Is moisturizer necessary?

What happens when you moisturize your skin?  Do you breakout?  Knowing your skin type is important to answer the question ‘Is moisturizer necessary?’

Moisturizing

You’ve heard it before: about how important it is to moisturize because our skin needs hydration.  This simple act of putting on a cream or lotion to your skin helps the skin barrier as well as calming any discomfort from dryness or other skin conditions (i.e. itching).

So, in many instances, it is important to moisturize.  This is especially true if you have dry skin.  Dry skin feels parched so it needs the extra help.  Applying moisturizer and drinking enough water is needed.  That makes sense, doesn’t it?  But what if you have sensitive, combination or oily skin – then what?

Different skin types

Different skin types need different strategies.  Dry skin needs the extra moisture just so it doesn’t look dull and cracked but oily, sensitive or combo skin doesn’t have the same problem.  So, doing the same regimen is futile.

Sensitive skin

Do you notice redness on areas of your skin?  This could be due to a food allergy, environmental toxins, or a skin care product – any one of these could cause a reaction if your skin doesn’t approve of it.  If you have ever experienced this, you may have sensitive skin and you need to get to the underlying cause.

Oily skin

Who hasn’t had oily skin at some point in their lives – especially their teenage years?  But sometimes the oiliness carries on for much longer.  Did you know that the more we wash our faces (skin), the drier we can make it?  This is especially true if you wash until we can’t wash anymore – we think that if we wash away all that oil, it will help our skin.  Unfortunately, we’re contributing to the problem.

Our skin produces natural oils and if you strip away too many of those oils with harsh cleansers or cleaning too often or too long, our skin will produce more oil just to compensate for it.  This can lead to acne breakouts.  Therefore, is moisturizer necessary?  No, you don’t want to add a moisturizer that can contribute to clogged pores.  Yep, it’s true – you don’t need moisturizer if your skin is oily!

Combination skin

This skin type is also very common, especially among teens.  But this too can continue into adulthood.  Part of your face is dry or sensitive, the other part is oily.  Frustrating!  Or, the skin on your legs are super dry while your face is an oil slick.  This means that different parts of your face or body need different strategies.  Your legs may need moisturizer while your face doesn’t.

By the way, if you need help figuring out your skin type, click here.

Is moisturizer necessary?

So, as you can see, it depends on your skin type.  When you know your skin type, you know if you should actually moisturize.  And, always remember to keep exfoliating as part of your skin care routine.