Moisturizing your skin is honestly one of the most important things you can do — it helps your skin avoid problems down the road, like wrinkles. Plus, moisturizing can fight against blemishes and improve the overall glow of your bodies largest organ, your skin. How do you know if you’re moisturizing your skin enough? Well, if any of these 10 things sound familiar you might be in trouble:
You’re Not Listening To Your Skin
There are SO many moisturizers on the market. Why? Because not every moisturizer works for every single person. We all have different skin types, which is why it’s important to listen to your skin when choosing a moisturizer. Sure, it’s great to know your friend is obsessed with Clinique but if Clinique moisturizer makes your skin feel tight or dried out, it’s not for you. Regardless of all the positive reviews!
You’re Applying Your Moisturizer On Dry Skin
The best time to moisturize your skin is after you cleanse. You want your face to still be damp when you apply your cream — that’s the best way for your skin to absorb it. Not to mention, your skin should be clean when you moisturize, too. You don’t ever, EVER want to apply products to dirty skin.
Your Makeup Doesn’t Go On Very Well
How does your makeup look? Cracked? Not very smooth? That could be because you’re not moisturizing your skin enough. Dry and flaky skin doesn’t wear makeup very well. Your face is your makeup’s canvass. Similar to the way you have to wipe down a canvass, to make sure it’s smooth, before you apply paint, the same needs to be done with your face. You need to wash your skin and apply moisture before you consider using foundation and concealer.
Your Skin Doesn’t Seem Protected
Moisturizer creates a layer over your skin that protects it from chemicals and harsh air. Does it seem like your skin is constantly turning red? Becoming inflamed? Breaking out? Or peeling due to the retinoids and cleansers you’re using? That could be because you’re not moisturizing your skin enough and you’re leaving it unprotected.
You’re Breaking Out More & More
A lot of people think moisturizing creams are the reason they break out. Not exactly! Like with any skin care product, if you’re not using the right kind of product your skin might suffer. But moisturizing shouldn’t cause breakouts. Especially if the ingredients in the moisturizer are oil-free, noncomedogenic, and fragrance-free. Those shouldn’t hurt any skin type, not even acne prone skin. However, not moisturizing will cause breakouts. Why? Because dry skin worsens acne.
You Think Your Skin Is Too Oily For Moisturizer
If you have oily skin you might think you need to lay off on the moisturizer. Why would you want to put cream on your face when you already have naturally oily skin, right? Wrong. If you attempt to dry out your oily skin, your skin will start producing more oil in order to compensate. You don’t want your skin to produce more oil. You want it to balance out. In order to create that balance, you need a moisturizer to make sure your skin’s not too dry or too oily.
You’re Still Getting Wrinkles
So maybe you already have wrinkles on your skin — how could they get worse? By forgetting to moisturize! Just because you have fine lines and wrinkles doesn’t mean you can’t develop more. You can! Dry skin causes the collagen to break down in your body, which increases naturally with age. The older you get, the more moisturizer you should DEFINITELY use to keep your skin flawless!
Your Skin Feels Tight
Tight skin is another word for dry skin. If moving the muscles around your face causes your skin to feel tight, that means you’re not hydrating enough. The same can be said about itchy skin. If your skin itches throughout the day, take notice. That’s not okay! Tight skin will cause wrinkles and your skin to sag over time. No, thank you! Do you want your skin to stay looking youthful? Moisturize!
Your Skin Looks Dull
Maybe you’re using moisturizer, maybe you’re even using it a couple times a day. But, how does your skin look? Dull? Lackluster? That means you’re either not using the right kind of moisturizer or you’re not using enough. If your moisturizer was working effectively your skin would glow (no, I’m not being dramatic…it would glow). Glowing skin is just properly hydrated skin. If your skin isn’t being moisturized, it’s not being hydrated, which means it’s not going to glow.
You Don’t Moisturize At Night
Hopefully, you know you should be cleansing and be toning your skin at night! But, do you know you should also be moisturizing it too? Your skin needs moisture at night to reverse all the damage that’s been done to it throughout the day. The environment isn’t all that friendly to your skin. Repair your skin’s barrier by hydrating it with moisture before you go to bed.