Under ideal conditions, your skin gets and keeps all the moisture it needs. But who lives in ideal conditions? Modern life presents an environment full of moisture-depleting conditions, making restoring your skin’s hydration top priority…but why?
What Moisture Does
Moisture is essential to skin health. Skin cells must remain hydrated and be bathed in an aqueous solution in order to maintain balanced fluid pressure gradients and chemical compositions on the inside and outside of the cell. The pressure and ionic gradients facilitate the transport of molecular compounds into the cell for growth and repair and out of the cell for excretion.
Without proper moisture, skin cells become dehydrated—they shrink, and the cell membranes can become more brittle and susceptible to pathogens. In other words, dehydrated skin looks tight and is more prone to infection. Dehydrated skin also becomes a repository of toxins and free radicals that damage skin cells and other components of the extracellular matrix.
Moisture-Depleting Conditions and Habits
Skin naturally produces its own moisture and moisture-locking barrier: sebum. Unfortunately, modern life and beauty trends compromise and strip away this natural protection through practices like:
- Applying makeup
- Daily face washing
- Daily showering (especially with hot water)
With our natural protection compromised, moisture is more easily drawn out of and away from the skin in dry environments—like the humidity- and temperature-controlled climates in all buildings and homes. As a result, replenishing moisture to the skin is absolutely essential every day.
Restoring Moisture
There are two ways that skin’s moisture may be restored:
- Drawing moisture from the lower layer of skin and/or the environment into the epidermis
- Preventing evaporation from the skin into the environment
The moisturizers formulated by Hale Cosmeceuticals have both humectant and emollient properties, so they do both—deliver moisture to the skin and create a protective layer to prevent moisture loss.
To find the moisturizer that allows you to restore hydration and maintain balanced skin, you need to determine your skin type. Dry skin needs a lot of protection against moisture loss, so moisturizers tend to be heavier oil-based formulas. Oily skin, on the other hand, needs moisture to replace what is lost to daily cleansing, but it does not require much in the way of protection. Our skin care assessment tool can help you identify your skin type and recommend products that fit your skin care needs. To order the moisturizers tailored to help you restore hydration and balance, contact us.
