Black skin care moisturizers. What are they? Before we can begin any conversation about caring for black skin with a moisturizer, we might first want to define what it is.

Moisturizers are a combination of ingredients designed to hydrate your skin, thereby keeping it smooth and soft. They also help alleviate dry scaly skin and protect it from water loss.  They should be are part of your daily skin care regimen.

Moisturizers, also known as emulsions in technical terms, and consist of at least two liquids. These liquids known as oil and water, are dispersed throughout your skin.

The emulsion process is water-in-oil, oil-in-water or oil free.

Some of you might confuse moisturizers with creams. While they do have a creamy texture, traditional Creams are thicker. Creams are used on isolated areas such as elbows, knees, feet and hands.

Whenever a cream is used on your face, it has been formulated to be used as a night cream. Quite often it’s for dry skin.

Types of Black Skin Care Moisturizers

Water-in-Oil moisturizers are heavier on the oil side. They tend to be more “greasy” and work best on dry skin such as elbows, hands and feet. This type of moisturizer is also good for those of you that wash your hands a lot. An example would be massage therapist or healthcare practitioners.

Speaking of healthcare practitioners, you don’t realize just how often they wash their hands until you visit someone in the hospital.  Every time we touched something we were washing our hands. The nurses told us to wash after the slightest touch of anything in the hospital. Did you know that hospitals are some of the most germ infested environments?

Flaking skin such as psoriasis, dry eczema and dehydrated skin, love a good moisturizer as well..

Oil-in-Water moisturizers are light, easily absorbed into your skin. They are high in water and low in oil. Therefore, they are preferred over Water-n-Oil moisturizers by most of you.

Oil-free moisturizers are typically formulated with Aloe Vera gel. Although light weight in texture, oil-free moisturizers are designed to hydrate your skin. It’s best to use them on skin that can not handle heavier ingredients.

Key Benefits of a Black Skin Care Moisturizer for Face and Body

Some of the key benefits of a good moisturizer are to:

• Soften and soothe your skin
• Improve the tone of your skin
• Balance the oil production in your skin
• Slow the aging process
• Improve hydration in your skin
• Relieve itching
• Oil based moisturizers prevent water loss
• Reduce inflammation

When applying an Ayurveda technique, it is customary to oil your skin “Before” you get into the shower or bath. You’ll then sit for 5-10 allowing the oil to penetrate into your skin.   This process is said to prevent dehydration of your skin and protects it once you’re out of the shower or bath.

I’m experimenting with this one. Let’s keep each other updated.

Moisturizers and the benefits they offer, can create a very soft and sensual skin.  Moisturizers are also known to have your skin feeling soft as a baby’s bottom.

That’s it for this week. As always …

Dedicated To Your Beauty,

Juliette Samuel,
Esthetician/Author/Publisher

Nyraju Skin Care