The oil is produced by oil (sebaceous) glands located in the skin. The purpose of this oil is to create a very thin film which protects the skin from environmental aggressions, such as dust, sun, wind, dry air, air-borne bacteria. This oil film has a slightly acidic ph., one more protection factor.

Overproduction of oil will lead to oily skin, while underproduction of oil will result in dry skin.

Water is the second very important ingredient in the skin. Drinking the well-known 8 glasses a day will help maintain a useful level of water in the face skin, but outside factors can still interfere. Dry heated air, very dry air-conditioned air, are only two of the most common reasons for loosing water content from the skin. Loss of water can occur equally in oily and dry skin, in other words both oily and dry skin can be dehydrated.

Both oily and dry skin need to moisturize ( in other words replace lost water) in order to prevent early lines and wrinkles.

Dehydration signs in oily skin can be confusing, because it may appear as flakiness, which most people will associate with dry skin. So if you have flaky (but not red) patches on your oily skin, go for an oily skin moisturizer.

Moisturizers for dry skin are generally oil based, while moisturizers for oily skin are water based.

You can find a variety of moisturizers of professional quality, well explained and well priced at www.theeuropeantouch.com

Many moisturizers are also called day creams and contain sun protection. Look for titanium dioxide on the ingredients list, as it's the best sun protection..