A Buyer’s Guide: How to Pick the Best Moisturizer

With the winter approaching, it’s important to find the best moisturizer for your skin type. Three moisturizing ingredients that are important to look out for when determining the best moisturize for you are humectants (ingredients that attract and keep water in the skin), emollients (smoothing and softens skin) and occlusives (ingredients that seal and retain moisture to the skin). Even though everyone should moisturize, the type of moisturization needs vary based on your skin type, whether you have dry, combination, normal or oily skin.

Below i’ve complied a guide to help you find the best moisturizer for your skin type.

#1. Best Moisturizers for Dry Skin

If you have dry skin, your skin cannot create oil to hydrate your skin. The best moisturizer for your skin will be an oil-based or petroleum-based moisturizers. These will help bring back and seal the hydration in your body. The most important ingredient to look out for when trying to find the best moisturizer for your skin type is hyaluronic acid. This acid is naturally produced by your body to help your skin retain water. If you have dry skin and are looking for a new moisturizer, try out Tarte’s SEA Drink of H2O Hydrating Boost Moisturizer or First Aid Beauty’s Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration. These two moisturizers have hyaluronic acid and squalene, which aims to replenish and hydrates your skin by balancing its oils and water.

SEA Drink of H2O Hydrating Boost Moisturizer | Range $14-$39

Ultra Repair® Cream Intense Hydration | Range $16-$46

#2. Best Moisturizers for Combination Skin

If you have a combination skin type, the best moisturizer will hydrate your skin areas without amplifying the oil production in oily sections of your face. When you have combination skin, parts of your face are dry and oily. You want to find something hydrating but not too oily and a formula that is not too thick but leaves your skin refreshed. The best moisturizers for combination skin are water-based gels that are easily spreadable and buildable. If you have combination skin, try out Sephora Collection’s Nourishing Moisturizer and Clinique's Moisture Surge. Both of these moisturizers are gel-based and allow your skin to get the hydration and moisture it needs without over-amplifying the shine from your body's oils.

Sephora Collection Nourishing Moisturizer | $18

CLINIQUE'S Moisture Surge | Range $15-$59

#3. Best Moisturizers for Normal Skin

Having a normal skin type means your skin is balanced. You have no major issues. Your skin is not too oily and not too dry. Therefore, the best moisturizer depends solely on your texture preference. It’s best to try different formulations to test which consistency you like the best. For a gel formula, i’d recommend Tatcha’s Water Cream Oil-Free Pore Minimizing Moisturizer and the Sephora Collection’s Firming Sleeping Cream for a cream formula.

Tatcha’s Water Cream Oil-Free Pore Minimizing Moisturizer | Range $22-$82

Sephora Collection’s Firming Sleeping Cream | $14

#4. Best Moisturizers for Oily Skin

If your skin type is oily, your body produces more oil than usual. However, you should still be moisturizing.

The best moisturizer for your is one that does not have added oil or pore-clogging ingredients. The moisturizers should be hydrating and targeted toward blemish-prone skin. You want to have a lightweight consistency rather than the thick one that people with dry skin are looking for. If you have oily skin, try Skinfix’s Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Face Cream or Sephora Collection’s All Day Hyaluronic Acid Hydrator Moisturizer. Both of these moisturizers are oil-free and will keep your skin feeling lightweight and hydrated.

Skinfix’s Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Face Cream | Range $20-$78

Sephora Collection’s All Day Hyaluronic Acid Hydrator Moisturizer | $18