Feb 01., 2025   /   Face Care

Creams & Moisturizers

What You Need To Know About Moisturizing Your Face

Skincare can be one of the most confusing things in life. While a Google search may tell you it’s OK to embrace essential oils, your friends could simultaneously warn you that you’re doing it all wrong, and then you go down this skin disaster spiral. Alright, so it’s probably not that serious, but finding the right way to moisturize your face can be a battle.

While we’re sitting here in the cold depths of the polar vortex, we’ve been thinking hard about the best way to protect our precious faces in the event of harsh winds. So we asked two dermatologists to weigh in on the proper ways to hydrate our skin. From knowing your skin type to reading between the ingredient lines, here’s what you need to know about moisturizing your face.

You should be using a moisturizer based on your skin type.

One of the first mistakes people make when using products on their skin is using a product that doesn’t necessarily fit their skin type. “Most patients will say they have sensitive skin,

“Those suffering from dry skin problems are prone to having slightly allergic skin, and such people shouldn’t use conventional moisturizers because of the harm chemicals can have on the fragile surface. While using an oil-based moisturizing cream is terrible for acne-prone skin.

Oily: “Look for lotions instead of creams,” Find formulas that have exfoliating ingredients, such as lactic glycolic and salicylic acids.

Dry: Definitely find a cream, especially in the winter weather. “There is more oil in a cream, therefore it is a thicker substance and more moisturizing. The greater the oil content, the better absorption through the skin barriers to hydrate the tissue.

Combination: Believes this is the hardest skin type to find products for, he recommends “lotions with no acids, something bland such as Cetaphil, Cerave, Aveeno, Neutrogena, or Lubriderm.”

Normal: “I always tell people with normal skin to put a very thin layer of ointment on at night, such as Aquaphor,” adding that this will help protect you against the forces of nature.