Foamy, balmy, oily, or jelly-like the latest skincare formulas are available in a raft of different skincare textures each one making the ritual of applying them all the more indulgent.
These different consistencies have been carefully formulated to help your skin better absorb the active ingredients contained within, not to
But different skin types will absorb thicker creams and thinner liquids differently, and this may affect the results you glean from using a product.
Ashleigh Cometti spoke to Kate Michelmore, a dermal specialist, the founder of Skinography and the formulator behind anti-inflammatory skincare range Kumo, about the differences between skin textures and how this could be impacting your results.
Balms and Pressed Serums
Texture: Intensely thick and buttery, balms boast a rich consistency that is both ultra-soothing and deeply hydrating.
How they work: "Emollient-rich balms promote moisture retention by delivering generous doses of essential fatty acids, plant oils and botanical extracts, leaving the skin feeling smooth and supple," Kate says. Alongside solid or "pressed" serums, balms contain little to no water, meaning they boast a higher concentration of actives and fewer preservatives.
Best for: Normal, dry to extremely dry skin, making them an excellent option for over winter and cool climates. Balms work wonders on barrier-compromised skin as they help to replenish the dermal hydrolipidic barrier.
Key ingredients: Cold-pressed plant oils, beeswax and plant butters including shea butter and cocoa butter.
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Advertise with NZME.What to avoid: It's a good idea to familiarise yourself with a product's INCI list regardless, but Kate says it's especially important when shopping for beauty balms. She advises side-stepping ingredients like mineral oil, petrolatum and dimethicone (or any ingredient that ends in "cone" for that matter) as their occlusive nature can trap dead skin cells and bacteria, which can ultimately lead to breakouts.
Waters and Essences
Texture: Waters and essences are light in viscosity with a fluid, aqueous texture.
How they work: According to Kate, toners play a vital role in achieving immaculately clean skin while imparting light hydration, while micellar waters help to rid skin of lingering grime and excess oil while preparing skin for the more hydrating steps to follow.
Best for: This ultra-gentle texture is suited to all skin types, especially frequent flyers and office workers, as planes and office environments can be extremely drying on complexions.
Key ingredients: Saccharide isomerate is an ingredient commonly found in watery skincare, a 100 per cent plant-derived complex that functions as a humectant and an emollient.
What to avoid: Ensure your toner doesn't contain solvent alcohols, which can be especially drying. More brands are leaning towards mild, alcohol-free formulas than their astringent predecessors.
Try: Shiseido Eudermine Revitalizing Essence, $168.
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Lotions
Texture: Similar in texture to creams but much more lightweight, lotions are refined emulsions that are an excellent consistency if you like to layer your skincare.
How they work: Lotions absorb quickly into skin, delivering lightweight hydration without feeling heavy or too rich. As they don't sit on the skin for long, they won't interfere with any products layered on top from working their magic. Each promises sustained hydration without clogging pores, making them perfect for those with combination or blemish-prone skin, especially throughout summer.
Best for: The ultimate all-rounder, lotions are well suited to all skin types particularly those that may benefit from a lighter texture like normal or slightly oily skin.
Key ingredients: Expect to see plenty of skin-replenishing ingredients crop up in facial lotions, including polysaccharides, plant oils and shea butter. Polysaccharides are an essential ingredient for skin repair and renewal, thanks to their ability to help hydrate the skin and aid it in retaining moisture.
Oils
Texture: The thickness of a facial oil varies from lightweight to rich and silky. Oils tend to absorb more slowly into the skin, so applying them sparingly overnight will reap the biggest benefits.
How they work: Skin tends to suffer when its lipid stores are depleted, and Kate says their absence in the skin contributes to "low levels of ceramides, resulting in a disrupted skin barrier that can cause accelerated ageing, trans-epidermal water loss, impaired enzyme activity and breakouts". Which is precisely where lipid-rich facial oils come in, helping restore hydration.
Best for: Most skin types will respond well to facial oils, including congested or dehydrated skin.
Key ingredients: Squalane, jojoba oil, linoleic acid, tocopherol and omegas 3, 6 and 9 are often formulated into facial oils, and Kate recommends shopping for formulations with botanical ingredients known for their purifying, balancing and skin-softening properties.
Insider tip: The order in which skincare is applied remains a contentious issue, but Kate has a good tip on how best to incorporate a facial oil into your skincare regimen. "If your face oil is heavier than your face cream, it should be applied last. And if your face oil is lighter than your face cream, it should be applied first," she says.
Exfoliants
Texture: For the purpose of this story, we'll be homing in on physical exfoliants only, which boast a grittier texture over their chemical counterparts. Physical exfoliants have come a long way since the shower staple of our teendom (hello, St Ives Apricot Scrub) with many seeing conditioning creams blended with a fine grain, or a loose powder designed to be mixed with your cleanser of choice.
How they work: Twice weekly exfoliation promotes a healthy, glowing complexion, Kate says, by cleansing skin thoroughly and sloughing away dead skin cells to clarify and smooth skin. It's important to be mindful not to over-exfoliate skin, as doing so can strip it of its natural oils and interrupt its delicate acid mantle. "The turnover of dead skin cells is approximately 28 days; exfoliating too frequently removes healthy cells, and can lead to irritated skin," Kate warns.
Best for: Physical exfoliants work well on most skin types, particularly dry skin as they help to buff away dead cells.
Key ingredients: Most exfoliants are formulated with tiny granules that give them their rough texture, but Kate says many exfoliants harness non-abrasive jojoba spheres to buff away surface debris.
Serums
Texture: Verging on gel in texture, these supercharged skin heroes melt quickly thanks to their lightweight (yet ultra-powerful) formulas.
How they work: Highly efficacious by nature, serums contain tiny molecules that travel into the deeper layers of the skin to offer maximum hydration and target a number of complex skin concerns in one fell swoop. Many serve dual purpose to repair damage in the deeper layers of skin while fending off free radicals from its surface.
Best for: Serums are another all-rounder, working their magic on every skin type.
Key ingredients: Typically, serums are one of the most active products found in any skincare regimen, and highlight results-driven ingredients like niacinamide, antioxidants and peptides in their formulas.
Jellies
Texture: Equal parts bouncy and springy, jelly textures spread easily and melt rapidly into skin, leaving skin feeling hydrated and refreshed (even more so if you store yours in the fridge).
How they work: "Ultra-hydrating and plumping, jellies smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles," Kate says. "They refresh, cool and infuse the skin with potent phytonutrients that noticeably improve skin hydration levels, without leaving residual oil or shine on the skin." Many formulas are oil-free or have an emulsion base with a very low percentage of oil, meaning they're excellent at balancing excess sebum production in combination or oily skin types.
Best for: Most skin types, including normal or dehydrated skin through to oily and blemish-prone skin. If you're bound for the tropics, stash some jelly-textured skincare in your suitcase for its cooling effect in warm or humid environments.
Key ingredients: Comprising viscous gels, jelly skincare typically turns to ingredients like hyaluronic acid, aloe leaf juice, glycerin or lactic acid for its hydration factor.
Creams
Texture: Ranging from medium to rich and buttery in weight, cosseting creams promise a full sensorial experience when swirled and applied to skin.
How they work: As one of the most popular skincare textures, creams are thicker in consistency and often contain a nourishing blend of botanical butters and fatty acids to help soften and hydrate skin. Offering immediate and sustained hydration, creams help target specific skin concerns and are easy to layer on top of serums and lotions.
Best for: People with normal to dry and sensitive skin types will benefit most from incorporating cream textures into their routines.
Key ingredients: All the hardworking hydrators come to play in cream textures think phyto-peptides, ceramides, plant oils, urea and shea butter which create a barrier over skin to prevent any further moisture loss.
Foams and Mousses
Texture: Foams and mousses bring all the fun with their light-as-air textures, which fizz and bubble when applied to the skin.
How they work: Kate issues a gentle warning about foam cleansers while many are lightweight and cloud-like in consistency some can leave skin irritated, thirsty and with that “squeaky clean” feeling. The texture of a mousse is created through the pump mechanism, not through the ingredients used, Kate says. “The pump mechanism works by the liquid formula mixing with air in the chamber.”
Best for: All skin types, ranging from normal to oily with an imbalance of sebum production.
Key ingredients: While foams are fun, it's important to select one that contains mild surfactants like coco-glucoside, glyceryl oleate (a fatty acid derived from olive oil) and tocopherol (vitamin E).
What to avoid: That squeaky clean feeling Kate referred to earlier? That's down to sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) or sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) which give foaming skincare its texture but can also dry out skin at the same time.
Gels
Texture: The lightweight consistency of a gel doesn’t mean it’s less effective oil-free gel skincare is a drink of water for thirsty skin.
How they work: Some gel skincare contains tiny molecules that help to plump the skin from within, while others boast ingredients with a larger molecular weight that form an invisible film on the skin to maintain optimum hydration.
Best for: Normal, combination and oily skin will benefit most from gel-based textures.
Key ingredients: Expect to see humectant ingredients like glycerin and hyaluronic acid feature strongly on gel skincare's INCI lists. Kate says glycerin enhances hydration by drawing ambient humidity from the air, while hyaluronic acid has the ability to hold up to 1000 times its weight in water.
Insider tip: Throughout the cooler months, Kate loves layering a gel in between serum and moisturiser to achieve what she calls a "beauty sandwich". "This will ensure deeply hydrated skin while the heating is going full force," she says.
