Why moisturiser works

Have you ever wondered whether a moisturiser really does work? Wonder no more, we've got the evidence.

So many of us suffer from dry skin. The weather, air-conditioning, washing ... all suck moisture out of our skin. And when your skin gets dry, it stops working as well as it should. The barrier that protects you breaks down and that creates more problems such as cracked, red or irritable skin.

A moisturiser with the right mix of ingredients will keep your skin hydrated and protected. We will talk about how a good moisturiser works to achive that.

Importance of water to make a moisturiser work

Your skin loses water at a rate of 300-400ml per day, and this is before you start sweating from exercise. Your body replaces the lost water on the top layer of skin by pulling up water from the lower layers. It's a natural process but sometimes the body lags behind. It struggles to deliver water fast enough and you end up with dry skin.

Water in the outer layer of your skin maintains skin elasticity so you're less prone to damage like cuts and scrapes. Your skin also has water-activated enzymes that help maintaining your natural skin barrier and keeping you healthy.

Our bodies can't keep up with our modern lives

The body falls behind in this process because modern living accelerates water loss. Air-conditioning dries out your skin. The more time you spend in offices, at home with heat pumps running or even driving a car with air-con, the more you dry out your skin.

Second, modern life means we often have obsession with cleaning ourselves. Washing with detergents like soap, shampoo and other cleansers strips the skin of its vital oils, which play a critical part in holding water in the outer layer.

Finally, aging reduces Natural Moisturising Factors. These are a complex array of amino acids, fatty acids, sugars and minerals that combine to create a humectant - or water-attractor - that keep keeps moisture in the outer layer of skin.

How a moisturiser works to stop the water-loss lag

A good moisturiser works by helping the skin cope with this water lag.

Our face cream is made with three different elements:

• a water base which delivers hydration to the outer layer;

• a humectant which draws water up from our lower tissues to deliver more hydration to that outer skin

• oils to soften, nourish and protect your skin and aid hydration by forming an occlusive layer that locks in water.

Night time is the right time for a moisturiser to its best work

If you're like me, your mother probably advised you to apply a face cream at night. My mother certainly didn't know the science behind skincare but she knew what worked.

But now science proves what our mothers knew all along, a good face cream will work wonders for your skin, especially when you apply it at night.

Using a face cream might seem a bit old-fashioned in the days of face oils and serums and there are a lot of companies out there telling us that face creams are just full of water. I always check out those companies to see if they sell anything other than oils!

And here's why our mothers were right when they advised using a good thick night cream.

At night your skin is more permeable, that is holey, leaky. Or as the Oxford dictionary says “allowing liquids or gases to pass through it”. You literally lose more water when you sleep. And as you age your skin loses those vital Natural Mositurising Factors and gets thinner so you lose even water at night.

But fear not, the flip side of your skin being more permeable at night means your skin is also more absorptive. So what you deliver to it gets soaked up like water into a sponge. A good face cream applied at night is going to effortlessly feed you, giving your skin that much needed TLC.

Our face cream is rich in antioxidants, essential fatty acids, vitamins and other nutrients and has a natural humectant. Below are the skin-loving ingredients I choose and why they work.

Jojoba

A highly penetrating oil that closely resembles skin's own sebum and is a great barrier to moisture loss. Contains myristic acid, which is anti-inflammatory. Especially good for mature, dry and oily skin. It balances, softens, and soothes and leaves the skin silky and smooth. It improves elasticity and suppleness, has anti-oxidant and astringent qualities.

Marula

A luxurious oil that is a powerful antioxidant that nourishes and protects from free radicals. It helps reduce the appearance of fine lines, redness while leaving a youthful glow. It is a natural anti microbial

Rosehip

Another antioxidant powerhouse, full of fatty acids and vitamins. High in linoleic and linolenic acids as well as Vitamin A and C, which are essential for skin. It promotes skin regeneration, and can improve skin flexibility and permeability and is one of the best anti-aging oils.

Evening primrose

Full of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids which helps skin retain moisture. It has potent anti-inflammatory properties and promotes, strong skin cell regeneration. It's an exceptionally nourishing oil that assists with dry skin and is regarded as an anti-wrinkle agent.

Glycerin

A natural plant sugar lubricates the skin and draws moisture from both the lower tissues and from the air to makes the skin feel softer and smoother.

Don't take our word for why this face cream works so well, check out what our users say on the review page.