tip to help moisturizer penetrate better into skin

[Discohouse]

I got this tip, which I think might help in making your moisturizer with actives penetrate better into the skin.

After washing my face with luke-warm water (don't use hot water, since as Dr. Todorov says, it will age you faster), I spray on some rose water as my toner (no need for anything with alcohol in it), and while my skin is still moist, I put some of my antioxidant moisturizer into the palm of my hand and warm it up with a blow dryer. As a further step, I use a blowdryer on warm setting, on low, and let it warm up even more onto my face, while gently smoothing out the cream on my face.

I think the trick is to use a bit more of your moisturizer, otherwise if you apply too little, it will be useless and just completely dry up before it even penetrates.

[amybrown88]

I'm sorry to tell you, but I don't think that this trick helps any ingredients get into the skin better or more quickly. In order for ingredients to penetrate the skin, you need to use certain special products or you need to open up your pores (like they do in a facial) and then apply the products and let them soak in.

[sdguy]

Thus far, most of the stuff I've read online says that it's good to apply products to damp skin because of enhanced penetration and locking moisture in. But I picked up Your Future Face by Dennis Gross M.D. and he says a few things on one page that confuse me a bit:

"Apply products to cool, dry skin to ensure their effectiveness as well as decrease the chances of irritation. Water, even microscopic droplets, also can prevent active ingredients from penetrating. After toweling dry, it's a good idea to wait an extra minute or so to make sure that any remaining water has totally evaporated. But here's another tricky exception: If you are just putting on a moisturizer without any other active ingredient, it's best to apply it immediately after toweling off to seal in additional moisture." (my bold, italics)

Also, I'd always assumed the best way to fight UV damage was to apply a cream with Vit C + E + CoQ10, let that sink in, and then apply a broad spectrum sunblock, preferably a physical blocker like Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide. But from the same page:

"...any form of sun protection, be it in a moisturizer or not, must be applied before any other product (except a liquid). Its defensive ingredients need to cling directly to skin in order to be most effective."

My plan is to apply a C+E+CoQ10 cream in the am to combat UV-induced free radical production and then put on sunscreen after that, but will I have a problem or am I fine as long as I don't use chemical blocker sunscreens (ie avobenzone)?

[orangehrzn]

As long as the sunscreen forms a homogeneous layer of constant thickness, it protects as desired. D. Gross is apprehensive about the sunscreen sliding off but that has a chance to happen only in extreme circumstances of excessive perspiration if the moisturizer beneath is easily soluble.

[sdguy]

Good point, I'd just assumed he was worried about a chemical blocker penetrating the skin, not about sliding off.

I'm more interested in the statement he made about microscopic droplets preventing actives from penetrating. I've always read that wet skin is more permeable, not less.

[orangehrzn]

Probably wet skin is more permeable for water soluble ingredients but it repels the oil soluble. I haven't read studies that actually measure the penetration rates under different conditions. Perhaps Dr. T knows better...

[drtodorov]

For normal skin, i.e. one covered with sebum (i.e. oil), the best penetrating molecules are small non-charged and relatively non-polar/mildly polar ones, and those tend to be oil-soluble. That is why, for example, ascorbic acid penetrates better at low pH - because at low PH it becomes non-charged.

[jamesherried]

According to Dr. Denese, moisturizers (especially creams) aren't the best way to get active ingredients into the skin. She claims that the properties that make a cream moisturizing actually impede the penetration of active ingredients into the skin. So she says that that in order to get active ingredients inot the skin, it's best to use a serum or gel. Then you can use a cream to moisturize to trap water into the skin, but not as the ideal way to allow active ingredients to penetrate the skin.

[angelaS]

I've heard that products such as serum with Hyaluronic Acid help all the nutrients soak into the skin. At least that's what I hope since I use it twice a day :wink:

[Kse319]

Why do you want to get ingredients or products deeper into your skin. Why would you want to get these types of things penetrating your skin? The only thing should ever want to penetrate your skin is water. I've only found one product that actually does this. Check it out here TyraSmartSkinCare.com

[qtblue]

I use this microderm cream called Epidermx II and it really seems to help me get better results. My esthetician says she uses it before treatments. They say when you remove the dead skin creams are absorbed better. I get it from greatnewskin.com

[JaneDough911]

Using a toner before a moisturizer...gives you a balanced ph(potential hydrogen)level of the skin leaving your skin balanced.....especially if you have oily skin in some places and dryness in the others. that way you arent having to use two different moisturizers..also your moisturizer goes a long way ....and you arent using as much...your skin(face) only penetrates a little over a pea size..so anything else is just a waste in your use of the product...hope this helps!!