We get so bombarded with advertising—especially when it comes to beauty products—that it’s challenging to decipher which ingredients our skin really needs to look and stay healthy.
The following guide covers key ingredients in moisturizers to treat the outside of your skin plus foods and supplements to take care of dry skin from within.
What to Look for in Moisturizers
Wind and sun exposure, the aging process, and diet all affect skin’s moisture level. A moisturizer keeps skin hydrated either by adding water or by trapping water that’s already there. Humectants are substances that retain moisture.
Choose natural humectants such as aloe vera, calendula (an herb that promotes skin cell formation and softens skin), and hyaluronic acid.
Hyaluronic Acid
“Hyaluronic acid, also referred to as ‘nature’s moisture magnet,’ can hold up to 1,000 times its own weight in water,” says Linda Miles, LAc, DOM, vice president of derma e Natural Bodycare. This natural humectant “has the amazing ability to bind moisture to tissue to soften, smooth, tone, and rehydrate your skin,” she adds.
While our bodies produce hyaluronic acid, its production decreases as we age. By 50, we make less than half the hyaluronic acid we did as babies. There are no food sources for hyaluronic acid, so it must be applied topically. With use, fine lines flatten and deeper wrinkles become less noticeable.
Antioxidants
Other key ingredients to moisturize dry skin are vitamin C, vitamin E, and CoQ10 (an enzyme necessary for proper cell functioning)—all potent antioxidants that fight damaging free radicals, a cause of premature skin aging.
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Vitamin C
Vitamin C can help stimulate older skin cells to produce collagen (a protein found in young skin tissue) at the same rate as younger cells, which improves skin’s firmness.
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Vitamin E
Vitamin E can be used on the delicate area around your eyes. Just break open a capsule of 400 IU of vitamin E and tap the contents gently into skin with your fingertip.
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Coenzyme Q10
CoQ10 levels diminish with age, accelerating skin aging. Topical applications of CoQ10 can help. Olive Branch Anti-Aging Night Elixir: 50+ is a facial serum for aging skin that uses Coenzyme Q10 Q-MAX, which is 7.5 times more powerful than regular CoQ10. Apply serum before applying a night cream.
Look for one that combines several nourishing ingredients. Olive Branch Anti-Aging Natural Face Cream, for example, is chock-full of rejuvenating superstars such as plant stem cells, peptides, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, amino acids, and collagen and elastin boosters.
Skin Care Routine
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Wash Your Face with a Gentle Cleanser
Avoid washing your face with hot water. Avoid products with harsh synthetics or detergents like sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate, which can strip skin of its natural oils. Look instead for products made without the use of parabens, dyes, petroleum, alcohol, and artificial fragrances. Oils derived from plants (olives, jojoba seed, grape seed, rose hip seed, hemp seed, and borage seed) work well as gentle cleansers for all skin types, including those with rosacea and eczema.
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Apply Moisturizer While Your Skin Is Still Damp
An exception to this rule is when you are also using concentrated antiaging or antiacne treatments; apply those to skin when your face is dry. Wait 10 minutes and dot on a pea-sized amount of facial cream. Apply moisturizer morning and night for best results.
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Moisturize Regularly
Moisturizing Foods & Supplements
Strengthen your beauty from the inside out by eating right and supplementing your diet.
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Magnesium
Magnesium is one of the most important hydrating nutrients for skin. Food sources include meat, seafood, dairy products, bananas, and tofu, or take 400 to 800 mg per day.
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Vitamin A
“Vitamin A is the number-one wrinkle fighter,” says Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, author of The Living Beauty Detox Program. Obtain this vitamin by supplementing with fish oils or by eating cantaloupe, carrots, sweet potatoes, leafy green veggies, peaches, papaya, mango, and apricots.
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Vitamin C
A daily dose of 500 to 3,000 mg of vitamin C helps skin to build and maintain collagen. Food sources include berries and citrus.
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Coenzyme Q10
CoQ10 neutralizes free radicals while providing energy for new cells; take 50 to 60 mg with food.
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Vitamin E
Try 400 IU daily of vitamin E to prevent free-radical damage to cell membranes. Grains, legumes, and nuts are natural sources of this vitamin.
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Water
Make sure you’re drinking enough water—preferably eight glasses daily. When you stay hydrated, your skin does as well. This allows your body to flush away toxins, which discourages the formation of wrinkles.
