Moisturizer is a key player in healthy skin; unfortunately, a lot of people don't use it regularly – or at all. If you're one of those, here are 7 things you need to know about what happens to your skin when you don't use moisturizer.
You probably think that moisturizers are a gimmick created by beauty companies to get you to spend more money on skincare.
But the truth is, moisturizers are an important part of any skincare routine — even if you don't have dry skin.
Did you know that moisturizing reduces fine lines and smoothens and hydrates the skin, improving a patient's social life, psychological satisfaction, and quality of life?
Regardless of your age or skin type, investing in a quality moisturizer is one of the best things you can do for your skin — every skin type needs hydration.
If you have yet to be convinced, here are 7 negative effects that happen to your skin when you don't use a moisturizer:
1. Your skin becomes dry and flaky.
The skin is made of a natural barrier made of lipids that protects itself from water loss and damage. When you're not producing the necessary amount of lipid cells to form the protective barrier, your skin cannot lock in moisture which causes your skin to become dry and flaky.
To prevent dry and flaking skin, you need to incorporate a moisturizer into your skincare routine because there is no moisture in the skin cells beneath the stratum corneum — the top layer of your skin that's made up of dead skin cells to keep them hydrated.
Moisturizers help repair the skin's barrier, which locks and seals moisture to reduce the amount of water that evaporates within the skin cells to minimize transepidermal water loss and keep the skin soft and smooth.
While skipping moisturizer for one day won't cause any significant skin concern, it can lead to a domino effect of skin woes.
2. Your skin dehydrates.
Although moisturizers and hydrators are two terms that hold different meanings, they both play an essential role in keeping your skin healthy and your complexion youthful; here's everything you need to know about hydrating and moisturizing.
Hydrators are water-based products that help increase the water content in your skin cells, while moisturizers are oil-based products that create a barrier to prevent water loss.
With that being said, if you don't moisturize your skin after hydrating it, your skin becomes dehydrated because — without a barrier to prevent water loss — water evaporates from the skin.
3. Your skin looks dull, and your fine lines and wrinkles are more prominent.
Your skin needs both water and moisture to function correctly; without it, skin cells begin to shrivel.
Shriveled skin cells cause your skin to look dull and feel dry and fine lines and wrinkles to be more prominent because there is no water to plump up the skin cells, causing them to deflate and appear sunken, nor is there a barrier to protect the skin to prevent water loss.
In healthy functioning skin, dead skin cells are continuously shed from the skin's surface and replaced by new skin cells that rise to the surface.
But when you have dry and dehydrated skin, this process is disrupted, and skin cells don't turn over as quickly, which leads to a build-up of dead skin cells on the surface of your skin, making your skin look dull.
4. Your skin losses elasticity.
When your skin is dry and dehydrated, it loses elasticity and the ability to bounce back, which leads to the formation of lines and wrinkles.
When your skin is well-hydrated and moisturized, it appears plumper because water fills up the spaces between skin cells.
But when your skin is dry, these spaces become more noticeable, and your skin looks sunken.
5. Your skin becomes more susceptible to irritation and inflammation.
When you don't use moisturizer, your skin barrier weakens, making it easier for harmful toxins and free radicals to penetrate the skin, which is why your skin becomes susceptible to low levels of chronic inflammation.
As a result, your skin is more prone to irritation and inflammation and, and these, low levels of ongoing chronic inflammation breakdown collagen and accelerate aging.
Not only that, but without a strong barrier, your skin is also more susceptible to irritation and inflammation from the use of harsh skincare products and ingredients.
6. Your skin develops acne.
When your skin lacks oil, the sebaceous glands go into overdrive and produce more oil to compensate for the loss, which causes pores to clog and lead to acne breakouts.
Furthermore, dry and dehydrated skin slows down skin cell turnover, leading to dead skin cell build-up on the surface of your skin, which also clogs pores, and leads to acne breakouts.
7. Your makeup doesn't look good.
If you don't moisturize your face before applying makeup, your makeup will settle into the dry areas of your skin and your fine lines and wrinkles and look cakey, and the little lines under your eyes where concealer creases will be more pronounced.
With that said, wait five minutes after applying moisturizer or primer before using foundation, and use lip balm before applying lipstick.
Not using moisturizer can have a lot of consequences for your skin, so to prevent a domino effect, it's important to add moisturizer to your skincare routine to keep it healthy.
Finding the right moisturizer for your skin type is critical, there are many different types of moisturizers, so experiment until you find one that works well for you; here's our list of 20+ Best Moisturizers and 21 Best Oil-Free Moisturizers.
Have you experienced any of these negative effects from not using moisturizer? Let us know in the comments below!
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