Choosing The Best Lotions, Creams & Moisturizers

As we get older, skin undergoes changes, even with healthy aging. Because hormone levels decrease and skin isn’t as well hydrated as it used to be, it can easily get dry, even seriously so. The skin of your face as well as the rest of your body can benefit from a moisturizer or a moisture barrier cream. The texture of your skin barrier cream is important—the drier your skin, the richer the formulation you’ll need to create soft, supple skin.

Your appearance isn’t the only reason to nourish skin with an emollient-rich moisturizer, lotion or cream—dry skin tends to crack, and that’s like a highway on-ramp for bacteria to enter your body.

Skin is often good at absorbing some water when you bathe, shower or wash your face. The idea is to apply your skin cream while skin is still damp, to create a barrier against moisture loss. Look for skin creams that contain ingredients designed for this job. Remedy® Phytoplex Nourishing Skin Cream is a soothing moisturizer helps restore skin's natural moisture balance and barrier properties. Formulated without mineral oil or other petrochemicals to remain breathable, it absorbs readily into the skin with no greasy residue. It moisturizes with a blend of natural emollients like safflower oil and soothes with oat kernel and licorice root extract plus other botanicals and essential fatty acids.

If your skin is already cracking or peeling, you need an intensive treatment like TriDERMA® Extreme Dryness Plus, a fast acting medical strength formula that delivers intense moisture to dry, chapped, cracked skin. Its skin protectants and natural healing properties allow it to lock in vital moisture and help reinforce skin’s natural protective barrier as it soothe redness itching and burning.

To help exfoliate dry, flaky skin and reveal newer, fresher skin, look for products with alphahydroxy acids, or AHAs. For moderate dryness, try Atrac-Tain® Lotion Therapeutic, a soothing lotion that relieves symptoms of moderately dry skin and maintains healthy skin with 5 percent urea and 2.5 percent AHA. For more serious dryness, opt for the richer formula Atrac-Tain Moisturizing Cream with 10 percent urea and 4 percent AHA to soften and exfoliate without potentially irritating fragrances or preservatives.

Heavier options include barrier creams, specialized, high-intensity skin care choices to use if your skin experiences repeated or prolonged exposure to irritants that can damage it, such as urine in the case of incontinence. Part of your incontinence management strategy should be the regular use of a moisture barrier cream to create—just as it sounds—a barrier between skin and any urine or stool.

Another type of cream option is one with anti-fungal properties to help skin heal from these common infections. Critic-Aid Clear Antifungal Moisture Barrier cream is clear in appearance and acts as a moisture barrier against incontinence as it helps heal all skin irritations due to fungal infections.

Be extra gentle with the skin of your complexion and try targeted products for manage unique needs. For instance, TriDREMA® Facial Redness Repair soothes skin irritated by conditions like rosacea. It contains professional strength anti-inflammatory ingredients, vitamins and carefully selected botanicals to quickly calm redness, balance and stabilize the skin.

The bottom line is to remember to care for and protect your skin as you age—it’s still your body’s first line of defense against germs and other invaders