Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Skin All moisturizers look the same

  • All moisturizers look the same

    Posted by luukheum on October 4, 2017 at 9:05 pm

    To me all moisturizers look the same really about 30 minutes after applying given they are not too oily like petrolatum - they make your face reflective. Not talking about texture or feeling of the products themselves, just the end-result: my skin does not look better. I doubt there is any difference at all except for reflectiveness/greasiness. I can’t find any research or pictures or comparisons. Strange though in a multi-billion dollar business! 

    In other words, the only visible differences are the amount of water retained in the skin; the TEWL rating of an ingredient; and the reflective properties of the ingredients on skin? Is this the whole story in terms of the so called ‘skin glow’ people talk about? Or, do some moisturizers actually also function more as make-up, by filling in uneven skintexture with for example emollients like squalene etcetera?

    If so the perfect ingredient/moisturizer will not be petrolatum, because it is too reflective on skin. You don’t want to slap it on before big events; weddings/going out/any moment you want to look your best. Also, other ingredients are perhaps more suited to filling in uneven skintexture than petrolatum. Maybe dimethicone should be considered. I would like to know more about this.

    Doreen replied 7 years ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
  • 1 Reply
  • Doreen

    Member
    October 5, 2017 at 8:53 pm

    All the fuss around most skin products are exaggerated marketing techniques.
    Don’t expect major differences in appearance of an already healthy skin.
    If you’re suffering from a skin disease/problem skin, you can expect bigger differences though. Like using oat(meal) on eczemic laesions or having less problems with acne if you use salicylic acid or tretinoin.

    Some peptides (like Synake®) can have instant Botox®-like effects on wrinkles that can last for a few hours. Vitamin A derivatives (like tretinoin) can have a slight effect on shallow wrinkles over time. Regarding wrinkles, these are the only ones I know that can be visibly noticeable.
    Some brands even promise morphological changes (a more V-shaped chin for example), it’s almost hilarious. Who actually falls for that nonsense I wonder? One can’t expect face lifts from a jar of cream.

    So it all comes to what you expect from a moisturizer. They do moisturize indeed. But isn’t that what they were meant to do in the first place, hence the name? Your issue is wanting a healthy glow? Don’t expect it all from a moisturizer. Use highlighting techniques for example.

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