Keepin it moist....

[Christine]

One of the most asked questions is..

Is there a difference between adding oil and adding moisture to the skin?

Yes.. Yes indeed....and moist skin holds a tan longer and the skin looks better when it is hydrated...

A product that adds oil is easy enough to understand, but how do you add moisture? Won’t the water just evaporate without something (like an oil) to ’seal’ it in?



Water and oil

Pure moisture (which is just WATER!) will evaporate from the surface of the skin very quickly.
Dry skin needs to be occluded, which means it needs something to prevent water from evaporating from the deeper, moist layers of the skin.
Oily materials are very good at sealing moisture in the skin. That’s why you see things like petrolatum, lanolin, and mineral oil in most moistuirizers.
All skin types need some degree of “oily” materials.

Now that I said that..... if you have very oily skin you don’t want a moisturizer that has a lot of heavy oils.
And similarly, if you have dry skin, you don’t want a moisturizer that doesn’t have enough heavy oils.
Finding the balance or your skin type is the trick.~ If your looking for a good hydration/moisturizer to sell..remember you may need a couple of different ones on your shelf...
Ask your lotion represeitive what they suggest you carry.. try bringing a few kinds and remember to ask your guests... What they are experiancing with their skin.. You may see that they need different care different times of the season...

How about humectants?

YES... , there is another option some moisturizing ingredients known as a humectants... they are not oils and they work by drawing moisture from the air. ....
Glycerine is an example of this kind of ingredient.
However, we’re not aware of any lotions that ONLY use glycerine because a blend of humectants and oils is usually the very best. Again.. ask your lotion rep for options that are available to you..
You should carry more than one type of after care lotion..

Every one is different..
Remember...If the guests aren't buying it from you they are going to some one else..
Be sure you have the variety that guest crave...
Not every ones skin is the same... Offer something for every one...

[Kathe]

You can get natural oils without using mineral oil or petrolatum which come from crude oil and should not be used on the skin. Lanolin is an extract from sheep, also something you should not use on your skin.

There are natural, essential oils from plants that are very healthy and should be used in skin moisturizing products.

[Kathe]

And be careful about the humectant. Some of them draw moisture from your skin and release it into the air, dehydrating your skin even further. Mineral oil does exactly that.

[Kathe]

If you have oily skin you need to have a product with some oils in it or your skin will think you are dry and continue to produce too much oil. It needs the right kind of oil however.

[Christine]

I guess that's why we call it "skin care pratice"~ medical "pratice"~......dental"pratice"...
there are so very many options available to the general public on the market..be it an OTC or a medical...herbal...holistic...the list goes on and on....organic...truly green...botanical....phyto-hormone induced.....mineral... phewwwwwww....
gosh we could list probably 20 more in the next 10 minutes....

I have been licensed since 1976 and continue my education every year to maintain my license to 'certify' professionals in using medical machines and treatments as well as chemicals to enhance skin and skin restructuring.....
but there is no doubt....I learn something everyday..

Kathe... you have some good info in your posts here....
I am however going to agree to disagree with you at times about certain "exacts"... Why am going to do this?
Because in skin care pratice...as well as any other pratice...there are no exacts.....that's why we call it a pratice.....

OH.. p.s. I have a friend who now sells Arbonne....she is making more money than she did as an L.P.N and she is so less stressed now... she is a happy camper....small investment with good returns...and NO STRESS...
I agree to disagree with her too....but she knows it's all about the discovery while we "pratice" what we do..... it's not an arguement...just a search for another golden nugget of wisdom...

[Kathe]

Glad to have you on board Christine' It will be nice to have another skin care expert around.