Skin’s a funny old thing. One morning you wake up refreshed and clear-skinned, the next, your face has taken on the characteristics of a well-toasted pitta bread. But there’s one constant I think I’m safe in saying we all do to our skin at least once a day, and that’s moisturise. Essentially, the basic function of a moisturiser is to stop water escaping from the skin. These days they come with all sorts of other bells and whistles, but if you’re not stopping moisture loss, you’re missing the point entirely.

But how do you get the best out of your moisturiser? For something so intrinsic and essential to our beauty routines, shouldn’t there be some kind of methodology at work? A manifesto of moisturising? We’re taught by a dentist from an early age how to brush our teeth, but nobody tells how to moisturise, do they? With that in mind, I thought I’d enlist the help of a professional. Someone who deals with skin and the way it works on a daily basis.  Dr Tom Mammone is the Executive Director of Skin Physiology and Pharmacology at Clinique. What he doesn’t know about moisturising, quite frankly, isn’t worth knowing. So it’s time to think like a dermatologist and get back to basics because hydrated skin, is happy skin. Ain’t that the truth?

Click through our gallery above to learn how to moisturise like a pro.