Dermatologist Shereene Idriss breaks down three types of hydrating ingredients: humectants like glycerin and hyaluronic acid draw water into skin, emollients fill gaps between cells, and occlusives seal in moisture. Each works best in different conditions.
Let's understand the difference of each before you understand which one you need. A humectant is going to help draw water into the most superficial layers of your skin, either from the deeper layers of your skin or even sometimes from the environment. Therefore, if you're in a humid environment, it's probably better to use a humectant. Or if your skin is dehydrated, lacking water, you want to use a humectant. In addition to other things. Humectants are like glycerin, urea, hyaluronic acid, and emollients are better. If you have dry skin, meaning your skin is not producing enough sebum, it's going to help fill in the gaps between your skin cells so that your skin can feel nice and smooth and supple and not so rough. So if you're somebody who's dry, lacking sebum or oil production, emollients are the way to go. And occlusives help to prevent water loss through your skin, also known as twl, trans epidermal water loss. And this is great when you're in a very dry environment, that is the mountains or Utah, or if you have super dry skin. I hope that was helpful.
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