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everyone needs moisturizer--beauty myth?
  • sarahf
    I never wore moisturizer and never felt dry (in fact, tend to be oily). Mention that at any beauty counter and you'll get a lecture about everyone needing moisturizer. I personally don't think that recommendation is evidence-based, and it doesn't square wtih common sense. If your skin is producing it's own barrier and it is not dry, why would a moisturizer be necessary? I did a search and was satisfied to find the following site I thought I'd share on beauty myths. http://www.aocd.org/skin/myth-09.html Any thoughts?
  • KarenKaren
    Dr. Benabio, a blogger of things related to skin, agrees with this. Here's an interesting post from him on this topic:
    http://thedermblog.com/2008/04/09/how-to-save-money-on-facial-moisturizers-stop-washing-your-face/
    Now, I only wash my face at night, as per his suggestion, and splash water on it in my morning shower.
  • vananners
    I very much agree that not everyone needs moisturizer. Please refer to Paula Begoun's books and research. She is a big advocate for only applying it when needed. I have very, very oily skin and it has gotten much better (even calmed down breakouts!) since I stopped believing that I needed moisturizer.
  • sarahf
    Right, vananners, I did well for years (occasional pimples but nothing major) with soap and water only and without using moisturizer (no toner either past my teens). Every time someone has convinced me to try a moisturizer that's supposedly fine for oily skin, I get break-outs. And I'd say I'm only mildly to moderately oily, not extremely. It kind of used to make me laugh when I would go to the beauty counter and admit that I had never used anything but soap and water, and I'd be there with my skin looking perfectly healthy (not a bit dry or unhappy) and they'd still try to persuade me there must be a problem that needed to be addressed with a moisturizer. I remember one of the salespeople practically whispering a reassurance to me behind her pushy colleague's back that, "your skin looks fine so I don't think you have to have one if you've gone this long without it."
  • vananners
    Yeah, that doesn't surprise me one bit that they were selling you something you didn't need! Stick with what works for your skin, I've been through a lot of heartache with acne just because I was listening to other people's advise and not listening to the peer-reviewed studies and scientifically backed advise (Paula Begoun saved my skin!).
  • JamiSingsJamiSings
    I never said anything at the beauty counter but I said to an estitiction(sp?) that I never use moisturizer because my skin is so oily naturally and my forehead always shiny. She claimed it was because I don't use it that I'm like that, that my skin is "making extra oils to compisate." But dang it, everything I tried just made the oiliness and breakouts even worse.
    You wonder if these people ever do any research or are just spouting whatever they're told by others whom have no idea what they're talking about.
  • vananners
    She was just trying to make a sale, unfortunately. A lot of estheticians (I know this because I am one) are fed BS by product representatives that travel from spa to spa "informing" (aka selling) the products to the estheticians.
  • JamiSingsJamiSings
    Thing is, she works for my dermatologist, so it wasn't a spa thing! Probably if my dermatologist had been in the room she would've told her that I didn't need a moisturizer. And somedays, seeing how shiny my forehead is, I'd give anything to have dry skin! LOL (Actually, I got that Avon Magic X stuff. Works okay. While it doesn't keep the shine entirely at bay, I'd say it cuts it down to about half. I no longer can use my forehead to signal airplanes in the dark.)
  • sarahf
    I got the same story about the compensatory oils. The only part I can buy based on my personal experience is that harsh cleansers and irritants like menthol can lead to compensatory oils (why I use mild, but not moisturizing, bar soap and no toner). I can't deal with those "tingly" mentholated teenage cleansers for oily skin, but I digress...
  • vananners
    sarahf - you are 100% right about menthol, camphor, etc. increasing oil production. These have been shown in studies to also reduce the skin's protective barrier, allowing bacteria to "invade" and causing more acne!

    Also, please be careful using bar soaps on the face, they can have a very high pH and the ingredients that keep the bar in it's bar form can clog pores.
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