Skincare School: What Is Body Lotion Used For?
As the seasons change, so does your skin. You may have noticed that your skin feels different in the summer than it does in the winter and that’s because your external environment can have quite a large impact on the largest organ in your body, your skin.
It’s not just the seasons either; where you are situated in the world can have an impact on your skin as well.
Dry environments will lead to dry skin as the air literally sucks the moisture out of your skin through evaporation. This is where body lotions come in handy.
What is body lotion used for? To understand the role of body lotion, we look at the reasons why you should use it as well as the best ways to take care of your skin to help you achieve the smoothest, most radiant, and most youthful-looking skin possible.
Body Lotion Basics
Your skin is made up of three layers called the epidermis (outer layer), dermis, and hypodermic layers. The epidermis layer of your skin is made up of several layers of cells that act as a waterproof and protective barrier between yourself and your external environment. Your body loses water to the air by way of evaporation and diffusion through transdermal water loss.
Body lotions are mostly made up of water to help replenish lost water in your skin. Water is then combined with a waxy or oily substance to keep it in as well as slow down transdermal water loss. Moisturizing regularly can help prevent your skin from becoming dry and cracked, which will accelerate further water loss.
Different Types of Moisturizer
Occlusives
Occlusive moisturizers act as a protective barrier for your skin to help moisture stay locked in. By slowing down or stopping transdermal water loss, your skin will stay more hydrated. Moisturizers like this, such as petroleum jelly, for example, are generally quite thick and hard to rub in as they are primarily made up of waxy/oily substances.
Emollients
Emollients have some similarities to occlusives as they still provide the protective moisture-locking barrier. What sets them apart, though, is their ability to penetrate the skin down to the dermis layer where they fill in the gaps between cells that are left by missing lipids in the skin.
Emollients can be found in ingredients such as silicon, vegetable oils (grapeseed or jojoba, for example), alcohols (stearyl or cetyl), and butters (cocoa and shea, for example).
Humectants
Humectants actually attract moisture to your skin from the external environment. Humectant molecules bond to the water molecules in your skin and will attract moisture and retain them in the skin, thereby actually increasing your skin’s moisture content.
Ingredients that contain humectants include glycerin, sugars (glucose, fructose, and honey, for example), proteins, amino acids, collagen, and elastin.
Skincare School
If you want healthy, glowing and youthful looking skin, then there are a few things you can do to help achieve it. Here are some of them:
Eat healthily
Your diet affects everything in your body including your skin. Some foods that are recommended to keep the skin healthy include fatty fish, such as salmon or mackerel, avocado, sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, red and yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, and green tea. Saving the best for last, dark chocolate and red wine are also great for your skin.
Cleanse thoroughly
By cleaning your whole body regularly and thoroughly, you will not only have cleaner pores, but you also help your body to shed any dead skin. The skin regenerates itself every 27 days or so, and you can help its shedding process along by exfoliating with sugar and honey once a week.
Use gentle soaps
Harsh cleansers will strip away essential vitamins and minerals from your skin as well as much-needed moisture. Try to use cleansers that have moisturizing properties rather than fragrances.
Moisturize
What is body lotion used for, we hear you ask? To moisturize your skin is the short answer. Moisturizing your skin regularly (even in if you have oily skin) will help keep your skin softer, younger, and more supple.
Wear sunscreen
Golden rule number one when it comes to your skin is to use sunscreen always. Sunscreen doesn’t just stop you from getting sunburnt; it also protects you from harmful UV rays that can dry out and damage your skin.
Final Words
Your skin is important to your health as well as your overall appearance, and it can be very sensitive to your external environment due to transdermal water loss. Therefore, it is important to try and maintain proper moisture levels by using a body lotion.
Moisturizing to help replenish lost water, as well as stopping further loss, can help achieve optimum skin health. Eating healthily, ditching harsh cleansers with fragrances, exfoliating, and moisturizing can all help to keep your skin soft, supple, and radiant. What’s more is that they also help keep those wrinkles at bay.