I'm confused by Moisturising ingredients: oils, HA etc.
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:52 am
Hey everyone, this post doesn't apply to any SN product in particular, but I've been looking through the products (I love how all the active ingredients are explained) and I've become increasingly puzzled by 'moisturising' and 'hydrating'. From my experience I've seen that the people on this board are very knowledgeable about skin science, and I was hoping someone could set me straight.
In my last post (http://host.silknaturals.com/forum/view ... f=8&t=3458), I learnt a little bit about moisturising but I have a few more questions.
Firstly, what is the difference (not in terms of apperance, but in scientific-ish terms) between dry skin and dehydrated skin? I know one can have oily skin that is dehydrated (and sometimes I get this), but what do the different terms mean - dry skin is a lack of oil, and dehydrated skin is a lack of...water?
Following on from that, what is the difference between moisturising ingredients and hydrating ingredients? How do they work differently within the skin? (And what are some examples of moisturising ingredients? I think I know quite a few hydrating ones)
Where do oils fit in? Most moisturisers contain oils, but it seems like these oils are not the 'main event' of the moisturiser, and are perhaps used for something else? As Jen said in response to my previous post, oils work to seal moisture in, so is that what they're doing when they're an ingredient in moisturisers?
Lastly, a lot of people suffer from dehydrated skin in winter (maybe due to central heating?), what is the actual cause of this? Is it that the air is too dry so the skin can't absorb moisture/hydration from it, or perhaps because the dry air 'sucks' moisture/hydration from the skin?
I'm sure this is a headache to read, I'm sorry; I tried to explain myself as clearly as possible!
In my last post (http://host.silknaturals.com/forum/view ... f=8&t=3458), I learnt a little bit about moisturising but I have a few more questions.
Firstly, what is the difference (not in terms of apperance, but in scientific-ish terms) between dry skin and dehydrated skin? I know one can have oily skin that is dehydrated (and sometimes I get this), but what do the different terms mean - dry skin is a lack of oil, and dehydrated skin is a lack of...water?
Following on from that, what is the difference between moisturising ingredients and hydrating ingredients? How do they work differently within the skin? (And what are some examples of moisturising ingredients? I think I know quite a few hydrating ones)
Where do oils fit in? Most moisturisers contain oils, but it seems like these oils are not the 'main event' of the moisturiser, and are perhaps used for something else? As Jen said in response to my previous post, oils work to seal moisture in, so is that what they're doing when they're an ingredient in moisturisers?
Lastly, a lot of people suffer from dehydrated skin in winter (maybe due to central heating?), what is the actual cause of this? Is it that the air is too dry so the skin can't absorb moisture/hydration from it, or perhaps because the dry air 'sucks' moisture/hydration from the skin?
I'm sure this is a headache to read, I'm sorry; I tried to explain myself as clearly as possible!