What’s the best moisturizer for oily skin? The best moisturizer for dry skin? How about cream for acne?
I hear these questions a lot, and it seems everyone has a different answer. Some people, of course, are paid to have a certain answer — people who make & market skin care creams. Others, like your mom, SWEAR that such-and-such cream is the best without being paid to think so. And yet others (like me!) grapple with this question.
The truth is that skin type, climate and even your hormones play a HUGE role in how you’ll react to a cream. What’s “best” for an acne-prone twentysomething living in tropical Miami might not work if that same gal moved to the dry Phoenix desert in her 30’s.
So before you spend hundreds on a new moisturizing cream, consider this one question:
What’s Its Schtick?
Some moisturizing creams focus on being all-natural or organic. Others focus on being state-of-the-art science creams. Others are best-value budget creams. And yet others have a terrible marketing department; no one knows what their schtick is.
A science-based cream will have ad copy with these buzzwords:
- ~~ Innovative
- ~~ Proven
- ~~ Discovery
- ~~ Synthesis
- ~~ Hyaluronic acid
A nature-based cream’s advertising will sound more like this:
- ~~ Organic
- ~~ Natural
- ~~ Minerals
- ~~ Vitamin
- ~~ Antioxidants
- ~~ Regenerates
- ~~ Cell renewal
And a budget cream will describe itself like this:
- ~~ Intense
- ~~ Efficient
- ~~ Infused
- ~~ Compact
- ~~ Grease-less
- ~~ Gentle
- ~~ “As good as …”
Of course, there are a zillion creams on the market; there’s bound to be some overlap. These aren’t fixed categories, like “tea or coffee?”
But to decide which cream is best for YOU, start by thinking about what TYPE of cream you want. Do you want something that’s all-natural? Something based on leading science? Or something that’ll give you the best bang for your buck?
If you’re not sure, look over that list of adjectives, and see which list appeals to you the most.
Start there … and the search for the perfect skin cream will become much easier.
