Save Face: Choose (and Use) Moisturizer
We slather it on after showering or hand-washing, expecting it to restore the skin we were born with.
To this end, Americans spent $475 million on “mass-market” moisturizers for the hands and body last year, says Kathryn Griffie of Kline & Co., a New Jersey-based international business consulting firm.
That’s not counting money spent on hand-body moisturizers in department and specialty shops, or the megadollars laid out for face-only moisturizers.
The top-selling mass market hand-body smoothers? Vaseline Intensive Care, Jergens and Lubriderm.
The Concept
Whatever the price or the promise, a simple premise is at the root of moisturizers, says Gary Grove, director of the Skin Study Center near Philadelphia, an independent testing laboratory. They all aim to restore water to the skin and trap it for as long as possible.
To do that, moisturizers contain water, of course, and either lipids, humectants or both, says Charles Fox, an independent cosmetics consultant in Fair Lawn, N.J.
Lipids, like avocado oil, work by reducing the rate at which skin loses moisture, Fox says. Humectants, like glycerin, have an incredible ability to hold onto water, he says.
Humectants and lipids have been used in moisturizers for years and years, Fox says, and over time they have been perfected.
The Additions
The water, lipids and humectants form the backbone of moisturizers, but the ingredient list often goes on. Some formulas add Vitamin E, fragrance, organic herbs, honey and other goodies.
The New Kids
To catch the attention of dry-skinned consumers, manufacturers are constantly improving their formulas or introducing new ones.
Vaseline Petroleum Jelly Cream, for instance, is a new twist on the old standby, petroleum jelly. The original formula is often considered too greasy to use. But the new cream, introduced last year, has only 30% petroleum jelly, which promises to reduce that slip-out-of-bed feeling associated with the real stuff.
Once applied, it boosts the moisture level of the skin 500%, according to a company spokeswoman, and keeps skin moisturized up to 18 hours.
Jergens is touting its Advanced Therapy Lotion, introduced in 1991. What makes it advanced, says Jergens chemist Greg Fischesser, is a tongue-twister ingredient called Cholesteryl Isostearate, which is “a patented form of our skin’s own lipids.” Think of lipids, Fischesser suggests, as a “sink” for moisture.
The Old Standby
Introduced in the 1940s, Lubriderm was the only moisturizer “created expressly” for dermatologists’ use, says a spokeswoman for the manufacturer, Warner-Lambert. The top-selling formula, now available at the drugstore, is a blend of mineral oil, lanolin and other ingredients.
Offbeat Alternative
Some parched-skin types have turned to a farm remedy--Bag Balm--that’s been soothing chafed cow udders for years.
“There’s nothing in it that’s not also in human products,” says a spokeswoman for the Dairy Assn. Co. in Lyndonville, Vt., the manufacturer.
Petrolatum, the same stuff that’s in petroleum jelly, is the main ingredient, along with an antiseptic, a stabilizing agent and distilled water. There’s been an increased use of Bag Balm among humans in recent years, according to the manufacturer.
Several customers have written the company, singing the praises of Bag Balm especially for calloused feet and dried-out hands. It’s sold in some drugstores.
Shopping Tips
So how to pick from this anti-crocodile armamentarium? Go with what feels good is the consensus. It’s a personal decision, says Dr. Rhonda Rand, a UCLA assistant clinical professor of dermatology and Beverly Hills dermatologist.
But she does advise sensitive-skinned patients to avoid moisturizers with fragrance (which many formulas have) and to bypass Vitamin E formulas, which she finds can cause a rash.
“If a person has problems with a topical product, nine times out of 10 it’s either (because of) the preservative or the fragrance,” says Grove.
“The more oil the better, especially if you have super dry skin,” advises Elaine Brumberg, author of “Take Care of Your Skin.” Among her favorites after testing several moisturizers: Eucerin’s overnight therapy formula (“light but effective”) and Curel moisturizer.
The Advice
Whatever product you choose, experts offer some generic advice. “Everyone should use moisturizer, especially in L.A.,” says Rand, because the desert-like climate can parch the skin.
The best time to moisturize? After a bath or shower, when the skin has been patted dry and still has moisture on it.
People with super dry skin should bathe or shower at night, Grove says, so they face the day with a buildup of natural skin oils.
Expectations
All moisturizers promise baby-bottom skin. But what can you expect from the most miraculous-sounding formula?
The newer moisturizers usually smooth and moisturize skin for about 12 to 18 hours, Grove finds in his independent testing.
Don’t hold your breath for a time-released, once-a-year moisturizing injection, says chemist Fischesser.
The research-and-development emphasis is on ingredient improvement, not stretching effectiveness time.
The Bottom Line
Don’t spend too much. Experts concur that inexpensive formulas can work well too.
