I’m sure you’ve heard it over and over again: Moisturize your skin.

As a 24 year old, I’ve been taking care of my skin and using anti-aging moisturizers and lotions since I was about 15-16 years old — completely out of the sake I never wanted to get wrinkles.  Anti-oxidants and other components are good at helping prevent free-radical damage, and this was something I wanted to avoid.

But really, I began to wonder, why does everyone focus on our faces?  Isn’t the rest of our body just as important?

Our hands and knees begin to show aging rapidly, and very early on.  While there are reversible (and expensive) procedures to reverse this, isn’t it important we take care of it from the start?

Hydration is important for all of our organs to function.  While drinking water will not keep your skin hydrated (contrary to popular belief, anything we ingest has little -if anything- to do with our skin, unless it’s chemical like Retin-A), it’s important to keep your organs hydrated and keep you functioning properly.  Skin happens to be the body’s largest organ!

So what do moisturizers do?  Moisturizers are humectants – that means they bind moisture to your skin!  They prevent moisture from escaping your skin, and keep free radicals and oxygen off of your skin.  Many also include a sunscreen, which is excellent to prevent UV damage which is the number one cause of aging!

There are different types of moisturizers for all over your body.  There are body moisturizers, facial moisturizers, and eye moisturizers.  Now, why is it important to use different ones for different areas?

Body moisturizers (lotions, oils) tend to be the most general.  While you can often apply it to the face, I wouldn’t recommend it, and definitely never around the eyes.  You should apply your body lotion directly after showering, after lightly patting dry your skin.  This keeps the moisture in and from escaping, which often happens when you leave the bathroom and there is a drastic change of temperature between the steamy bathroom, and your hallway.  Don’t forget to apply everywhere!  Butts, boobs, back, feet, hands…. I mean everywhere.

Facial moisturizers should be applied to the face and neck area.  The neck tissue is similar to that of the face, and is more prone to clogged pores.  These moisturizers are designed for specific use in this area, because the skin on our neck, and faces, is thinner than over the rest of our bodies.  Plus, the area is more sensitive — so these products are going to contain less irritating ingredients.  What may not irritate your legs, may irritate your face or neck!  You can also get facial moisturizers that contain salicylic acid, which will help with breakouts in acne-prone skin.  Never apply moisturizers inside the skin past the auricular socket (your eye socket).  It is not tested for safety around the eye, and may be irritating especially for contact lens wearers.  If you feel it works okay for you, then fine, but I definitely wouldn’t recommend it with every moisturizer.  If it contains fragrance, I put a big no in putting it around your eyes (and honestly, wouldn’t recommend putting it on the face either — fragrances have been known to cause irritation in typically normal skin!).

Eye moisturizer, obviously, is applied to your eyelid and underneath your eye.  It is formulated specifically for use in this area, so it’s extra, extra gentle.

A common question regarding moisturizing, is what you should do for your skin type.

I recommend, always, to treat your skin first and foremost as if it is sensitive.  Avoid products with synthetic dyes and fragrances, as they can create irritation when there was none after prolonged use.  Remember that not all moisturizers that say they are formulated for sensitive skin really are.  Check your ingredient listing to avoid known skin irritants rather than listening to a label!  If your skin is very dehydrated, there are creamier moisturizers that will put more moisture in.  And for oily skin, they have moisturizers that are also designed to reduce the appearance of shine!

Should oily skin still moisturize?  I will conclude yes.  If you have oily skin, chances are you use a stronger cleanser with anti-bacterial properties that will dry up the excess sebum — and often astringents that are very similar.  This will dehydrate your skin, and throughout the day, end up exacerbating your sebaceous glands…. Creating more oil that you wouldn’t have to deal with if your skin was already properly hydrated.

Just use a lightweight moisturizer, as using much isn’t necessary and you don’t need deep or intense hydration.  Use one with little to no oil content.  If you’re concerned, place the moisturizer on the back of your hand, rub it in gently.  If it feels warm, it has a high oil content.  If it feels cool, it has a high water content — which is what you are looking for!  High water concentration creates evaporation, which makes this cooling feeling, whereas oil does not evaporate.

As for acne-prone skin — pustules (those little suckers you shouldn’t pop, but do anyway) are caused by bacteria — bacteria that we already have in our skin.  This bacteria feeds on our sebum (our “oil”), making white blood cells rush to the site.  This ends up rupturing the follicle walls, causing these nasty little buggers!  So drying out your skin can definitely exacerbate break-outs, as sebaceous glands will work harder and produce more oil in a short period of time to make up for the loss of moisture.

White heads are caused by dead skin, and sebum mixing together in the pores.  Blackheads are the same, only add some grime in there too!  Both of these can be exacerbated by over moisturizing, so be careful.

Be lighter with the moisturizer in areas where you’re normally very oily, just apply a thin layer of it.   You can always add more if it feels it needs it.  Similarly, add more moisturizer or use a thicker moisturizer in areas where you need it.

Some moisturizers can cause milia (tiny bumps and cysts on our skin), so if you are using a moisturizer and end up getting this — quit using it immediately as it will only add to the problem.  Switch promptly!

My favorite drug-store moisturizer is Olay Complete for Sensitive Skin with SPF 15 for the face.  L’Oreal has an excellent eye cream that is also equally affordable!  Both of these come in generic versions at Wal-Mart that are equally impressive — and less damaging on your wallet!

Otherwise, my favorite brands for “high-end” skincare are MD Formulations, Dermalogica and Bioelements.  All have great anti-bacterial cleansers that work well for sensitive skin, and moisturizers that are lightweight and designed to reduce redness and sensitivity as well!

For the body, I typically use Vaseline lotion for sensitive skin.  I never splurge on body moisturizer seeing as I use a LOT of it!

(I’m going to start adding for your homework sections, as I want you all to leave comments and communicate to me so I know what my readers are up to!)

For your homework: What do you use to moisturize your face, eyes, and body?  What’s your least favorite, and your favorite?  Read my answers in the comments!