After award-winning actress Helen Mirren was quoted – in colourful language – that moisturiser probably does nothing at all for the skin, The BBC sought out an opinion from a dermatologist in a bid to find out whther Mirren is right. Is she?
Not really. If you have dry skin, moisturiser does help by supplying water to the skin and trapping it there. Most moisturisers contain a greasy substance that holds the water in.
Many years ago, moisturisers were very greasy on the skin – but now there are huge numbers of moisturisers and creams for sale, each one with a slightly different mix of ingredients.
The key, according to Dr Sweta Rai, from the British Association of Dermatologists, is finding one that suits your skin type and feels comfortable.
“A moisturiser’s job is to maintain an outer armour on the skin, which prevents against infection and helps skin conditioning,” she says.
“If you’re using a good moisturiser for you, then it will be doing a good job for your skin.”
Oil v water
For oily skins, Dr Rai recommends lotions that contain more water.
For dry skins, the advice is to choose ointments or creams that contain a little more oil.
According to the dermatologist, “many people are probably using the wrong moisturiser”.
Dr Rai suggests using a sun cream with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 as a moisturiser – that way it can protect against the Sun’s rays, be reapplied regularly and keep the skin hydrated. And she says it is possible to get a good moisturiser for under £10 (N4,500) but standard moisturisers don’t stop wrinkles or ageing, she says. However, scientists who tested a cream with anti-ageing ingredients in 2012 did find that it appeared to smooth out wrinkles in some people.
