A post shared by Vicki Belo, M.D. (@victoria_belo) on May 28, 2018 at 8:53pm PDT

MANILA – Did you know that Vicki Belo is “not a believer of moisturizers?”

The beauty doctor to the stars made this statement in her article for Preview.ph, where she currently sits as a guest editor.

In the article which was posted on Tuesday, Belo said she considers moisturizers as “a band-aid solution that don’t really address the problem.”

“Moisturizers were created to make the thick outer layer of the skin (stratum corneum) feel softer… Usually, when you apply moisturizer, your skin becomes soft, especially with continued use. But what people don’t know is that once you stop applying, your skin will still feel the same dryness as before,” she said.

“So did moisturizer really fix the problem? Of course not. Moisturizers just provide temporary lubrication, and when you forget to lubricate, your skin goes back to its dry state… The old skin remains sitting on top of your face but you won’t notice it because it feels soft, like new skin. Thus, the more you put moisturizer, the more old skin won’t come off.”

The founder of the Belo beauty empire went on to compare the process of applying moisturizer to “repainting a broken-down house.”

“The house is already cracking, the paint on the walls are almost peeling off. But instead of fixing the house and replacing the old paint, you’re just putting new paint on top of the old paint. So picture this when you put on moisturizer: You’re not actually taking off the dead skin, you’re keeping it on your face and piling it up, too,” she said.

Belo continued: “I really don’t advise the use of moisturizers here in the Philippines because it’s already quite hot and humid. Moisturizers are useful in cold countries, where you can actually feel your face drying up. But in a tropical country, a moisturizer will only make you more oily. It will clog your pores and could potentially cause breakouts.”

Instead of using moisturizers, Belo advised Filipinos to focus on exfoliating “to reveal the softer and smoother baby skin underneath your old dehydrated skin.”

“You need exfoliating or peeling agents that contain alpha hydroxy acids (AHA), tretinoin, and retinol,” she said.

