hazard”.

Lets look little deeper. Lets consider the Jergens Natural Glow Daily Face Moisturizer for Fair Skin Tones. If you examine the risks highlighted by the Cosmetic Safety Database you will see that it is linked to – Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Allergies/immunotoxicity,
Neurotoxicity, Endocrine disruption, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), additive exposure sources, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Enhanced skin absorption, Contamination concerns, Occupational hazards, Biochemical or cellular level changes.

This wide range of health concerns from this particular facial moisturizer is worrying. The reason is the ingredients used in the product. You’ll see the ingredients listed there on the same page.

Perhaps now you’re beginning to see why we are suggesting that if you use a good facial moisturizer natural is best.

Unfortunately the personal and beauty products industry in the US is largely unregulated. Most of the products that it produces utilize chemical ingredients that are not tested for safety, and the FDA is not required to test any particular product to satisfy itself that that the product is safe for the customer.

There are many chemical ingredients which are banned in Europe which are used in products freely available in the US.

However there are companies which manufacture high quality skin care and anti aging products with a demonstrated commitment to making products such as facial moisturizers that use only natural ingredients that are known to be safe and are also highly effective.

These are generally smaller niche companies which recognize the growing consumer trend towards more natural and safer skin care and anti aging products, and which make use of readily available natural ingredients and natural oils such as jojoba oil, olive oil and Shea butter, all of which are safe and very effective at moisturizing your facial skin.

If you’re looking to prevent premature aging with a high quality daily facial moisturizer the first thing to consider is whether the product you are using poses health risks. Many do. The Jergens Natural Glow health complexion range is only one example out of many.

In fact the company which makes what we consider to be the very finest quality natural skin care products available do not even make a moisturizer. The reason is that the natural oils we have already mentioned, which moisturize so successfully, are found in all their products, and so there is no need for them to make moisturizers at all, because all their products moisturize effectively as moisturizing is a huge part of great skin care. Read the rest of this entry

Jojoba oil moisturizers are better for your skin, moisturize well and don’t risk your skin health.

Jojoba oil is a natural oil used in the best jojoba moisturizers. There are a number of uses of jojoba oil, including in skin care products, and we are going to answer some readers questions about using jojoba oil as a moisturizer.

If you’ve read this website before you will know that we attempt to highlight the use of unnatural chemicals and irritating substances such as petrochemicals in so many of the mainstream skin care products, health products and cosmetics that are so commonly in use today.

And we also seek to tell you about natural alternatives that work as effectively, and often more effectively, then their chemical alternatives. Jojoba oil moisturizers are a fine example of high quality natural anti aging products that use safe natural ingredients.

So let’s see why the oil from the seed of the jojoba plant is good for your skin and is safe when used as an ingredient in skin care products.

Unfortunately, as we have highlighted before, many anti ageing products use petrochemical ingredients to moisturize. We have written recently about the risks of petrolatum (a petrochemical oil) used in many skin care products, and have also explained that petrolatum does nothing to moisturize your skin other than to coat it in oil.

And there are other examples of petrochemical and chemical ingredients used in skin care products, including moisturisers, that do not actively moisturize and which may put your skin and your health at risk. These ingredients are used because they are extremely cheap.

There are many excellent natural ingredients which can be used in top shelf natural skin care products which are known for their excellent moisturizing properties, which are entirely safe to use on your skin and many of which have been used as a food for centuries. Olive oil is a good example.

Jojoba oil is another example of a natural oil which is safe to use on your skin and has excellent moisturising properties.

The oil is chemically extremely similar to the oil produced in human skin, called sebum, which is produced in the sebaceous glands. In fact technically the oil is more a liquid wax then an oil. It has been shown to be beneficial in treating acne, also has healing properties against other skin diseases like psoriasis and eczema and also has excellent skin moisturizing properties.

Unlike many of the chemical and petrochemical ingredients used in regular moisturizers it is able to penetrate the skin very effectively and it’s use does not result in a film of oil being left on the surface of the skin and face.

It does not create skin irritation or allergies because it’s chemical make up is so similar to the makeup of sebum. It actually helps balance the skin’s production of sebum which means that it is perfect for those with oily skin, helping reduce the production of oil.

It helps reduce wrinkles and stretchmarks.

And also unlike many regular moisturizers it does not block the pores, which is also good news for acne sufferers. In fact it helps clean the pores.

Because it has such beneficial effects it is used in a range of products including soaps and hair conditioners as well as lip balms. A few drops of jojoba oil very effectively helps remove eye makeup.

So why would you use regular moisturizers when jojoba oil does the job better? That’s a good question, however so many women still choose to use mainstream moisturisers containing the chemical and petrochemical ingredients.

If jojoba oil is so good at moisturizing then why not just use it on its own each day? Well of course you can however is always better to use skin care products which contain jojoba oil as an ingredient but also contain a range of other natural oils including olive oil and Shea butter, all of which have their own slightly different moisturizing properties.

Combine a range of such ingredients into high quality natural skin care products and you have the recipe for an outstandingly effective (and safe) range of skin care products. Jojoba oil moisturizers which combine a range of such natural ingredients are very effective.

The best jojoba moisturiser is not a moisturiser. That is because the company that makes what we consider to be the best natural skin care products available offer a range of products all of which moisturize very effectively and which use many such natural ingredients together. Because all the products moisturize effectively there is no need for a dedicated moisturiser. Read the rest of this entry