Safe and effective cosmetic products are crucial to daily skin care. Performance, however, doesn't always match up with manufacturers' claims, and what works for one person won't always be right for another skin type.
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) notes that knowing what product ingredients can and can't do will help you understand whether a formulation is likely to improve your skin. Repeatedly applying substances that irritate your skin can damage your immune system over time.
Choose the Right Facial Cleanser
Avoid drying cleansers that can cause wrinkles and rashes. According to the Skin Sciences Institute, bath soaps that contain deodorants, perfumes or antibacterial agents are desiccants. These detract from the resiliency of delicate facial skin and are particularly harmful to sensitive and dry skin types.
Moisturizing beauty bar, olive oil soaps or lotion-based cleansers are gentler cosmetic products for everyday use. If you have an oily skin type or acne, the AAD recommends washing twice a day. Noncomedogenic, oil-free cleansers made with a skin care ingredient such as benzoyl peroxide will improve oily skin.
Avoid Perfumes and Harsh Preservatives
Spot-test cosmetic products that contain strong perfumes and preservatives. The AAD reports that these ingredients are often linked to facial irritation and skin allergies. Manufacturers use fragrance and strong preservatives to sell more products that can sit on store shelves without spoiling. These components do nothing to enhance your skin.
Check the bottom of the ingredient list to see whether a skin care product lists fragrance, methylparaben, propylparaben or formaldehyde. If so, test a small portion on the inside of your arm a few times a day for five days. Dryness, redness or itching indicate that the item is not good for your skin type.
Use Sunscreen and Moisturizer Daily
The AAD calls sunscreen the most effective cosmetic product you can use to stave off sun damage and the signs of aging. Sunscreen protects skin from ultraviolet rays that can cause cancer. In minimizing UV exposure, it reduces wrinkles. Choose an SPF 30 or higher-strength formula, counsels the AAD. It should be labeled "broad spectrum," or claim to absorb or block both UVA and UVB rays. Some skin care products have sunscreen built in, but you should make sure they are of adequate strength.
Moisturizing cream is also proven to be effective skin care. Moisturizer smooths skin on contact and plumps it up, to reduce the look of fine lines. The Skin Sciences Institute recommends choosing a moisturizing lotion or cream with a proven humectant, such as glycerin or lanolin, which attracts water to the skin.
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