| What
is the secret of fresh, radiant skin? The answer is easy: water.
Depriving yourself of your 8 glasses a day is almost as bad as baking
in the sun at noon, sans your SPF. (And remember, if you're active,
you need even more than 8 glasses to keep your body hydrated.) After
H20, your skin's next best friend, especially in the summer, is
a moisturizer to fight dryness in two ways: with humectants glycerin
and other ingredients that attract and hold moisture from the air,
or with occlusive lanolin and petroleum jelly which act as barriers
to prevent water loss from the skin surface. (Warning: moisturizers
don't reach under the surface of the skin-despite whimsical claims-so
while they can prevent moisture loss, they can only provide temporary
relief.) How do you choose from all the moisturizers on the market?
Don't let price be your only guide. A number of expensive products
didn't fare any better in recent testing than inexpensive drugstore
varieties. L'Oreal Plenitude Active Daily Moisture, Pond's Nourishing
Moisturizer, Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Healing with Skin
Protection Complex and Curel Soothing Hands all rated highly. One
final secret: you can help your skin retain moisture by applying
moisturizing products right after you shower. Why? Because your
skin is already plumped up by the magical powers of plain old water.
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