During winter and early spring, the skin is most susceptible to dehydration, dryness and sensitivity. Some even feel that their skin remains dry like a desert no matter how many products they use to hydrate and moisturize it. The reality is, rather than ineffective products, the problem often lies with incorrect skincare practices.
In fact, achieving well-hydrated and moisturized skin that can withstand any dry and cold weather is not difficult as long as you understand the principles of hydration and moisture, and learn how to properly take care of your skin.
In our last article, we have talked about the basic principles of hydrationa and moisture, the linkage between skin dryness and sensitive, eczema and rosacea skin, as well as how our diet affects and improves skin dryness (for details, please read: Basic and Advanced Principles of Skin Hydration and Moisture - Part 1）. This time, let's talk about how to maximize the hydrating and moisturizing effects at all steps of your skincare routine!
| The skin doesn't get oily during oily, so can we just use water to quickly rinse in the morning?
Water alone cannot cleanse the skin of dust, irritants, and bacteria, nor can it break down oils (the skin secretes sebum even during winter!), waste passed out by the skin, and skincare products used the night before. If you don't properly cleanse with a cleanser in the morning, the skin may get congested, sensitized and inflamed easily, follow-up skincare products can't penetrate, which all can lead to drier skin.
High quality cleansers these days are filled with hydrating, nourishing ingredients, which means, instead of making the skin dry, they can actually add nourishment and hydration back to the skin.
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Goji Mallow Cleanse™ <- Click to Shop
| Is there need to double cleanse at night if we only use sunscreen or light makeup, to avoid over-cleansing the face?
Not only are skincare ingredients divided into either water- or oil-soluble, so are impurities and pollutants. For example makeup, sunscreen, oil-based pollutants, excess oil, and smoke from cooking, and certain ingredients in your skincare products, are all oil-soluble, while sweat and some other dirt are water-soluble. Now, remember oil and water don’t mix well? This essentially means these oil-based impurities cannot be fully dissolved and rid of by a water-based cleanser.
When these oil-based impurities do not get properly cleansed off everyday, they will start to build up, clog pores, and cause inflammations that lead to blackheads, blemishes, acne, and irritations, ultimately resulting in dry and dehydrated skin. Follow-up skincare cannot penetrate properly either.
In other words, unless you are at home all day doing absolutely nothing and without putting on anything on your face, do not rely on one cleanser to really cleanse the face, regardless of whether makeup was worn.
If you are feeling super lazy, then cleanse twice with a cleansing milk or cleansing cream, but this method cannot be applied to cleansing gel or when heavy makeup is used.
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| What to do if the skin feels tight after using a facial cleanser?
If your skin feels tight after cleansing, it means your skin lacks oil (not water!). This often occurs due to foaming and harsh cleansers, soaps (including handmade soaps), facial brushes, or excessive friction, which can cause excessive loss of the skin's protective lipids. In this case, instead of avoiding cleansing altogether, stop using facial brushes or washcloths and switch to non-foaming cleansers or cleansing milk or cleansing creams. If you don't like creamy textures, non-foaming gel cleansers are also an option.
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| What is the best water temperature for cleansing the face
The temperature of the human face is around 32~34°C. Water that is too cold cannot thoroughly cleanse the skin, while water that is too hot can wash away excessive sebum and disrupt the skin barrier. Therefore, the ideal water temperature for face cleansing is considered to be around 34~36°C, which is close to the face's surface temperature and believed to be able to effectively cleanse sebum and dirt from the skin without causing irritation.
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Gentle Matter Daily Moisture Cleanser <- Click to Shop
| Is it necessary to vigorously rub in a circular motion to cleanse the face properly?
Vigorously rubbing the face in circular moition is unnecessary friction for the skin. Friction not only damages the skin barrier, leading to dryness, but can also pull and stretch the skin, causing sagging and wrinkles. The correct method is to take an adequate amount of facial cleanser and dot it on the face, focusing on the T-zone and chin area. Then, using two to three fingers, gently and slowly massage in small circular motions, about the size of a fifty-cent coin, while lightly pressing on areas prone to clogging. After one minute, rinse off gently with lukewarm water in a downward motion.
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| How soon should you start your skincare routine after cleansing in the morninng and after shower at night?
In general, it is best to start the skincare routine immediately and apply a hydrating toner within 60 seconds to replenish lost water. After 20 minutes, the skin becomes drier than before cleansing or showering.
If you are unable to complete the entire skincare routine immediately, then at least apply a layer of hydrating toner first. Then, when you have sufficient time, apply toner again, and proceed with the remaining steps of your skincare routine, including serums, face oil, and moisturizer.
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| Is toner a must?
Many people believe that the purpose of a toner is to help cleanse the skin again. However, repeatedly wiping the skin with a cotton pad can cause friction and damage the skin barrier, making the skin sensitive and fragile. So, if it's not for secondary cleansing, what is the difference between a toner and a hydrating serum, and is it really necessary?
Simply put, using a toner within 60 seconds after cleansing helps immediately and directly replenish the water lost during cleansing and showering. If you are unable to immediately proceed with your skincare routine after cleansing, applying a layer of toner can also help prevent excessive dehydration of the skin. However, the most important aspect is that hydrated skin, like a sponge, quickly absorbs the active ingredients in subsequent products and delivers them to the deeper layers of the skin. Therefore, if you skip the toner and directly use a hydrating serum on dry skin, the benefits will be minimal.
Think about how you wash the dishes. When you squeeze dish-washing liquid on a dry sponge, it won’t get distributed evenly on the sponge. The skin after cleansing is like that dry sponge. Without that extra water in the skin, all the skincare products you put on the skin afterwards won’t get absorbed and distributed in the skin; whereas if you put serums, oils or moisturizer on damp skin, they will be able to penetrate much better.
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holi(water) Hyaluronic Pearl & Rose Toner <- Click to Shop
| What are the differences between an astringent toner and hydrating toner?
In the past, almost all toners contain alcohol, which was used to rid the skin of sebum, and help with evaporation for a lighter, fresher and dry-to-touch sensation, but it is also this particular property that may irritate the skin. These drying alcohol usually appear as Alcohol, Alcohol Denat., Isopropyl Alcohol, Methanol and SD Alcohol in a product’s ingredient list.
Nowadays, doesn't matter if a product is called toner, softener or essence, the step before serum is mostly for hydrating purposes, with added ingredients to target different skin concerns.
Of course, there are still toners with these drying alcohols on the market, claiming to be beneficial for oily and acne-prone skin. The truth is, they can deteriorate the skin’s protective barrier, rendering it ineffective at keeping moisture in and bacteria out, while stimulating oil production. These all may lead to even worse dryness, irritations, oiliness and breakouts.
Therefore, it doesn't matter if it is a toner, softener or essence, the point is to choose one that doesn't contain the drying alcohols mentioned above.
Note that not all ingredients with the word ‘alcohol’ is bad though. Many are safe and can actually benefit the skin. For instance, Benzyl Alcohol is a natural component of essential oils and an approved preservative under the COSMOS Organic Certification criteria that can inhibit bacterial reproduction, whereas Stearyl, Cetearyl & Cetyl Alcohol are derived from palm kernel and/or coconut oil, and are considered fatty-alcohol which have skin soothing and softening properties.
| Should toner be applied with a cotton pad or with fingers?
Friction is the enemy of the skin! The purpose of a toner is not to cleanse the skin again, and repeatedly wiping the face with a cotton pad will only damage the skin barrier due to friction, leading to even drier skin. Additionally, cotton pads absorb a significant amount of the toner, which is basically a waste!
The best and non-irritating method is to take an appropriate amount of toner into the palm of your hand and gently press it onto the face using your fingers. Alternatively, you can directly spray the toner onto the face. After that, lightly rub your palms together to slightly warm them up, then press the toner into the skin to help the toner penetrate better.
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| If a previously used toner suddenly feels "tingly" or "stinging," could it be due to a sudden allergy developed towards certain ingredients?
It is indeed possible for the skin to suddenly become allergic to certain ingredients, but the chances of that are very small. Generally speaking, if you suddenly feel a "tingly" or "stinging" sensation when using products that you've been fine with before, it is more likely due to a compromised skin barrier rather than an allergic reaction. It's similar to when you have a scratch, even water can sting! When this happens, try apply a layer of face oil after cleansing to protect the skin barrier before using other products. This not only acts as a buffer and can help reduce the tingly stinging sensation when applying other skincare products, but can also help repair the skin barrier at the same time.
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Hydr8 Misting Veil™ <- Click to Shop
| When the skin is dry, it seems like no matter how much serum is applied, it doesn't get absorbed. What can help?
When your skin is dry and flaky, your first instinct may be to pile on hydrating serums and heavy moisturizers as you think the skin is weak and fragile. Guess what, this is when you actually need to exfoliate!
When the weather is cold and the skin is dry, our skin's turnover slows, and layers of dead skin cells start to sit on top of the skin. This means that the skin would feel rough and dry, and since it can no longer reflect light, the complexion would appear dull and lacklustre. In addition, your skincare products also won’t be able to do their job such as hydrating and moisturizing, no matter how effective they are.In addition, these dead skin cells will also trap dirt and bacteria inside the skin, which will then result in inflammations and acne.
Use an acid product that contains AHA, BHA and PHA will help dissolve the bond between dead skin cells to speed up and ease the naturally turnover process, as well as unclog pores, preventing acne and blackheads. This way, products will be able to penetrate better, pigmentation will fade faster, and the skin will become smoother and more radiant. Over time, it will also increase collagen and hyaluronic acid deposition and synthesis over time.
Note that scrubs are not a good exfoliating choice, as the friction caused by rubbing the little beads on the skin can cause micro-tears in the skin and damage the skin barrier, thereby creating an opening for bacteria, as well as disrupting the skin's water retention function.
For more information on how to properly use acids to regularly exfoliate, as well as the benefits of different acids, please read Skin Benefits of Regular Ecxfoliation .
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| For hydrating serums, is hyaluronic acid enough?
Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan found throughout the body’s connective tissue. It is typically found in quantities of approximately 10 to 20 grams in the body, and about half of which is stored in the skin to provide support to the structural proteins of the skin, collagen and elastin for that firm, plumped look.
Because hyaluronic acid molecules are relatively large, they do not easily penetrate the skin. Therefore, they primarily work on the surface of the skin, providing immediate and temporary improvement in skin hydration, elasticity, and even reducing the appearance of dry lines and fine wrinkles.
However, since the molecules are larger and thus typically remain on the surface of the skin, many people may find hyaluronic acid serums sticky, and when used with other products, they may even pile.
To address this issue, many products use hyaluronic acid that has been broken down into ultra-low molecular weight or even nano-sized particles (≤ 25 kDa) to aid in penetration. However, when the molecules are this small, there is a possibility that they can carry bacteria and harmful substances from the skin's surface into the deeper layers. If your skin is already compromised or more fragile, issues such as acne, redness, sensitivity, and inflammation may arise.
Another point to note is that more hyaluronic acid is not necessarily better. Research has shown that the hydrating effect of hyaluronic acid decreases at a concentration of 2%+. In fact, exceeding 2% concentration can often lead to dry, sensitive skin, and even inflammation.
Therefore, when choosing a hydrating serum, it is best not to focus solely on hyaluronic acid. Instead, opt for products that contain a range of hydrating ingredients such as β-glucan, aloe vera juice, various hydrosols, bamboo sap, lactic acid, cucumber, sodium PCA, panthenol, glycogen, silk peptides, amino acids, and Saccharide Isomerate, for even better hydrating effects.
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| Are face oils a must? Aren't hydrating serums enough?
Regardless of age, a hydrating serum is always recommended. However, as we reach our 30s, sebum production decreases, and the skin barrier gradually becomes more fragile. This can lead to a decrease in the skin's ability to retain moisture and fight off bacteria and irritants, resulting in increased dryness, sensitivity, and inflammation. Lack of oil can also contribute to the visibility of wrinkles and loss of elasticity. Therefore, after the age of 30, in addition to a hydrating serum, it is recommended to incorporate a face oil into your skincare routine, regardless of your skin type.
Why does lean meat become wrinkly and dry after cooking, while A5 Wagyu remain tender and smooth? The answer is the wagyu's sufficient and balanced oil compositions! Our skin is just the same!
To prevent dry skin and achieve a plump and hydrated complexion, remember both water and oil are essential!
Indeed, many people may not enjoy using face oils as they fear it will feel greasy or clog their pores. However, just like how children may not like eating vegetables but still need them for their health, incorporating a face oil is essential for our skin's wellbeing
As long as you choose a high-quality face oil, there is no need to worry about it feeling greasy or clogging your pores.
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holi(oil) Ageless Face Serum <- Click to Shop
| Does face oil only provide nourishment to the skin? Is a single-oil face oil formula sufficient?
Face oils contain essential fatty acids that can nourish the skin and repair and strengthen the skin barrier. This helps to maintain the skin's ability to retain moisture and fight off bacteria and irritants, thus preventing issues like dryness, inflammation, sensitivity, eczema, rosacea, and acne. They can also help balance the composition of natural sebum, reducing excessive oil production and alleviating problems like oily skin and clogged pores.
Furthermore, facial oils also contain numerous vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, polyphenols, flavonoids, and plant nutrients that are beneficial for the skin. Depending on the type of oil, they can provide additional benefits such as combating free radicals, stimulating collagen production, reducing wrinkles, improving conditions like rosacea and eczema, brightening the skin, soothing inflammation and sensitivity, slowing down the aging process, and even improving scars.
As for whether a single-oil formula enough, let's put it this way. Every single oil and botanical extract has a different nutrient profile, and when combined correctly, can work in synergy to provide multiplied benefits. In addition, a multi-oil formula in almost all cases feel way lighter on the skin than a single-oil formula. So instead of choosing a single-oil formula, choose one that is formulated with multiple oils and botanical extracts for maximum skincare benefits.
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| Are face oils not suitable for oily or acne-prone skin?
First, you need to understand whether your oiliness is a result of dehydration and a damaged skin barrier, or genetics.
When the skin is dehydrated and the barrier is damaged, the skin would produce more and thicker oils in an attempt to compensate and fix the barrier, resulting in excessive oiliness. The profile of the excessed oils would also be imbalanced——the linoleic acid (omega-6) concentration would decrease, while the oleic acid (omega-9) concentration would increase. What this means is that the sebum would become thicker and stickier, exacerbating issues such as clogged pores and acne.
On the other hand, congenitally oily skin has a deteriorated barrier function, leaving it in an unprotected state. Unless enough lipids and nutrients are provided to the skin, in an attempt to repair the barrier that is primarily made of lipids, the skin would secrete even more sebum, resulting in skin that gets oilier and oilier.
In other words, while dry, sensitive, inflamed and redness-prone skin and face oils are a perfect match, the truth is face oils are suitable for all skin types, including oily, combination, dehydrated, and acne-prone skin. When the right combination of oils is used, it can actually help stabilize and regulate sebum production, resetting the skin's water-oil balance and reducing excessive oiliness. Some oils also have excellent soothing and anti-inflammatory properties, making them particularly suitable for skin prone to acne and blemishes.
Of course, there are some oils that should not be used in skincare, such as coconut oil, which can easily clog pores.
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| Why does the skin still feel rough, dull, with more visible lines after cleansing, even when a thick moisturizer is used daily?
Many people mistakenly believe that their skin is dry when it's actually due to a buildup of aged cells in the skin's outermost layer, the stratum corneum. When was the last time you bought a moisturizer, piled it on, washed it off after cleansing, and felt that the roughness and tightness were still there, so you went and bought an even heavier moisturizer?
Although its speed and efficiency decreases with age, our skin does continuously renew itself naturally, whereby skin cells move from the bottom of the epidermis up to the surface, after which they die and shed to reveal the next layer of fresh, healthier skin cells underneath. These fresh skin cells would then eventually die and shed too to give way to even newer skin cells.
Generally speaking, the thicker the texture of a cream, the more occlusive ingredients it contains. These ingredients, such as mineral oil, lanolin, mineral wax, coconut oil, beeswax, and shea butter, basically form a physical barrier on the skin's surface, to help prevent transepidermal water loss. Along with other texture-enhancing ingredients, they provide an immediate feeling of comfort upon application. However, using thick and rich creams over an extended period of time can trap these dead skin cells on the skin's surface, inhibiting their natural shedding and impeding the skin's natural renewal process. When these aged cells cannot shed, the skin becomes dry, dull, rough, and even skin that was previously smooth may develop dry lines and fine lines.
Here’s what worse. According to renowned dermatologist Zein Obagi’s book “The Art of Skin Health”, the accumulation of dead skin cells at the top signals the epidermis to stop creating new cells as quickly, the mother cells deep in the epidermis will stop dividing and creating new cells, which ultimately slows down the entire cell regeneration and renewal process, and accelerates skin aging.
In other words, as the speed of the skin's renewal process decreases with age, when the skin feels dry, rough, and tight, it may be due to an excessive buildup of dead skin cells. Thus the first thing you need to do is not to switch to a richer and thicker cream, but to use an effective yet gentle acid-based product to accelerate the skin's natural renewal process and facilitate the shedding of dead skin cells, which can in turn strengthen the skin's barrier function with healthier and newly regenerated skin.
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| Why does the skin gets drier and drier when moisturizers are used everyday?
The skin has a naturally built-in function of hydrating itself. When heavy moisturizers are continuously applied to the skin, the cells in the epidermis would send a signal to the cells in the dermis telling them there is enough hydration so there is no need for more, instead of asking them to move hydration up to the skin surface. Gradually, the cells in the dermis would become lazy, go dormant, and ultimately stop regulating its own hydration level, resulting in drier and less elastic skin.
Instead of a heavy moisturizer that mainly makes up of occlusive ingredients like petrolatum, lanolin, mineral oil, beeswax, and shea butter, use a good face oil, which helps to rebuild your skin barrier and supports the skin’s natural water retention function, and then use a light hydrator or moisturizer, which nourishes the cells without impeding the skin’s natural hydrating function.
When you first stop using a heavy moisturizer and break the cycle, your skin may feel dry at first. This is all natural, and it is best to resist the urge to put on that heavy moisturizer and just ride it out whilst using an oil to nourish the cells. Once your skin’s natural hydrating function kicks back into gear in a few days, the old layer of cells gets shedded and the new layer of skin cells comes up, you will find you won’t need as much moisturizer as you thought, and your skin will feel healthier.
By following this approach, you can cultivate a skin environment that won't feel dry and tight, even without relying on thick moisturizers!
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| Is thick moisturizers a reason behind acne?
Yes! But this is not because of too many nutrients. The real reason is, thick moisturizers influence the natural skin renewal cycle by sticking the dead skin cells to the skin instead of letting them shed naturally. This layer of accumulated dead skin cells would trap oils and dirt inside the skin, clog pores, create an oxygen-free environment that acne bacteria love, and kill off ‘friendly’ bacteria that keep skin healthy. The result? Blackheads, whiteheads, clogged pores, acne, and even inflammations.
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| What is the best way to apply moisturizers?
Many people have the habit of applying a dot of moisturizer each on their forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin, and then rubbing it out. However, this not only causes friction and disrupts the skin barrier but also leads to an uneven distribution of the moisturizer, resulting in some areas being drier while others may be more prone to breakouts!
A better approach is to take the moisturizer and apply five dots on each cheek, three dots on the forehead, and one dot each on the nose and chin. Then, using the second, third, and fourth fingers of both hands, gently pat the moisturizer out. Finally, rub your hands together slightly to warm them up and use the palm of your hands to lightly press the product into the skin, which can enhance pentration.
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| Is there need to use moisturizers after a face oil?
This would depend on your personal preference and skin condition.
Since the occlusive ingredients in most moisturizers can clog pores, hinder skin renewal, and trap, for acne-prone skin, eczema, and rosacea skin, using a face oil without applying a moisturizer afterwards is one of the ways to help reduce acne and inflammation without drying out the skin (moisturizers without or with limited occlusive ingredients are an exception, however).
On the other hand, for dry and aging skin, using face oils followed by a lightweight moisturizer can nourish cells, strengthen the skin barrier and prevent water loss. This approach is more effective in addressing dryness and tightness compared to using face oils or moisturizers alone.
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| Can sheet mask reabsorb water and dry the skin out if left on for too long?
This is actually a misconception——research has shown that this doesn't really happen
With that being said, leaving sheet masks on for too long is not good for the skin.
Skin maceration happens as the stratum corneum becomes saturated with water, and the corneocytes start to swell. Not only will the skin gets wrinkly, it will also become brittle as the intercellular lamellar structure that controls barrier function becomes unstable, and the corneodesmosome degrades. When the barrier function weakens, trans-epidermal water loss accelerates, leading to more dehydrated skin that is dry, tight and itchy; whilst the risk of penetration of bacteria and irritants gets higher at the same time as the damaged barrier can no longer block out them out, resulting in "moisture-associated skin damage", such as acne, sensitivity and even inflammations and infections.
This is especially problematic when the skin is broken, such as from acne, eczema and rosacea, and even after laser treatments.
Therefore, don't leave sheet masks on for too long, even if the skin is dehydrated. If you feel that throwing a still moist sheet mask away is too much of a waste, put it on your neck or décolletage!
| Can using a hydrating mask everyday make the skin more hydrated, especially after laser skin treatments?
If you're only leaving the hydrating mask on for 3-5 minutes, similar to simplu lotion-masking, to make your foundation adhere better or to enhance the absorption of subsequent skincare products, it's fine to do it daily. However, if you find yourself needing to keep the mask on for 20-30 minutes every day to prevent your skin from drying out, it indicates that there might be an issue with your skincare routine, and your skin barrier is severely compromised.
At this point, your skin actually needs more oil rather than just water!
Why doesn't a hydrating mask provide significant result? A compromised skin barrier is like a leaky dam that cannot retain water. Even if you continuously add in lots of water, water loss will still accelerate, while the stratum corneum becomes brittle due to excessive water, and the layered structure responsible for barrier function control becomes unstable, exacerbating said problems. So if you're relying on hydrating masks to temporarily prevent dryness, the first thing you should do is stop using them and focus on repairing your lipid barrier with face oils or balm-type products!
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| Does sleeping masks really work?
During sleep, not only does the body sweat, but the water in the skin also evaporates. Sleeping with air conditioning, fans, or heaters can also damage the skin barrier.
Therefore, if you wake up with dry or oily skin, it means that you need to increase the moisture in your skin before bed and strengthen your skin barrier.
Using a sleeping mask helps to maintain the skin's hydration during sleep, prevent water loss and enhance the barrier function. It also allows various nutrients and ingredients in the mask to work on repairing and regenerating damaged cells, as well as achieving targeted skin benefits, especially when growth hormones are secreted three to four hours into our sleep. during the three to four hours of hormonal secretion that occurs during deep sleep, achieving targeted skincare benefits.
Moreover, the advantage of a sleeping mask is that you don't have to worry about the issue of "moisture-associated skin damage" mentioned above. It is especially suitable for use during eczema and rosacea flare-ups or after laser procedures
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| What is the best way to use face masks in a SOS dry skin situation?
Sometimes, skin can suddenly turn ultra dry and start to peel or crack. Flaky skin and acne scabs can also make foundation look patchy and uneven.
For ultra dry, cracking skin, here’s a trick, which combines 2 techniques from dermatologists:
- Cleanse;
- Exfoliate (can be in the form of an acid cleanser, toner or serum);
- Use toner, eye serum, serum(s), then an oil (in a thicker layer than usual);
- Soak a piece of paper mask (with packaging, drugstore ones are fine) in warm water and heat it up to 40°C. If you have rosacea or inflamed skin, put it in the fridge 30 minutes to an hour earlier instead;
- Layer the paper mask on top of the toner, serum, and oil;
- Remove the paper mask after the designated time period, then apply another few drops of face oils, and seal off with a moisturizer.
You must be asking why heat the paper mask up or cool it in the fridge, and why layer it ON TOP of toner, eye serum, serum(s) and oil. Right?
First of all, heat is known to increase skin permeability, which results in better absorption of the skincare products you just put on to reach deeper into the layers of the skin. Also, at this level, the heat will relax the muscles and expand blood vessels to increase blood flow circulation, allowing oxygen and nutrients to be delivered to targeted areas for cell repair and regeneration. Just don’t heat up products in the bottle though, as it’s not good for stability.
On the other hand, when the skin is inflamed, using a cooled paper mask can help constrict the blood vessels, reduce redness, and calm inflammatory reactions.
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