Everyone Should Use Face Moisturizer, Including You (2025)

An excellent moisturizer will not only replenish lost moisture but also prevent too much moisture from evaporating. Think of it like a good duvet, which will keep you warm and also prevent heat from escaping your bed, Rory says. A great moisturizer, including the ones we recommend, will effectively hydrate the skin, and it will go a step further to nourish skin and ensure the moisture you’re providing stays put. In our guide to the best moisturizers, we looked for those with a blend of the following:

• Humectants: Ingredients such as glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and glycol pull water into the skin.

• Emollients: Ingredients like squalane and niacinamide soften the skin and hold onto the moisture.
• Occlusives:These create a barrier between the skin and the air, to further lock in hydration and prevent water loss. Here, we’re looking at ingredients like ceramides, as well as natural oils, such as jojoba or avocado oil.

“Of course, some ingredients check a few boxes—niacinamide, for instance, serves as all three,” Rory says.

One of the simplest ways to prevent some of the negative effects of dry skin is to habitually apply moisturizer, once or twice a day. But for skin-care newbies, this may feel like a heavy lift. As is true of all habits, maintaining a skin-care routine gets easier with time, and you may even grow to enjoy it—if you find a moisturizer you like, that is.

When you start shopping for a moisturizer, the most basic thing to keep in mind is your skin type. Most people’s skin will fall into one of these categories: dry, oily, combination (meaning oily in some areas, dry in others), or normal. I don’t love the word normal when referring to skin, but it’s the term that’s historically used to describe skin that doesn’t fall into any of the other categories, so I’ll let it slide.

Skin type matters. For example, there’s a high chance that someone with oily skin won’t love a super-thick, heavy cream (since it may make their complexion look and feel even more oily). And a person with dry skin may not get the hydration they need from a lightweight gel (which could leave skin feeling dehydrated again shortly after application).

Although skin type is important (and certainly helpful in vetting beauty products before you buy them), it’s not the be-all and end-all. For example, some people with dry skin still despise the feeling of a thick moisturizer on their skin, so they may opt for lighter formulas. Alternatively, someone with oily skin may find that a rich cream feels luxurious on their skin, rather than making it feel slick. And they may grow to love the ultra-dewy, nearly reflective look that a rich cream imparts.

Finish and texture aside, some people prefer products that offer a fancier experience. Those who value luxurious vibes may want to reach for the lavish depth of our splurge pick, Augustinus Bader’s The Rich Cream. Or they may enjoy the aesthetically pleasing and expensive-feeling Outset Nourishing Squalane Daily Moisturizer, another pick from our guide.

For some, joy-provoking touches—like elevated packaging, refillable options, and indulgent textures—are worth spending more. Yet saving money doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality. We also love CeraVe Moisturizing Cream and Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer, two of our more-affordable picks.

Personal preference can be secondary to other considerations for many, but using skin-care products that we enjoy will only make it easier to stick with them. And when it comes to skin care, routine is paramount.

When you combine skin-type considerations and personal preferences with the basic formula requirements recommended by experts (the previously mentioned humectants, emollients, and occlusives), narrowing down a list of truly great moisturizers can seem daunting. And it was, but Rory did the hard part for you.

In our guide to the best moisturizers, you’ll find rigorously tested and thoughtfully considered products that take all of this (and plenty more) into account.

While most of the beauty products featured in those ASMR-esque videos are far from essential, moisturizer is one of the few exceptions. It’s a sturdy pillar of any great skin-care routine. And if you can find one you truly love, you may just fall into that blissed-out, brain-off state when you apply it to your skin—no videos required.

This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.