Health
Laying It on Thick
Remember those gloopy face and skin creams that our mothers and aunts used that made them look like greasy ghosts as they went to bed? Forget that sort of treatment for your own flesh, says skincare expert Dr. Colette Haydon, because it just doesn't work.
A cream that is too rich, heavy and clogging may feel luxurious, she says, "but it cannot be absorbed properly into the skin, and you really won't get the best out of it." It is simply far too heavy for normal skin.
"Absorption of nutrients is at its peak at night," says Haydon, of London's Elixir de Beaute, "so it is most important to get the consistency right." She says that if the cream disappears into the skin after about 15 minutes, it should be doing its job properly.
The skin clogging that results from using creams that are too thick also can affect the oxygen supply, she says, "and a lack of oxygen will leave the skin looking dull and puffy." Fortunately, she adds, the trend in the cosmetics industry these days is toward production of treatment creams that are light and nourishing and formulated to be absorbed easily.
A cream that is too rich, heavy and clogging may feel luxurious, she says, "but it cannot be absorbed properly into the skin, and you really won't get the best out of it." It is simply far too heavy for normal skin.
"Absorption of nutrients is at its peak at night," says Haydon, of London's Elixir de Beaute, "so it is most important to get the consistency right." She says that if the cream disappears into the skin after about 15 minutes, it should be doing its job properly.
The skin clogging that results from using creams that are too thick also can affect the oxygen supply, she says, "and a lack of oxygen will leave the skin looking dull and puffy." Fortunately, she adds, the trend in the cosmetics industry these days is toward production of treatment creams that are light and nourishing and formulated to be absorbed easily.
