Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize
Conventional wisdom (our dear, dear friend) tells us that without the constant application of skin creams and face lotions and mineral moisturizers, we’ll become haggard parchment people with wrinkled mugs that’d put an elderly Sharpei to shame. It seems to have worked, too. Most bathroom mirrors conceal impressive caches of creams, lotions, and oils, and many people instinctively and compulsively lather the stuff on any chance they get (similar to our infatuation with Purell, but that’s another post altogether). But, as we’ve often wondered, is confronting a totally natural occurrence – dry skin – with unnatural methods and products really such a good idea?
As you know, we here at Mark’s Daily Apple tend to prefer the natural to the artificial – but that’s only because we’ve found that following nature’s way and listening to biology and evolution often go hand in hand. It’s not a dogmatic ideology of naturalism we espouse here; it is a pragmatic approach to life that tells us the natural way most often is the best way, but that also allows the use of artificial aids, if they are safe and effective. With that in mind, we weren’t all that surprised to read about a recent scientific study that discovered using lotions and skin creams can actually weaken your skin’s resistance to the elements and create a dependency on skin products.
Swedish scientist Izabela Buraczewska found that creams can actually make the skin drier in the long run. Basically, once you start using a cream or lotion to combat dry skin, you have to keep using it or your skin will regress to a point even drier than it was before you started using the cream. She used several different kind of creams and oils to test her results, and she found that even different pH levels didn’t change the effects on the skin. Both mineral and vegetable oil were tried, and both resulted in the skin having less resistance to drying elements. Strangely enough, however, using a complex cream had less of a drying effect. To Buraczewska, this meant that a blanket assignation of blame to all creams and lotions simply isn’t realistic. The problem wasn’t with the idea of artificial skin creams; the problem was that an effective skin cream simply hadn’t been created that could deal with the drying effects.
Tissue samples taken from patients suggest that the application of skin creams affects the activity of certain genes that regulate the production of skin fats, which figure prominently in the skin’s moisture levels. If we can isolate the compounds in the creams that do dry the skin, perhaps new moisturizers can be developed without the bad stuff.
So maybe smearing raw avocado and palm oil on your body isn’t the best Primal moisturizer. Maybe using unnatural oils and creams will eventually be a better way to fight dry skin. There’s a lot of things you can call us, but rigid isn’t one of them. Better living through rigorously tested and nearly perfected chemistry? Sure, we’ll take that every time.
only alice Flickr Photo (CC)
Further Reading:
We Like Drugs – Fair and Balanced
Subscribe to Mark’s Daily Apple feeds
Posted By: Worker Bee
(
Hey Mark,
Thanks for the post. I never use hand lotion in the same why I don’t use chapstick. I always felt that they both have an addictive trait about them and it just always seemed pretty useless. Now I’ve got some ammo for that argument. Thanks bud!
All the Best,
Andrew R
I’ve found that my dry skin issues have abated substantially since I switched to taking cold showers. I never take hot showers anymore. I believe there are other benefits too, consistent with Mark’s post on the subject some time ago.
“So maybe smearing raw avocado and palm oil on your body isn’t the best Primal moisturizer. Maybe using unnatural oils and creams will eventually be a better way to fight dry skin. There’s a lot of things you can call us, but rigid isn’t one of them. Better living through rigorously tested and nearly perfected chemistry? Sure, we’ll take that every time.”
Are you promoting the use of chemicalized creams? I am not really sure to make of this blog.
You want to know what the best lotion/moisturizer that I have ever found is? Vaseline. Simple, plain, good ‘ol Vaseline. And its cheap!
I thought that mineral oil based lotions and creams were the bad ones. Seems that stuff sits on the surface of the skin instead of penetrating deeper.
Vasoline is petroleum based.
Coconut oil is wonderful for just about everything– skin, hair, etc… and you only need just a tiny bit.
I use only soap and occasional natural oil, and it has kept my skin in good shape. And nothing after bath, just comb my hair and beard. Tried many shampoos for removing dandruff, but oil works best for me.
Did this study include grape seed oil? I’ve read a gew studies in the past that found grape seed oil to be beneficial to the skin. So I’ve been using it – but sparingly. Just in the eye sockets, lips and the tops of my hands. My husband says he’s noticed a difference – less wrinkles around the eyes. At any rate, it works better than any moisturizer I’ve used in the past.
I think a big reason people have problems with dry skin is the wide-spread use of liquid “soap” which is typically actually a detergent (and often a rather highly effective one like sodium laureth sulphate.)
I’ve found that just getting such things on my hands once a day is enough to crack the skin of the cuticles, yet on the other hand, I can use soap (real soap, made of saponified fats) several times a day without problems and totally skip the hand lotion.
The best moisturizers I have found are neither plant nor mineral. They are squalane (shark liver oil) and emu oil.
Interesting about the squalane and emu oil, Judy. What do you like best about each of them?
Son of Grok,
I use vaseline, too. My winters are so cold and i use vaseline instead of chapstick and it immediately relieves dry hands from cold days when i’m outside. I like it.
I barely use soap anymore.
I do use soap, but NOT “anti-bacterial” soap. The anti-bacterial soap takes off also the good bacteria, which you don’t want.
In answer to Ailu about what I like about squalane and emu oil:
Pros and Cons
They are both anti-inflammatory oils.
They are both fairly expensive.
I have to order both online (although I sometimes find emu oil at local farmer’s markets in my area).
In general, I prefer the squalane because it is very light and absorbs quickly. I found a place in CA that offered a “buy 3 get 4″ special the last time I ordered it. It is still expensive, but costs less than the total of all the products it replaced, and it has simplified my routine to use just one thing twice a day rather than several.
If you have more questions, contact me through my website at http://carbwarscookbook.com.
Oh my God! I love lotions and creams.. I can’t just get rid of it that easy.
I love Bronner’s soaps! I used to have cracked and bleeding hands from November to April. Since I have been taking Marks Master Formula multi-vitamin, eating a primarily Phase 1 diet, using Bronner’s soaps, and taking Omega 3 capsules, my hands have never looked or felt better! I have been doing this for almost 2 years now.
I’ve found that my skin feels better and seems less dry when I am getting in my healthy mono fats. Most noticeable when I start adding 1-2tbsp daily of oil like flax, but taking my fish oil pills would probably be the same (I’m just not as consistent about that).
I saw a woman today at the cafe who looked absolutely stunning – shoulder length grey hair, generally slender, aging but not sagging or overly wrinkled face…. I guessed her at mid-50’s, until she said she voted for Kennedy and was 69. Wow.
Wrinkling in the skin is caused by habitual facial expressions, aging, sun damage, smoking, poor hydration, and various other factors. The best for preventing wrinkles is drinking a lot of water. Then use a quality cream as this.
I have terrible dry skin in the winter, since moving back to NE. I used lotion all the time, over and over again. But now I try to wait on using them. There are two remedies I have found that comes close to completely illuminating the problem.
One is when I work with almond meal/flour (when making the son of grok pizza)and gently rinse my hands with water, the natural oils get on my hands, and they feel like baby skin. It lasts all day, and even to the next day, depending on how much you wash your hands.
The other is a product from a herbal company, Herbalife. The hand lotion is wonderful. After about 2 weeks after using it consistently, my hands were less and less dry and after about a month, I used it only occasionally. It’s expensive, but works well. It’s the hand lotion. I used it last year, but the almonds work so well that I might not go back, since I’m already using the almonds. Hope this helps.