As a Makeup Artist I have a lot of experience on skin care and know what products work for a general population by now. My main message I want to send is that Expensive does NOT mean better in most cases. All the products I recommend are dermatologist tested and highly recommended. They are not recommended in the beauty world as much because expensive products lose their rep- which quite frankly infuriates me. Majority of the public is not educated when it comes to skin care and I am here to dish out beauty myths :) Keep reading.
Your skin is a sensitive organ that will always try and get to it's natural state. Dry skin will produce oils to hydrate itself, whereas oily skin has excess sebum production due to many factors. The bottom line is to figure out how to get to your natural state without going against your skin type.
Try and reach for products that are free of harsh chemicals such as: paraben-free, phthalate-free, sodium lauryl sulfate-free, Sulfate-free, fragrance free, formaldehyde-free, & Dye free just to name a few.
It is actually very hard to find something without all these at a reasonable price, so I'm just going to say - try and avoid these ingredients as much as possible - but if something is working for you and may have some of these ingredients then it most likely isn't going to have negative effects.
SPF for all skin types should be something that is included in your moisturizer or you may apply it on top of your moisturizer separately.
Oily Skin
Contrary to popular belief, oily skin needs a moisturizer. Most people with oily and/or acne prone skin have a broken skin barrier which allows bacteria to flow into the skin much easier than people with a strong healthy barrier. This could be due to genetics, environmental factors, over exfoliating, hormonal and/or not looking after your skin properly.
Oily skin will need a moisturizer that will be light and is non-comedogenic (meaning it will not clog your pores). I would suggest going in with a quick absorbing water-based gel formula. Simple Kind To Skin Light Moisturizer is tried and tested and I feel it does the job really well without any problems. Also Cerave Facial Moisturizer is a personal favorite.
You can paste your product ingredients in to the pore-clogging ingredients checker. This link also has a list of ingredients to look out for what can clog your pores.
Dry/Sensitive Skin
Dry skin will need Hydration!! That's all I can say. Oil-based creams will work for this skin type. Look out for ingredients with naturally occurring oils. Avene Cicalfate skin recovery works great but is a little on the pricier side. I would also look at Cetaphil hydrating lotion for a more affordable and just as effective solution. It has hylauronic acid to preserve moisture in the skin, and glycerin for lasting hydration.
Normal/Combination
This skin type can be tricky as you will tend to have oiliness in the T zone and dryness around the face. I would suggest go in for a light -weight oil free creams with water or gel base. The water content will hydrate dry areas and the oily parts will not have excess oil if you go for oil-free. My personal favorite is Cerave moisturizing cream.
Mature Skin
For mature skin I would recommend getting a cream that will do 2 things at once. Nutrients such as Vitamin C & A will be needed to counteract wrinkles and ageing as well as a lotion or cream that will be hydrating.
My personal favorites will always be Cerave Moisturizing cream and Cetaphil and work for all skin types. After having worked for Sephora and learning a tonne about skin care, I learnt that expensive doesn’t mean effective. To be honest with you, most of the expensive brands contain A LOT of chemicals that will damage your skin barrier, create redness and also breakouts!! BE CAREFUL, and DO NOT fall for the trap that expensive means good. That goes for everything in life.
Thanks for reading!!! I try and keep the articles short and concise because it’s really easy to lose interest. Leave comments below for any good suggestions on products that have worked for you 😊