Product Watch: any moisturiser that packs ceramides in also rejuvenates your face from the first application
Bind water to dry skin all day with ceramide moisturisers.
The last week in October may have you thinking about switching to a richer moisturiser or just wondering how much difference any of them make.
Dame Helen Mirren, face of L'Oréal’s Age Perfect range, caused a stir at a 2017 press conference by revealing that she knows her moisturiser “probably does f--- all, but it just makes me feel better". That’s just fine for a star receiving free products, of course, but women who’d already bought Age Perfect creams probably felt a little duped. Or perhaps she voiced the thoughts of millions.
In truth, any impact the anti-ageing ingredients in these creams make is limited, as even if there are great dollops of them in a jar (rarely a guarantee, water and glycerin are the most copious ingredients in so many moisturisers), they cannot penetrate skin’s superficial layers deeply enough to significantly improve elastin or collagen development. Skin protects us and if it were permeable enough to absorb a smattering of antioxidants so deeply it would also be letting in all kinds of nasty substances.
Broad-spectrum sun protection remains the best anti-ageing cream in the land, given that UV damage is the cause of most non-DNA related skin ageing. Moisturiser created for its eponymous purpose (the active retention of moisture), on the other hand, really can help with dry skin.
You’ve probably heard of the hydrolipidic barrier — the thin film of natural oils and dead cells on skin’s surface that helps it to retain moisture. Skin dryness and sensitivity happens when this barrier is depleted. It is formed after skin produces a matrix of essential fats that surround dead cells. Both are expended naturally, rising to the skin’s surface. They mesh together to form corneocytes, which act as a physical barrier.
There are four families of moisturising ingredients that can help: barrier-mimicking ceramides; softening emollients (eg. colloidal oatmeal, shea butter); moistening humectants (eg. honey, glycerin); and occlusive active ingredients (eg. paraffin, petrolatum) — the family that shields even the most inflamed dry skin.
Ceramides are first-class moisturisers because they make up more than half of the hydrolipidic barrier we produce naturally. If your cells are the barrier’s bricks, these waxy little lipids are the mortar. They work to hold in moisture and protect skin from the visible effects of pollution.
What’s more, two components of ceramides — phytosphingosine and sphingolipids— help skin produce even more ceramides. Any moisturiser that packs them in is also rejuvenating your face from the first application. They can reduce sensitivity and rosacea flare-ups. They should really get more ink. Their lack of mass appeal may be down to the relatively few pharmacy brands that make ample use of them. Cerave skincare is very accessibly-priced and puts ceramides in everything. Even their Hydrating Cream-to-Foam-Cleanser, €12.50 at boots.ie, takes your makeup off with ceramides and hyaluronic acid.
And while you're adding supportive fats to your skin’s diet, you may as well ditch anything that undermines them.
Abrasive scrubs and tools such as facial brushes or micro-needling rollers can compromise skin’s moisture barrier. Exfoliation is still a desirable skincare step no matter and an acid exfoliant like takes it gently. It is worth diarising how your skin reacts to any new product. Keeping a diary is actually a great way of getting to the bottom of a skin issue. You wear your skin every day, you know it better than anyone and notes can help you predict seasonal or even monthly changes.
The 'winter skin' that comes with dry air is not as troublesome in rainy Ireland as in some other countries. Wind and cold-triggered redness, however, really is a bother. Balms are soothing but can get quite messy under a mask.
Many women associate periods with breakouts but dry skin can also be exacerbated by the beginning of your cycle, when oestrogen and progesterone are at their lowest.
This is also the time of the month when your mood takes a dip, so treating yourself to a moisturising facial or face mask makes even more sense. Seoulista’s Wonderberry Skin Defence Instant Facial, €8.99 at seoulistabeauty.com, plumps and brightens skin in 20 minutes, though there is no need to wash off its blend of antioxidants and ceramides.
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