How to Find the Right Skin Moisturizer

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Feel overwhelmed when you want to buy skin moisturizer for your dry skin? That’s no surprise, as there are dozens to choose from at the drugstore and hundreds more at high-end cosmetics and department stores — creams, lotions, ointments, some with sunscreen, others with an exfoliant. Choices range from the basic $1.50 jar of petroleum jelly to a $500 five-ounce tub of designer skin moisturizer. And all the options in between can make your head spin.

While choosing the right skin moisturizer may seem confusing, it’s actually very simple if you follow a few guidelines, says dermatologist Monica Halem, MD, of ColumbiaDoctors Eastside in New York City. Dr. Halem’s first rule of thumb? Don’t spend too much money.


Cleansers and moisturizers are the most important skin products, particularly for softening dry skin. A skin moisturizer works by sealing moisture into the outer layer of the skin and by pulling moisture from the inner layers of skin to the outer layer.

Key ingredients that seal in moisture are petrolatum, mineral oil, lanolin, and dimethicone. Glycerin, propylene glycol, proteins, urea, and vitamins help attract water into the outer layer of the skin.

Some skin moisturizers also contain an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), which exfoliates dead skin, says Francesca Fusco, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and a spokeswoman for the Skin Cancer Foundation. AHAs are a good choice if you have very dry skin.

Finding the Skin Moisturizer For You

It may take some trial and error, Halem says, so be patient. Follow these guidelines as you shop and, if you’re not getting the results you want, try a new one the next time:

Note the first five ingredients. Look for common active ingredients, such as lanolin, glycerin, or petrolatum, Dr. Fusco says. Glycerin is less likely than lanolin to cause an allergic reaction, she says. She also recommends picking a moisturizer that’s made by a reputable company.
Go for added sunscreen. Protecting your skin from harmful sun damage is one of the best things you can do to keep your skin looking young, so buy a moisturizer with a sun protection factor of at least 30. You’ll have to do some searching, but more companies are offering face and body moisturizers with sunscreen, Halem says.
Make it skin-type appropriate. The skin on your face is thinner and more sensitive, so it’s a good idea to use a different moisturizer on your face than you do on your body, Fusco says and recommends buying one that’s labeled “non-comedogenic” because it won’t clog your pores. Of course, choose one that’s right for your skin type. If you know you have sensitive skin, it’s always a good idea to look for a moisturizer labeled hypoallergenic. If you have oily skin, go with a light, oil-free moisturizer. If you have dry skin, get something richer. And if you have combination skin, go with a lighter moisturizer for your whole face and dot drier areas with a heavier cream, Fusco says. Keep in mind that you may need a lighter lotion in the summer, and a cream or ointment in the winter.
Consider using a moisturizer with retinol before bed. Retinol is vitamin A for your skin, Halem says. It works by increasing the speed at which your skin cells turn over. You can find it over the counter or by prescription, but use it carefully as it may cause a skin irritation, red skin, or dry skin.
Relief by Prescription

If your skin is very dry, consider a prescription moisturizer. Prescription moisturizers contain the AHA lactic acid, which softens the top layer of your skin and can do a better job if over-the-counter moisturizers aren’t working for you, Fusco says. AHAs such as lactic acid and glycolic acid can cause an allergic reaction in some people. Tell your doctor if you experience burning, irritation, red skin, itching, or a rash.

Another prescription option is a barrier cream, which contains humectants that hold on to moisture longer, Fusco says. Barrier creams penetrate a little deeper than standard moisturizers, she adds.

When to Moisturize

Once you find the right product, moisturize every day and you’ll go a long way toward preventing dry skin and even camouflaging wrinkles. While a skin moisturizer can’t get rid of wrinkles — because wrinkles begin much deeper in the skin due to collagen loss — it can plump up the skin and minimize their appearance, Halem says.

Whichever moisturizer you choose, it will work better if you apply it to damp skin. Think about a sponge that’s dried out, Fusco says. If you put moisturizer on it, it won’t go anywhere. But if you soak the sponge in water and coat it with moisturizer, the sponge will absorb it. Your skin works the same way, happily lapping it up.

Get more tips for dry winter skin.

6 Tips for Healthy Skin All Summer Long

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It is easy to neglect our skin in the summer. The warmer, more humid weather means our skin isn’t as dry and itchy as it is in the winter; and the sun kissed look of a tan can make us feel better when we look in the mirror. But the lazy days of summer don’t mean we should be lazy with our skin care regime; in fact, we should be even more diligent. Follow these six easy steps for gorgeous healthy skin.

1. Wear safe, non-toxic sunscreen, even on cloudy days

The worst sunburn I ever saw was on a person who thought she could stay out for hours without sunscreen because it was overcast. The sun’s burning rays are remarkably powerful and proficient, so wear sunscreen every day. When choosing a sunscreen, look for an SPF of at least 30, if you have fair skin. But don’t be seduced by super-high SPF numbers because their incremental sun protection diminishes as SPF increases, especially at higher levels. Many sunscreens with SPF from 50 to 100, for example, effectively block just 1-2% more sunburn rays than an SPF 30 products. Regardless of which SPF you choose, you should reapply often (ideally every 90 minutes), and always after swimming.

2. Avoid tanning beds

We now know that tanning beds are linked to cancer and are no safer than the actual sun, so think carefully about the risks you expose yourself to when you go to a tanning salon. If you really want some summer skin color, avoid tanning beds and choose a safer option, such as self-tanning towels and lotions. Be sure to check the ingredients label to ensure the base formulation is safe (avoid methylparaben and synthetic perfume if possible).

3. Exfoliate at least once a week, ideally twice

Dead cells sit on the surface of your skin making it look dull, rough and dry. By exfoliating, you are removing these dead cells, allowing your more radiant, healthier summer skin to shine through. Exfoliating also allows skin cells to regenerate more quickly, which keeps aging at bay. Whenever possible, choose a gentle, more natural exfoliator. Some “fruit acid” exfoliators such as alpha hydroxy acid and beta hydroxy acid (AHA and BHA) can actually be very harsh and cause significant irritation. Choose products with natural exfoliating grains instead.

4. Moisturize your skin

In the summer it is tempting to ease up on moisturizing because your skin may not feel as dry. But good moisturizers work over time, promoting healthy skin with consistent use. We don’t stop eating well or exercising in the summer, so we shouldn’t stop taking care of our skin. If you do happen to get a sunburn, act fast to mitigate the negative effects by moisturizing liberally and often with a lotion containing aloe vera. This will keep the burned skin well hydrated, and it will help to soothe the discomfort.

5. Have lots of summer fun, but don’t skimp on sleep

Lack of sleep can lead to increased levels of stress hormones, which may slow the production of collagen in the skin. When our skin stops producing collagen, it begins to lose elasticity and starts looking tired and worn.

6. Drink lots of water

Drinking water benefits how well your body functions and ultimately affects how your skin looks and feels. For example, proper hydration helps flush toxins from your body. When toxins build up, they cause organs such as your kidneys to work less efficiently, which has a direct impact on your skin. Sip water through out the day and consider following the 8 x 8 rule: drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water every day.

These tips will not only make your skin look and feel better, they will make YOU look and feel better.

- See more at: http://naturallysavvy.com/care/6-tips-for-healthy-summer-skin#sthash.ghS3TpZP.dpuf

How to choose the perfect perfume

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To discover the scent that’s right for you, it’s best to start by emulating the ancient Greeks (who, like us, liberally perfumed themselves) and heed the aphorism inscribed in their Temple of Apollo: Know Thyself.

Writer Marcel Proust suggested that our lives are stored in tastes and smells. This is the domain of American psychologist and smell scientist Avery Gilbert, author of What the Nose Knows, in which he explains how aversion and attraction to certain scents link to happy or traumatic past events in our lives. The brain’s olfactory receptors connect to what Gilbert calls ‘smell memory,’ which can be triggered by familiar odours. As Rudyard Kipling wrote, ‘Scents are surer than sounds or sights to make your heartstrings crack.’

That’s pretty heady stuff. On the practical side, the perfume industry has a system of classification that can help pave the way to a favourite new scent. Perfumers and fragrance houses such as Firmenich, Givaudan and Symrise, which develop scents for beauty companies, classify perfumes according to six basic olfactory families. For women, these are generally: fresh, fruity, floral, gourmand, oriental and woody (also sometimes known as chypre). Even a passing familiarity with the distinctions between them becomes an aid in a scent journey, since our tastes tend to gravitate to the same broad category. (Then within each of these again, there are sub-genres.) Peruse the fragrances in these categories online, then try sampling them in stores.

Such categories are the traditional way of narrowing down the right scent for you. Nazrin Ladha, a seasoned purveyor of niche scents at her boutique The Perfume Shoppe (with locations in Vancouver and Scottsdale, Arizona), takes another approach. Her initial perfume cues come not only from taste or memory but from a customer’s skin tone, which she thinks influences how a perfume diffuses and smells. Weather, body chemistry and even mood can alter the effects of fragrances, too, says Jan Moran, a perfume expert based in Carlsbad, California. ‘Diet, mood, environmental and other factors influence how a fragrance develops on the skin.’

Shop and spritz perfume in the morning

Danny Ventura, spokesperson for perfume licenser Beauté Prestige International, who works with designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Narciso Rodriguez, suggests approaching the perfume counter with a happy memory, preferably early in the day when your nose is ‘rested.’ ‘Was it your birthday, your wedding? A beach you walked on? Conjure up a scent from that moment,’ he says. ‘Let’s say it was your wedding and you had a bouquet of peonies. At the store, ask for perfumes with peony in them.’ Sample two or three, one on each wrist and the inner forearm below the crook of the elbow, and walk away. ‘Go, have lunch, let them dry down. By the end of lunch, you will know whether you love [a fragrance] or not. If you’re not sure, don’t buy it.’

Ventura developed a 20-question quiz called Discover Your Scent, which he uses in consultations during his many in-store appearances. ‘It’s more about personality than your actual taste buds, but one of the questions about food is if you like spicy or you like mild.’ These may correlate directly to taste in scents (for example, love of spicy Indian food begets a taste for oriental scents like Coco by Chanel), but other questions may speak to lifestyle’real or aspirational. He says the woman who likes Elie Saab Le Parfum (a new bright, floral and woody scent) is likely to have sophisticated tastes for things such as champagne and high heels.

Another innovative tool is an interactive screen at Sephora called Scentsa, developed by Moran. It allows customers to browse perfumes by scent family, and helps them choose the perfect fragrance by asking them lifestyle questions in areas of style, entertainment (dancing, versus going to dinner, versus shopping), favourite seasons, colour preferences, even what you like for dessert. It translates the answers into personalized suggestions for which scents to try. ‘Very few people say, ‘Oh, I really love chypre’ [the complex oakmoss category]. Most of them don’t know what it is, can’t pronounce it and couldn’t care less!’

As fun and simple as this is, there are complicated algorithms at work, decoding every response behind the 30-second quiz. ‘I’ve based it on research compiled from numerous sources and studies, and extensive brand research,’ says Moran.

For those on the go, perfume house Givaudan’s iPerfumer is a free iPhone app that provides a brief questionnaire about taste preferences, saves individual profiles and then uses its internal algorithm to suggest matches from its database of more than 4,000 scents. (It’s a great tool for gift shopping.)

Follow the nose behind the label

Another approach is to consider the perfume’s creator‘not the designer brand or name on the label, but the nose behind the juice. For every perfume there is a creator, be it a master perfumer or scent developer working on the composition’s formula. Like a fashion designer, some ‘noses’ have a style that gives their creations a distinctive character.

Increasingly, beauty and fragrance companies are listing who created the perfume in their press kits. A growing number of perfume devotee websites maintain encyclopedic databases of perfume creators and their signature scents.

Think of your taste in perfume as you would any other: In the same way as you might love comedies by Judd Apatow or mysteries by Agatha Christie, you may find that, regardless of the brand they’re working for, one perfumer’s style suits you more than another’s. Calice Becker, who created the wildly popular Tommy Girl, also worked on Vera Wang Rock Princess, Lola Marc Jacobs and J’Adore Dior, making the seemingly random collection of bottles on your bureau less of an accident than you may have first thought.

Ventura says the search for a favourite scent can be intensely rewarding. Sure, it requires a bit of sniffing around, but when it clicks, ‘it’s like a perfectly fitting pair of jeans or bra.’

And what could feel better than that?