Do I Need a Facial Moisturizer if I have Acne?

Don’t be afraid of moisturizing if you have acne; moisturizers can be one of an acne-sufferer’s best friends! You have to take care in choosing a moisturizer, though, as skin afflicted with acne has special needs.

One of the ingredients you should look for in a moisturizer is “essential oils”. These are concentrated oils from aromatic plants, such as oil of clove. These oils are beneficial because they’ve been found to nourish skin as well as increasing its oxygen supply and discouraging the bacteria that help acne flourish. Some essential oils even help heal acne.

It’s also very important to know what type of skin you have. Is it dry, oily, normal or a combination of the three? A moisturizer made for dry skin can make oily skin scramble to dry up its natural oils, upsetting your skin’s delicate balance and possibly worsening the acne. Likewise, if your dry skin is treated with moisturizer for normal skin it will not get enough of what it needs and the results will aggravate your skin instead of helping to heal it.

The best moisturizer for your skin, no matter which type you have, will be hypoallergenic. These products are specially formulated to avoid allergic reactions. Even if you have no allergies at all these are the healthiest moistuizers for your skin.

Any product you apply to your skin should be oil-free, except for essential oils, and not clog your pores. Look for facial moisturizers that have hyaluronic acid, a substance found in the body’s tissues that is a natural lubricant. Glycerin, another substance that has been put to wide use for generations in soaps and lotions, attracts moisture to your skin to keep it healthy. Other ingredients to look for are jojoba and lanolin, both of which are most like the sebum your skin naturally produces to moisten your skin and maintain its health and elasticity. Lanolin and Jojoba are natural emollients that nurture and enhance the biochemistry of human skin.

Many generic moisturizers contain the same ingredients in the exact amounts as their more expensive competitors and cost much less. You will often find that generic products are made by the same manufacturer as the more expensive name brand! Buy quality moisturizers, of course, but you’ll save a lot if you aren’t swayed by product name recognition.