Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin

When deciding on a moisturizer for your sensitive skin, you should first determine what your skin type is. The three most common skin types are dry, oily, and combination skin.

If your face feels a bit tight, especially when yawning or otherwise stretching your facial muscles- then you have dry skin. Dry skin can also show itself through dry, flaky skin. In more extreme cases, dry skin will become flaky and raw. When dealing with these cases, do not over exfoliate your skin. This may slough off some dead skin, but it will irritate your skin further, which will lead to rough, hardened patches.

Oily skin is easy to spot, but don't be fooled- just because you have oily skin does not mean that you do not need to moisturize. It also does not mean that you should wash your face repeatedly throughout the day at the first sign of shine. By doing this, you are stripping your skin of its natural oils and actually increasing oil production, which is the complete opposite reaction that you are looking for. Instead, wash your face twice daily, moisturize, perhaps apply and oil controller, and then blot excess oil throughout the day. Do not irritated your skin further- or you will end up with much more sensitive skin on your hands.

Combination skin is both oil and dry- usually oily around the T-zone. Though dryness can also be patchy throughout the T-zone- normally around the nose area.

Mostly everyone has something about their skin that they dislike, whether it be unsightly blemishes, excess oil, variation in skin tones, sensitive skin, or a skin condition. But most of these conditions can be helped through the right skin care- and moisture is really key.

If you have dry skin, you are going to want to lean towards a heavier moisturizer. I would recommend even using a heavy moisturizer during the day to prevent your face from drying out due to sun exposure, wind, pollution, etc. A moisturizer with antioxidants may be a good choice as well. And as they say, dry skin ages faster- so it would be wise to choose a moisturizer with restoring properties.

Oily skin requires a lighter moisturizer. And don't skip moisturizing in the morning- just wait a few minutes until your moisturizer has really sunk in before applying makeup. Opt for water based moisturizers, instead of oil based ones as they may lead to clogged pores.

Combination skin really differs from person to person. If you need more moisture in some places than others, apply a heavier moisturizer at night to help restore moisture as you sleep and a light water-based moisturizer at night. Also, while it is healthy to exfoliate, do not go overboard so you do not inflame any sensitive skin.

I hope this helped you understand how to properly care for and moisturize sensitive skin. And always, always choose a moisturizer with sunscreen. If I could just give you one piece of advice... wear sunscreen :)