背景介绍：

皮肤作为人体最大器官，其屏障功能易受气候干燥、过度清洁及年龄增长影响。研究表明，基础保湿无需依赖高价产品，平价保湿霜与奢侈品牌在锁水效果上并无显著差异。抗衰老领域，视黄醇虽能通过促进胶原生成减少细纹，但可能引发刺激反应。皮肤科专家指出，紫外线防护是唯一经科学验证的抗衰手段，过度使用功效型产品可能加剧皮肤问题，建议消费者根据实际需求理性消费，避免陷入营销陷阱。

Is posh moisturiser worth the money?

贵的保湿霜真的物有所值吗？

Don’t break the bank

别花大价钱

There is a tendency to trivialise the skin, says Peter Elias, a dermatologist at the University of California, San Francisco. And yet this largest organ of the body is vital to health, keeping moisture in and germs out.

加州大学旧金山分校皮肤科医生彼得·埃利亚斯指出，人们往往低估了皮肤的重要性。然而，作为人体最大的器官，皮肤对健康至关重要，它既能锁住水分又能抵御病菌。

Many things can interfere with these functions. Dry weather draws moisture from the skin. Bathing or showering too often—more than once per day—or using harsh cleansers that strip away naturally occurring oils, can also cause problems. When the skin becomes too dry, it can become itchy and inflamed. Dryness can also cause cracks in the skin which can lead to infections.

许多因素都会影响这些功能：干燥天气会带走皮肤水分；频繁洗澡（一天超过一次）或使用刺激性清洁产品去除天然油脂，也可能引发问题。当皮肤过于干燥时，会出现瘙痒和发炎症状。干燥还会导致皮肤开裂，引发感染风险。

Some people are more prone to skin dryness than others. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, olive-skinned people are less likely to have dry skin than people with black, brown or fair skin.

部分人群更易出现皮肤干燥。美国皮肤病学会数据显示，相较于黑色、棕色或白皙肤色人群，橄榄色皮肤人群出现干燥问题的概率较低。

Men also have thicker, oilier skin, so they are less likely to experience dryness. Genetic ailments, such as ichthyosis, can cause dry and scaly skin, and so can diabetes or kidney disease.

男性皮肤更厚且油脂分泌更旺盛，因此干燥问题较少见。鱼鳞病等遗传性疾病会导致皮肤干燥脱屑，糖尿病或肾脏疾病也有类似影响。

Age is also a factor. The skin naturally produces an oil called sebum that coats, protects and moisturises the skin. Oil production tends to peak during puberty—the reason for those pesky pimples—and then slowly decreases over time.

年龄是另一关键因素。皮肤自然分泌的皮脂具有保护保湿作用。皮脂分泌通常在青春期达到峰值（这也是长青春痘的原因），之后逐渐减少。

The three types of moisturiser can help. Humectants, such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin, pull moisture from inside the body onto the surface of the skin. Occlusives, such as petroleum jelly and shea butter, block water from evaporating from the skin. Emollients, such as ceramide, smooth the skin by filling in gaps between skin cells. A review published in January in Experimental Dermatology found that ceramide made skin look and feel smoother and also reduced inflammation of the skin.

三类保湿成分各有功效：透明质酸和甘油等吸湿剂能将体内水分输送至皮肤表层；凡士林和乳木果油等封闭剂可防止水分蒸发；神经酰胺等润肤剂通过填补皮肤细胞间隙使肤质细腻。2024年1月《实验皮肤病学》期刊研究证实，神经酰胺能显著改善皮肤触感并缓解炎症。

If the goal is soft, well-hydrated skin, experts say that cheaper products work just as well as the boutique options. “You don’t need to break the bank,” says Nour Kibbi, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at Stanford University.

专家表示，若仅追求肌肤柔润，平价产品与贵价产品效果相当。斯坦福大学皮肤科临床副教授努尔·基比说道：“你不必花大价钱。”

Where splurging may pay off, says Abigail Waldman, a dermatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts, is on products that reduce the signs of ageing. As people age, skin-cell production slows and the skin thins. Older people also produce less collagen, which keeps the skin plump. This combination leads to wrinkles.

马萨诸塞州布里格姆妇女医院的皮肤科医生阿比盖尔·沃尔德曼指出，抗衰老产品才是值得投资的领域。随着年龄的增长，皮肤细胞的生成速度会减慢，皮肤角质层也会变薄。老年人产生的胶原蛋白也会减少，而胶原蛋白能使皮肤保持饱满。这些因素共同导致了皱纹的产生。

Retinol and other retinoids, a class of products chemically derived from vitamin A, reduce the appearance of wrinkles by increasing cell and collagen production. A study published in JAMA Dermatologyin 2007 tested the effectiveness of retinol by comparing the arms of 36 elderly people who, three times a week, had had lotion with retinol put on one arm and lotion without retinol on the other.

视黄醇和其他类视黄醇是一类化学上源自维生素A的产品，它们能通过增加细胞和胶原蛋白的生成来减少皱纹的出现。2007年发表在《美国医学会皮肤病学杂志》上的一项研究，通过比较36名老年人手臂的情况来测试视黄醇的有效性。这些老年人每周三次，在一只手臂上涂抹含有视黄醇的乳液，另一只手臂上涂抹不含视黄醇的乳液。

After six months, the researchers found that the arms with retinol had fewer fine wrinkles. Nearly 20 years later, experts still recommend retinol as a way to reduce the signs of ageing.

六个月后，研究人员发现，涂抹视黄醇的手臂细纹更少。时隔近二十年，专家们仍然推荐视黄醇作为抗衰老的方法。

TikTok influencers are keen to sell these so-called “anti-ageing” products to their Gen Z customers to delay or prevent ageing. But there is no benefit to prophylactic use, says Dr Waldman. “The only product on the market that is truly anti-ageing is sunscreen,” says Zoe Draelos, a dermatologist at Duke University.

当下TikTok博主热衷向Z世代推销“抗衰老”产品，以延缓或预防衰老。但沃尔德曼医生指出，预防性使用这些产品并无益处。杜克大学皮肤科医生佐伊·德拉洛斯强调：“市面上真正的抗衰老产品唯有防晒霜。”

Sunscreen can prevent damage from ultraviolet light that can cause sunspots and wrinkles. For all their benefits, however, ingredients such as retinol and glycolic acid can also cause redness, irritation, dryness, and cracks in the skin. Which might mean another trip to the shops for even more moisturisers.