Dr. Dobes Latest Article: The Softer Side of You
Myths and mistakes about cleansing and moisturizing can keep you from achieving maximum benefit and put you at risk of inadvertently damaging the natural skin barrier that maintains the water content and plasticity of the skin.
For example, natural ‘pure’ soaps like Ivory sound good for cleansing but their high pH causes them to remove the skin’s own lipids, resulting in dryness and irritation. Minimal cleansing creams such as Ponds remove makeup but have poor anti-bacterial activity. It is better to go with the newer cleansers, which have synthetic detergent agents and a more neutral pH, or with the new lipid free cleansers that clean the skin while leaving a moisturizing film in place, such as CeraVe hydrating cleanser. Ignore the recent fads including exfoliation with hydroxyl acids, microdermabrasion machines and other scrubbing agents. These may improve skin appearance in the short term, (just as sun exposure may) but too often damage the skin’s protective barrier, causing long-term problems.
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