Here are a few purely skincare facts to replace some of the myths you may have been told. Let’s start with how water hydrates the skin.

Lots of experts recommend drinking more water to keep you skin looking moist and firm. The fact is that the skin’s outer cells are not directly connected to the bloodstream.

It is true that dry skin is sometimes one of the symptoms of dehydration, but the symptom would not be noticed until after 2% of the normal water volume had been lost. You would experience thirst long before you experienced dry skin.

Moisture within the skin’s cells comes from humidity in the air. Some moisture passes up through the skin’s layers through osmosis. Keratin within the skin’s outer layers has the ability to absorb water while you are taking a bath. That is the cause of the puckering that occurs when you spend a long time in the bath.

The skin’s sebum (a fatty acid complex) helps to hold moisture within the skin’s cells and protect against the drying caused by wind and sun. Good moisturizers work in two ways. They provide moisture and they act like sebum to help hold moisture in.

The purely skincare fact is this. It is easier for the skin’s outer cells to absorb water from the outside in than from the inside out. If you have dry skin, drinking more water might help, but it will never help as much as the use of a good moisturizer.

When it comes to oils that help to hold the moisture in, the ones that are similar to the fatty acid composition of sebum are most easily absorbed. Others, like mineral oil and petrolatum, will cause a greasy feeling, because they are not fully absorbed.

Here’s a purely skincare myth. Wearing sunscreen is good for you and helps protect against wrinkles.

The only thing that sunscreens are proven to do is to protect against sunburn. Sunburn may increase your risk of skin cancer and wrinkles. So, the theory is that protecting against sunburn protects against both.

The problem is that the sunburn protection factors or SPF ratings may be misleading. The higher numbers provide more protection against burning. That much is true. But, they only provide protection if they are reapplied as directed. Typically, they should be reapplied after 15 minutes, but the time varies depending on many factors.

Sunscreens will only allow you to spend a little more time in the sun than you normally could without burning. The purely skincare fact is this. Clothing, shade and UV protective sunglasses provide the best kind of protection.

Some sunscreens may even increase the risk of skin cancer according to researchers. The chemicals cause a kind of free radical damage, not much different from that caused by the sun.

Antioxidants are the only things known to provide protection against free radical damage. Some really potent antioxidants, such as coenzyme Q10 can even reverse the damage.

I believe it is important for people to know these purely skincare facts. Spread the word.

Author Bio: Valerie Rosenbaum has spent years searching for the best natural skin care products. The products she discovered use a proprietary blend of natural ingredients like Extrapone Nutgrass root to even out skin pigmentation. To learn more visit her skin firming site.

Category: Aging
Keywords: purely skincare