Could You Be Addicted to Your Lotion?
We know people who swear they're addicted to lip balm-but getting addicted to moisturizer? That wasn't on our radar until recently, when a press release quoted the doctor behind the line: "Moisturizers...may give skin a smooth, silky feeling, but with repeated use, skin becomes addicted to them. When skin cells get lazy and slow down, the complexion relies on-you guessed it-more moisturizer to stay hydrated." We were skeptical, so we asked Yale School of Medicine dermatologist David J. Leffell for his take. "That doesn't make any sense to me," he says. "Quality moisturizers that are properly designed will actually help reconstitute some of the elements of healthy skin that are lost through the drying process, whether due to washing or other causes. I don't think you can get 'addicted to your moisturizer.'"
So go ahead and keep on moisturizing. Check out the best moisturizer for the hottest days of the year.
Turns out, even excessive lip-balm-slicking is a bit of hooey. "Lip-balm addiction is likely a behavioral addiction-getting used to applying-rather than anything biological," Leffell says. And that theory that using too many anti-acne products can cause your skin to go into oil overdrive? Not so much. "It is true that acne is a dynamic process and what works at one point may not work at another, so treatment has to change," says Leffell. "But I wouldn't say one develops excess oil production from acne medication."
Related: Get your skin in shape for summer with our 9 best beauty tricks.
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