Latest Fact Sheet

Season 3, Ep 10 - Moisturisers

The normal water content of skin is 10-20% - if the proportion of water drops below this our skin feels dry.

The moisture content of skin is affected by multiple factors – the weather and humidity, general health, hormones and how often we use soap.

Our skin’s barrier is responsible for holding moisture in. It’s made up of three parts – an upper layer made up of dead cells, new skin cells at the base and a mixture of oils in between which holds everything in place.

Sebum is the name for our natural skin oil – it is like a moisturiser naturally produced by our bodies. However, we have a habit of washing it off which is one reason moisturisers can come in handy.

There are three main moisturising ingredients: humectants attract water to the top layer of the skin, occlusives form a barrier over the skin so water can’t escape and emollients soften and smooth the skin.

Urea, glycerine and ceramides are all humectants – interestingly these are also naturally found in our skin as well.

Common occlusives are petrolatum, mineral oil and plant oils such as olive oil and cocoa butter.

The effect of moisturisers is short lived – they only really make a difference for up to four hours. There is a common belief that using moisturisers can reverse the signs of ageing but this is a myth.

Putting on moisturisers and things like lip balm regularly can become addictive! If moisturisers are used commonly, our skin gets used to them and produces less of its own natural moisturising factors which means it feels dry if we don’t moisturise it and the cycle continues.

Moisturisers need to contain preservatives otherwise they may become contaminated with mould and fungi which can make them unsafe.

Parabens are one of the most common types of preservatives used in moisturisers and many other cosmetic products – it is thought they are used in up to 90% of cosmetic products.

It’s possible that parabens are endocrine disruptors – some parabens have a structure which is very similar to oestrogen so it’s thought they may mimic oestrogen in the body. This is a problem because higher levels of oestrogen are associated with several problems, especially in males - higher levels of oestrogen may affect sperm count and penis size.

Using a moisturiser containing parabens alone won’t have a major endocrine disrupting effect but some scientists say we still need to be concerned because there are endocrine disrupting chemicals all around us – in other cosmetics, foods and plastics.

If you’d rather avoid parabens there are other preservatives used in some moisturisers – check the ingredient list.

‘Angel-dusting’ is the name given to the practice of adding a small amount of an ingredient to a food or cosmetic just so that it can be advertised on the label.

It’s quite hard to know how much of any ingredient a cosmetic product contains (unless it says so on the bottle which is the convention for active ingredients). If you’d prefer your product to have a decent proportion of natural ingredients use your eyes and nose – natural products are often green or brown and strong smelling. The ingredient list can help too – if something is high on the ingredient list it’s included in a larger proportion than things lower on the list.

If you’re spending a lot of time in the sun it’s probably best to use an actual sunscreen rather than a moisturiser containing sunscreen because moisturisers don’t always contain UVA screens.