Talking about skincare products, as a basic & general rule, you’re not to use products meant for the body on the face. Most of us are aware of this, but do we know why?? Knowing why might help in adhering to this advice so as to be able to get the most out of our skincare products and routines.
When buying products for skin care, one has to consider the reason the product is been bought and how it’s planned to be used. Products made for the face, for instance, are made to suit the skin on the face and serve its needs. Likewise a product that’s made for the body would be made with different formulas that’ll fit the skin on other part of the body.
Normally, people tend to use products meant for the face on the body, especially after some sort of dilution has been done. This is generally okay and is a safe practice as the concentration of the actives in face products are normally higher to cater to the needs of the delicate skin of the face. The other way round though, using body products on the skin, is not acceptable. Products directed for body care would not be able to adequately suit the needs of the face and you should know why.
So firstly, the stratum corneum, which is the top most layer of skin on the face is far more delicate than the skin on the rest of the body. Also, the number of skin cells in the skin of the face is fewer than that of the rest of the body, hence facial skin is more sensitive
and ‪gets easily damaged‬ compared to other parts of the body. Think about the genitals. They’re the other area of the body with fewer skin cells. So, extra care.
Next is, the facial skin is thinner than the skin of the rest of the body, except for the skin on the chest, so it requires extra care and adequate hydration to avoid irritation.
Thirdly, Facial skin is more sensitive to hormonal changes in the body. Skin problems occur mostly in the facial skin because the face has the highest number of sebaceous glands per square inch. If these glands produce too much sebum it will cause oily skin and acne, if glands produce too little sebum, your skin will become dry and sensitive. the hormone androgen causes the skin to produce more or less sebum (oil) from these glands in the pores of the skin.
Next, facial skin is more often exposed to sunlight compared to the rest of the body which is normally covered in clothes, so it’s more susceptible to the damaging and aging effects of UV radiation. Repeated muscle movements in the face that we use to create facial expressions, as well as the fact that the thinnest skin on the body is under the eyes and around the eyelids, makes sure that your face is much more prone to lines and wrinkles than most other areas of the body.
Also consider parts of the body with joints, like the knee and the elbows. There’s constant movement here which affects the skin on this area. Extra care is needed in these parts as the skin in those areas tend to dry out and get wrinkled more and easily compared to the rest of the body.
Products for the face are formulated in consideration to its basic and utmost needs as is different products for other body parts. Always use the right products made for specific parts of the body to get the maximum effectiveness of the products and for optimum results.
