Hydration & Moisturiser myths

Let me kick off by quoting what mom told me when I was 14 - the exact time of my initial break out “3 liters of water a day, and you will be fine". You know, I'm Asian and the belief in a relation between what you eat and who you are is extremely ubiquitous among us. Therefore, I followed mom's recommendation and had 3 liters of pure water per day, let alone extra aqua sources from chicken soup and other beverages. Unfortunately, the result was not much positive  as acne still emerged from my poor skin while the T zone was flaky and oily at the same time. One shining feature was that my lips were no longer chapped.

"It cannot be true!" - I yelled with astonishment for what I read from a beauty forum. It stated oily skin needs moisturizer because water is not sufficient due to the gradual lost cause within only 2 hours after applying. "The most hilarious thing ever", "only a hoax of cosmetic company" -  counterarguments came second later as those reading this thread disputed boisterously, which made me so excited to read till the rest of their debate.

Now, 8 years have gone and along with individual experiences, I would love to be here with you to clarify some myths about hydration.

1. Drink water only - no moist needed. It's totally a canard. Water is not completely absorbed into the skin, yet most of it is discharged through excretory system. Some researches reveal that no matter how much water you drink, the hydrating effect it gives on your skin is even pale in comparison with having a direct shower.

2. Moisturizer clogs pores, especially for oily skin, drink water instead. I strongly give an absolute no to this view. Although it cannot be denied that some moisturizers with particular ingredients could cause break out, they also have earned themselves a reputation of being the most essential step in skincare routine. Just take a look and we would notice that each country, each culture has their own distinctive perception toward beauty products. To expatiate, in Eastern countries, it just simply consists of cleanser, toner and moisturizer whereas in Asia, there are plenty of steps varying from cleanser, emulsion, essence, serum, etc.  Nonetheless beyond all that, moisturizer has never been an exception. You can skip anything from the toner to essential oil or whatever but not the moisturizer. Without the moisturizer, you skin would be dehydrated, provoking an ever increasing oil for halting the evaporating of water on the skin surface. 

3. Moisturizer is a miracle cream. So many of us keep complaining about how fruitless their cream is. The fine lines somehow still laugh at us in glory; dark spots are likewise, not a bit faded. Which words should I tell you? A sorry? Yes, it's a sorry but for the fact that moisturizer is only moisturizer. The furthest thing it can do is help to make the wrinkles on fully hydrated skin to be temporarily slightly less visible compared to the dry one.

So I hope you get some useful information to fulfill your understanding about hydration now. In case that you get oily skin and need a light weight moisturizer, I personally recommend the B21 Obligo Orlane Vitamin cream. It's my favorite moisturizer so far; however, the price is not competitive, which is around 80$/1.7oz. (50gr) . Clarins Daily Energizer Cream is also a good moisturizer to me as a more reasonable dupe for the Orlane.

I get this sample for free at a local Orlane counter.You should come & try the product to test in advance to notice whether it causes allergy to you skin. 

I had my friend in UK purchase this set for me with 25 bucks only. It includes a 1.7 oz. full size cream and  2 travel size toner plus cleanser for 1oz. each . The price is way too bargaining right? You can find the Clarins product here but the set is no longer available. What a pity!