Guide to Choosing the Ideal Moisturiser for Your Skin

Choosing the right moisturiser determines how your skin will reflect on the most important days of your life. Regardless of your skin type, moisturiser is a necessity to hydrate, moisturise, and protect the skin barrier. Moreover, you require a moisturiser that targets your ongoing concerns by supplying essential nutrients to the skin.

But it all starts with knowing how to choose “that perfect” moisturiser for your skin type to cater for all needs. In this blog, we will take a step-by-step approach to understanding how to select your next moisturiser. 

Know Your Skin Type 

Begin with understanding your skin, as this can save you from investing in the wrong ingredients and products. Each skin is unique and requires a different approach to care. 

• Dry Skin: Dry to very dry, flaky skin feels tight, irritated, and rough. Often, with changing weather, from hot to humid, this skin type can become itchy, dull, and dehydrated, making it prone to ageing signs and uneven texture. Rich and creamy moisturisers with ceramides, shea butter, and glycerin usually work for dry skin.
• Oily Skin: Oily skin is mostly greasy due to excess sebum production. Especially the T-zone appears shiny. It is more likely to develop breakouts and open pores. One can opt for gel-based, lightweight moisturisers. Go for non-comedogenic and oil-free formulations. 
• Combination Skin: Individuals with combination skin must deal with both dry and oily areas, which require hydration and balance. This skin type also struggles with changes in weather conditions. Trying hyaluronic acid, panthenol, and glycerin can help. 
• Sensitive Skin: If your skin reacts to certain triggers, including environmental conditions, foods, and ingredients, you might be dealing with sensitive skin. Though it is not a type, but a condition, it persists for the long term. It needs care and attention more than you think. Apply soothing ingredients like aloe vera, oatmeal, and ceramides.   
• Normal Skin: Normal skin feels comfortable with neither too dry nor too oily surface and has a balanced behaviour. Individuals with normal skin simply need optimal hydration. Lightweight lotion infused with vitamin E, squalene, and hyaluronic acid can benefit the skin. 

Once you are sure about your skin type, you can make a better choice according to your concerns, or ask your doctor to examine your skin and decide. 

Types of Moisturisers 

Moisturisers are created differently to meet the requirements of your skin type and concerns. It's crucial to understand the different types of moisturisers to help you choose the right formulation and texture.

1. Gel-based Moisturisers: They are lightweight and hydrate without adding that oily or greasy film on the skin surface. Perfect for oily, acne-prone skin and combination skin types, gel moisturisers are readily available in a vast range of formulations.

2. Creams: Creams are thick and work well for dry skin. flaky, and dehydrated skin that needs intense moisture. They can seal the moisture for longer hours to replenish the skin from within.

3. Lotions: These are lighter than creams and have a high water content. Beneficial for a daily dose of hydration, lotions absorb quickly and suit the combination for normal skin.

4. Balms: Balms have a high occlusive content or are greasy to fulfil the moisture needs of extremely dry and irritated skin. Ones dealing with eczema, inflammation, and itching can get support from balms to prevent moisture loss and promote healing.  

5. Ointments: Ointments are for targeted healing. They can be applied to the compromised skin area, wounds, or damaged skin to aid recovery.  

Ingredients to Prefer in a Moisturiser 

The right skincare actives can transform your skin barrier and maintain long-lasting hydration if you're consistent with your routine.

Understanding the basics of your moisturiser helps you make an effective, reliable, and confident choice. Here are a few ingredients that you must prefer while choosing your next moisturiser.

• Hyaluronic Acid: It is one of the most common ingredients recommended and used in moisturisers due to its moisturising ability. They can intensely hydrate by holding up to 1,000 times their weight in moisture and keep the skin plump, soft, and hydrated.
  
• Glycerin: Glycerin is also a humectant, which draws moisture from the environment to make your skin supple. It is ideal for sensitive, dry, and irritated skin types and enhances the performance of other skincare hydrating ingredients.
  
• Ceramides: This is a naturally occurring lipid found in the skin barrier. But when your skin lacks ceramides, it becomes dull, rough, and sensitive. Applying a ceramide-infused moisturiser can support healing, reduce redness, and improve the skin barrier.
  
• Niacinamide: This versatile skincare ingredient benefits almost all skin types and targets concerns such as excessive oil, different forms of acne, enlarged pores, dullness, and uneven skin tone. Using a moisturiser formulated with niacinamide can protect your skin from environmental stress and contribute to its overall health.
  
• Peptides: When your skin lacks essential proteins like elastin and collagen, it develops fine lines, wrinkles, and other ageing signs. Peptides are short chains of amino acids that behave like building blocks for these essential proteins in the skin. Using them in a moisturiser can give dual benefits: anti-ageing support and strong hydration. 
  
  Also read: How to Use Peptides for Young, Healthy Skin
  
• Squalene: Squalene behaves like natural oils produced by the skin to moisturise the skin surface and improve texture, tone, and flakiness. It is non-comedogenic, hence, it will not clog your pores and hydrates without making your skin feel heavy or greasy. 

How to Apply Moisturiser Effectively 

Even if you have a great moisturiser with perfect texture, formulation, and ingredients, you still need to apply it the right way in order to get the maximum out of the product. Let's see a few tips for applying your moisturiser correctly.

1. You might have the urge to apply a lot of moisturiser if your skin is excessively dry or has rough patches. But don't give in to this urge, as it can clog your pores. Usually, a pea-sized amount is enough for all skin types.
2. Go with the lightest to the heaviest skincare products in your routine. Apply the moisturiser at the end when you are done with cleansing and using serum. It helps to lock in the effectiveness of previously applied products and moisture. 
3. Don't stick with the same moisturiser for all seasons. Changing weather conditions impact your skin and its requirements. Winter or dry seasons need creamy textures where heavy or greasy products can work. In hot and humid conditions, you need gel-based, lightweight moisturisers to suit the skin. 
4. Always patch test new moisturiser before adding it to your skincare routine. Apply on a small area like a jawline for around 24 hours and see how your skin behaves. This can save you from adverse reactions and irritation. 

Also read: How to Choose a Face Cleanser for Your Skin

DRSQ Moisturiser for All Skin Types 

Advanced Repair moisturiser is the ultimate DNA-reconstructing formula, including potent ingredients like antioxidants, lipids, and vitamins. It is a complete age reversal complex that helps defy visible signs of ageing and premature ageing.

Sh-Oligopeptide-1 can accelerate wound healing and maintain skin health, while Palmitoyl Oligopeptide & Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 can activate the skin's natural production of collagen to give you younger-looking, plumper skin. 
Advanced Repair is suitable for all skin types and can be applied to the skin after cleansing and serum application. 

Also read: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Your Face Serum

Conclusion 

Choosing the right moisturiser is crucial to a strong and healthy skin barrier. No matter how effective other products are, a skincare routine is always incomplete without a suitable moisturiser for your skin. It not only targets concerns and heals but also locks the moisture as its primary function. 

Every skin type needs hydration and nourishment, and moisturiser adds to that. Moreover, going for the right skincare ingredients according to your skin and concern is another block you must consider while buying your next moisturiser. 

References:

• Jeffrey Rajkumar, Neha Chandan, Peter Lio, Vivian Shi, "The Skin Barrier and Moisturization: Function, Disruption, and Mechanisms of Repair", 2023 Sep
  
• Zoe D Draelos, "The science behind skin care: Moisturizers", 2018 Jan
  
• A V Rawlings, C R Harding, "Moisturization and skin barrier function", 2004
  
• Seok-Young Kang, Ji-Young Um, Bo-Young Chung, So-Yeon Lee, Jin-Seo Park, Jin-Cheol Kim, Chun-Wook Park, Hye-One Kim, "Moisturizer in Patients with Inflammatory Skin Diseases", 2022 July
  
• Marie Lodén, "Role of topical emollients and moisturizers in the treatment of dry skin barrier disorders", 2003
  
• Andreia Marinho, Cláudia Nunes, Salette Reis, "Hyaluronic Acid: A Key Ingredient in the Therapy of Inflammation", 2021 Oct