Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a face cream and a body cream? And why a face moisturiser is more expensive than a body lotion? Why does a topical treatment product cause a reaction on your face, but not on your body? To answer these questions, we must examine the main differences between the skin on your face and the skin on your body, and by doing so, hopefully answer more questions you may have about your skin and the skincare products you use.
Differences between facial skin and body skin
- The size of the skin cells
The skin cells on your face are smaller than on the rest of your body. Since one of the main functions of your skin is to act as a barrier, smaller skin cells means a smaller barrier area and less of a route through which chemicals going in and water going out has to travel. This explains why skin sensitivity on the face is more common than on the body as less barrier protection is provided. - The thickness of your skin
The skin on your face is thinner than on your body, even though the thickness of your skin varies all over your body. You also have a thinner layer of fat under the skin on your face. As a result wrinkles are more visible on the face and neck. The skin around the eyes and your eyelids are thinnest of all and can be highly sensitive, so must be treated with care. - The number of oil glands
You have a lot more oil glands on your face than on your body which makes your face oilier and shinier. Oil on the face is produced to lubricate the skin and also to ward off bacteria – the oil has antimicrobial properties to protect and help heal the skin. Over-cleansing your face can strip your skin of these natural oils and prevent the skin from functioning normally. It can also cause your skin to produce more oil to compensate for the dry environment. - The number of hair follicles
There are a lot more hair follicles on the skin of your face in comparison to the same size area of skin on your body. Even though the density of the hair follicles is high, the hair on your face is very fine. When you sweat though these follicles, one of the many functions is to release toxins. With your follicles so close together on your face, it is important to avoid clogging them as it can lead to pimples and acne breakouts.
Differences between face and body skincare
Since your body skin in thicker and drier than your facial skin, the main purpose of a body cream is to hydrate and it can sometimes be too oily for your face. Using it on your face could lead to clogged pores and an overly-oily complexion.
While your face also needs hydration, in addition, it needs very special care because of its delicate nature. Specific conditions that facial creams cater for include sensitivity, acne, blemish control, anti-ageing, elasticity improvement and more. These skincare benefits are delivered through active and non-comedogenic ingredients (non-pore-clogging) in lightweight formulations – like in the Revive Moisturiser, a day and night cream made from hand-selected, natural plant ingredients to protect and restore weakened, sensitised or mature skin. Although a face cream and body cream may contain the same basic ingredients, it is the blend of active ingredients that makes a face cream more useful and more expensive than a regular body cream.
If you suffer from conditions like eczema, acne and pigmentation on your body, you can use a body treatment that contains a high dosage of active ingredients – like the African Potato Cream, a herbal skin healing cream with potent, natural anti-inflammatory properties. Since the body is not as sensitive as the face, these treatment products can be loaded with actives to have a powerful effect on the problem skin. This could potentially make your body treatment cost more than your face moisturising cream and could in some instances be too strong to use on the face.
It would be very convenient if you could use a “one-size-fits-all” solution for all of your skin, but they are hard to find. Now you know why.
