A Dermatologist’s Guide to Moisturizing Your Face

Everyone wants to have better-looking skin, but unfortunately, not everyone knows how to get it. In fact, many Americans commit some serious skincare faux pas without even realizing it.

According to one survey, 52% of Americans use body wash to cleanse their skin, while one-third of people wash their face with water. 54% sometimes skip washing their face altogether.

Moisturizing is one of the most important parts of any skincare regimen, so today we’re going to look at how to moisturize your face. The truth is that it’s easy to do, and in two minutes, you can complete your entire skincare routine.

Read on to learn all about how to moisturize your face.

Know Your Skin Type

The first step to moisturizing your face is to know your skin type. This dictates the types of products you’ll use, so it’s important to understand your skin.

Using the wrong moisturizer or other products can harm your skin.

People who have oily skin have excess amounts of sebum. Large pores, blackheads, and a “shiny” appearance are some of the common signs of oily skin.

Dry skin is the opposite—it’s when your face doesn’t have enough oil. People with dry skin often have flaky skin and sometimes suffer from dull complections.

Combination skin is somewhere in the middle. Most people who have this difficult skin type have both oily and dry patches on their faces.

Choose the Right Product

Choosing the right product for your skin is very important if you don’t want to have any bad experiences. Many people go for products like Nivea for fast results but end up damaging their skin. You can read the side effects of Nivea natural fairness and other products that claim fast results.

Once you determine the skin type, make a point to choose the right moisturizer for your face. Here are the types of products you’ll want to lean towards:

• Oily skin: Go for products that are lightweight and not heavy, like gels and lightweight lotions
• Dry skin: Gels won’t be enough, so instead, go for thick and rich creams
• Combination skin: Look for moisturizers tailored towards combination skin, or use two different moisturizers for different parts of your face

Choosing the right moisturizers (and skincare products in general) helps ensure that your skin will respond well to them.

Make Moisturizer a Part of Your Skincare Routine

You should apply moisturizer twice a day: in the morning and at night. However, applying it on its own probably won’t do your skin any good. Instead, look to incorporate it into a complete skincare routine.

While skincare looks a little bit different for everyone, the basic steps remain the same. Most people create a regimen that contains the following steps:

Cleanse

The first step in your skincare process should be cleansing your skin. This removes dirt, debris, sunscreen, and other materials, prepping it for other products (like moisturizer!).

Choose a cleanser that meshes well with your skin. You want it to remove dirt and other particles, but you don’t want it to be stripping.

Tone

Toner isn’t something that everyone needs to do, but it can help certain people.

Toner gets your skin ready for the steps that follow. It balances your skin’s pH, and can either hydrate or treat problems like acne. Toner can come in different forms like bottles and wipes.

If you’re someone who has dry or dehydrated skin, look into getting a hydrating toner. People with oily or acne-prone skin will want a toner that contains something like salicylic acid or tea tree oil to fight blemishes.

Treat

Before moving on to moisturizer, ask yourself if your skin has any problems that you’d like to tackle. If it has any, now is the time to treat them.

Serums are one way that many people fight different skin conditions. Like toners, you can find serums that fight acne, discoloration, dry skin, and many other issues.

After you apply toner, you can also throw on a face mask. You can choose anything from a deep hydration mask to a jelly facial mask.

Moisturize

The final step in your skincare routine is moisturizer. Don’t skip out on this step, no matter how unnecessary you think it may be.

One of the biggest benefits of moisturizing your face is that it locks in the other products you apply. Skipping out on it opens yourself up to acne, dry skin, and many other problems.

There are many good ways to moisturize your face. One thing that many people do is moisturize the individual parts of their face then rub it all together.

SPF

For your nighttime skin routine, you don’t need to worry about SPF. However, in the morning, top off your moisturizer with some SPF.

You’ll prevent your skin from both wrinkles and sun damage by doing so.

Be Consistent

Most people get frustrated with skincare when they don’t see results right away. Remember that good skin is something that can take weeks, months, or even years to achieve.

Once you find a quality moisturizer and other products that work for you, be consistent with them. Apply them in the morning and night until doing so becomes habitual.

Over time, you will notice improvements and results, regardless of what your skin type is.

Don’t Forget to Moisturize Your Face

If you’re looking to keep your skin radiant and healthy, a proper skin care regimen is the best way to do that. And while all of the steps of a skincare routine are important, moisturizing is perhaps the most important.

Make a point to moisturize your face at the end of your skincare routine. Doing so seals all of the other products in, promising you supple and hydrated skin.

Do you now have a better idea of how to moisturize your face? If so, make sure to check out the rest of our site for more beauty guides and tips.