I am often asked: What kind of ingredients or materials are the most moisturizing?
This is because the water inside the skin does not enter from outside the skin, most of the time, the water outside the skin can only moisten the stratum corneum and make the stratum corneum swell, this is related to the natural barrier property of the skin, whether hydrophilic or oleophilic, most of the ingredients will be blocked in the If God had not designed human skin in this way, it would have been a disaster.
This is why all scientists and dermatologists say that the skin is the first external layer of protection for the human body, and basically the skin does not absorb any substances.
Skin hydration is about the skin’s ability to hold water, that is to say, to slow down the rate of water loss from the skin.
The skin’s natural moisturizing mechanism is based on the following conditions.
1. A complete sebaceous film.
2. A well-structured, well-arranged stratum corneum.
3. Natural moisturizing factors in the skin.
Occlusive (Occlusive).
It refers to the use of good barrier materials, such as: oil or polymer materials, to form a closed film on the skin, so that the evaporation of water from the skin to the outside of the body is slowed or stopped.
Humectant (Humidity).
These substances can not only attract water from the dermis to the epidermis, but also catch the water and reduce the rate of evaporation, and help the moisture to make the stratum corneum moist and swell, so that the stratum corneum is neatly arranged and complete, and avoid water loss.
In addition, small molecule ingredients such as vitamin B5, vitamin B3, lactate, PCA-Na, urea, hydroxyethyl urea, organic acid and amino acid, etc. are common, and small molecule moisturizing ingredients have the ability to retain water in the skin, maintain hydration and reduce water evaporation.
Emolient (Emollient).
This concept refers to some oil ingredients that can enter through the interstices of keratinocytes and soften the stratum corneum. There are many common oils and fats, such as common plant and animal oils, synthetic oils and fats, fatty alcohols or fatty acids, etc. The same can make the skin surface soft and not cracked, and can also help the keratin to restore the best state and reduce water loss.
Normally, the water in the skin is delivered to the skin through the drinking tube and then through the digestive organs through the blood vessels, not from outside the skin to the skin at all.
If we can arbitrarily transport water through the skin to the skin, or even as these cosmetic advertisements say: to send water into the bottom layer of the skin (or dermis), then this can be a disaster, I simply do not need to kill people with weapons, I just need to throw a bucket of dirty water on you, I think you will die from bacteria or virus infection.
For now: moisturizing means taking good care of the stratum corneum, helping it to recover its proper physiological function, as well as being able to use some topical oils to play a role in helping to protect the skin when sebum production is insufficient.
From beginning to end, these topical substances to enter the skin is not an easy task, otherwise dermatologists or scientists studying topical skin medications, also do not need to spend time researching brain injury.
The absorption pattern of the skin is very complicated and special, sometimes what should enter cannot enter, and what should not enter all enter, moreover, the raw materials, manufacturing and finished products of cosmetic care products, their hygiene requirements and quality are all far lower than the requirements of drugs, and the safety of most of the goods is worrying.
I believe that the above explanation can explain why the mask is only a short-lived effect, because it only works in the stratum corneum, when you finish the mask, if you do not rub the lotion or cream containing oil to do a closed moisturizer, then the water will evaporate, and soon the skin will return to a dry state.
Then, in daily life, there are those behaviors that may lead to the destruction of the skin barrier
1. Excessive or frequent cleansing, resulting in ineffective sebum film coverage.
2.Washing for too long, resulting in excessive action of cleaning products with the skin.
3.The cleaning products are not thoroughly rinsed out.
4.The cleaning power of the cleaning goods is too strong, resulting in a lot of destruction of the stratum corneum.
5.Use products with too high (alkaline) or too low (acid) pH value.
6.Excessive exfoliation.
7.The emulsifier or surfactant in the long chemical products or ointment interferes with and destroys the stratum corneum.
9.Overly dry skin is not given timely moisturizing and blocking, resulting in a large amount of water evaporation, keratin barrier function is reduced.
10, the skin is damaged by external forces, such as: indiscriminate use of scrub exfoliating products, scratches moisturizing product selection should not be superstitious super strong ingredients of the word.
Why? From the structure of the skin itself, the skin is full of natural moisturizing factors, lipids and water, but also must have a healthy and complete stratum corneum and complete sebaceous membrane to match, so the product must be an all-round thinking formula, the common advertised super moisturizing ingredients are only playing one of the functions of the natural moisturizing mechanism in the skin, naturally it is difficult to actually play a good moisturizing effect.
In addition, because also everyone’s skin physiological condition is different, geographical environment, climate, age and the actual skin condition and other differences, choose moisturizing products, more should choose a variety of moisturizing ingredients to match, the effect will be good, buy moisturizing products, it is recommended that the reference content formula should have the following combination: refreshing products (small molecule moisturizing ingredients + high molecule moisturizing ingredients + polyols), moisturizing products ( Of course, this is just to provide a direction for your reference, basically to consider to have a closed moisturizing effect on the skin and maintain the ability to retain moisture in the skin.
Many people use moisturizing products, always feel that the moisturizing effect is not as effective as imagined, excluding the problem of product formulation design, most of the cases may be due to the high price of the product, can not afford to use, or think that there is a smear on the good, and therefore lead to the lack of uniformity, thickness and coverage is not complete, and therefore reduce the effectiveness of the product, it is recommended that when using the amount can be a little more, when applied, can It is recommended that you take a little more than you need, so that when you apply it, you can feel as if you have rubbed a little too much, and then it is enough.
How to choose when buying moisturizers
In fact, the moisturizing effect of these products is designed by the chemical formulators themselves. Basically, creams or lotions are more moisturizing, while serums and gels are more refreshing, so the refreshing type is more suitable for oily skin or teenage groups, but the actual situation is judged by the actual use.
Many people like to put on a mask to moisturize, basically the effect of putting on a mask will really feel the moistening effect of the skin more quickly, this is because the skin is covered with a lot of water, naturally will be soaked wet, but the quality of the mask on the market varies greatly, so when buying a mask may also refer to the aforementioned refreshing products (small molecule moisturizing ingredients + high molecule moisturizing ingredients + polyol type) It is also recommended that after applying the mask, if you want to moisturize longer, you may want to use it with some lotion or cream.