The 5 Best Moisturizers for Oily Skin

If you’re thirsty, you can pour yourself a tall glass of ice water or grab a popsicle from the freezer… but when it comes to your skin, it’s not nearly this easy.

Dehydrated or dry skin can’t be solved simply by getting it wet. If it were that simple, we wouldn’t deal with dryness after washing our hands in the winter or drying off from a chlorine-treated pool in the summer. To truly hydrate your skin, you need more than just water.

To achieve moisturized skin, you need the right nourishment — water, yes, but fats are also key for nourished skin .

What Should You Know About Skin Hydration?

Dermatologists measure skin moisture in terms of two nutrients: water and lipids — oily substances we usually refer to as fats.

There are multiple types of lipids your skin needs , including ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids. Though each has a slightly different function, these lipids work together to create one of the most important parts of your skin: your skin barrier.

This thin layer of oil is called the stratum corneum , and it is your body’s first line of defense against a number of bacteria and microbes that would otherwise sneak through the skin and enter the body. Your skin barrier is responsible for keeping harmful substances out and locking moisture in.

However, some skin types struggle with this more than others.

For people with dry skin, natural oils can be in short supply. This is why your skin can so easily start to crack or flake — your skin barrier is not very strong.

People with naturally dry skin deserve the same nourishment (and moisture!) as people with oily or acne-prone skin — even if it takes a little bit more work.

To nourish and protect your dry skin, finding a good moisturizer for your skin type is essential.

Today, we’ll walk you through all the details of your dry skin and how to give it the additional nourishment it needs to protect your body and look as healthy as it feels. We’ll give you all the information you need to make a decision backed by science and even recommend some of the best moisturizers for dry skin to help you get started.

How Can You Recognize Dry Skin?

According to dermatologists, there are five main skin types :

Normal skin, which is healthy and not sensitive.
Oily skin, which produces more oil than needed, and is often greasy and prone to breakouts as a result.
Dry skin, which does not produce enough oil and is often rough and itchy as a result.
Combination skin, which is oily in some places and dry in others.
Sensitive skin, which is easily irritated by non-gentle skincare products and ingredients.

Some people find it most helpful to determine their skin type by ruling out what skin types they don’t have. For example, if you know that you can use a wide variety of skincare ingredients without much stress on your skin, then you probably don’t have sensitive skin.

The other method is to try to match certain qualities and characteristics of your skin to one of the five skin types.

People with dry skin often experience:

Flaking

A well-lubricated skin barrier does more than just keep your skin safe — it literally holds your skin together. The lipids on the surface of your skin sit in between your skin cells, gluing them together the same way that grout holds together tiles or mortar holds together bricks.

Without enough of these lipids (AKA sebum, the natural oily substance your skin makes to keep itself moisturized), the structure of your skin can break apart. The skin flakes associated with dry skin are dead skin cells that, without this sebum to hold them together, split from the rest of the skin layer and fall away.

Redness or Irritation

Because dry skin doesn’t contain enough oils to keep the skin barrier strong, certain pollutants can penetrate your skin and enter the body. At first, these irritants exist undetected, with little or no reaction from the skin itself — but this doesn’t last long.

Once your immune system notices a foreign substance in your body, it kicks into gear. Thousands of immune cells activate in the skin, neutralizing the detected threat. This reaction can happen in only a few seconds.

This immune response causes another common side effect of dry skin: redness.

To fight off the irritants that make their way through your skin barrier, your body increases circulation to your skin to deliver those additional immune cells. This influx of blood in the skin causes inflammation — which, though at first may sound like a bad thing, is a vital part of the immune response.

Without inflammation and the extra blood it carries, your skin wouldn’t have enough resources to repair the tissues damaged by those bacteria and microbes. With more blood under the surface, your skin can take on a reddish color.

Tight Skin

Because dry skin has a much weaker skin barrier than other skin types, it also often comes with a tight skin feeling. This is caused by the skin’s inability to retain moisture: unlike other dry skin side effects, which are caused by a lack of sebum in this skin, tight skin often develops because the skin can’t retain the moisture it has.

Throughout the day, everybody’s skin goes through transepidermal water loss. Water evaporates from the skin and the surrounding air, whether from the outside climate or your body’s own heat. Most people lose between 300 and 400 milliliters of water a day — but people with dry skin can lose much more.

While losing some water from the skin is not a problem, losing too much can lead to scaly, itchy, and tight skin.

Discomfort

Dry skin can feel uncomfortable for many reasons, including flaking, itching, or tightness. In general, this skin type can be irritating because of the rough texture associated with dryness.

Your skin is meant to be lubricated, so you’re bound to notice when it's not. Nerve cells on the surface of your skin pick up on this dryness and send signals to your brain in an effort to alert you to this problem and encourage you to solve it.

For most people with dry skin, applying a lotion or nourishing cream is enough to ease the discomfort — but for others, this feeling can become painful and require more intensive intervention methods.

What Are the Best Moisturizers for Dry Skin?

Though no one skin type is better or worse than another, it’s important to recognize their distinctions — and to know how to care for your own.

If you have dry skin, not just any moisturizer or night cream will do. You need a skincare product to support your skin type and hydrate your dry skin.

1. M-61 PowerGlow Pro+ Niacinamide+Neuropeptide Cream

If you’re looking for a powerful anti-aging moisturizing cream, then this skincare product might be the one for you.

The M-61 PowerGlow Pro+ Niacinamide+Neuropeptide Cream is made to retexturize the skin, providing deep-rooted hydration that can combat a rough or flaky skin look. Made with antioxidant-rich niacinamide and a complexion-changing blend of glycolic, salicylic, and lactic acid, this cream gently exfoliates skin for a smoother skin texture.

2. Augustinus Bader The Ultimate Soothing Cream

If you’re looking to soothe angry and irritated skin, this cream moisturizer might be the answer.

The Augustinus Bader The Ultimate Soothing Cream uses a blend of super hydrators like shea butter and antioxidants like vitamins B5 and B3 to instantly refresh your dry skin. It’s designed to refresh, replenish, and rehydrate inflamed skin, leaving behind a radiant (and not red) complexion.

3. La Mer Crème de La Mer Face Cream

If you’re looking for a face cream that will rejuvenate your skin and leave you feeling nothing short of radiant, then this skincare product might be the one for you.

The La Mer Crème de La Mer Face Cream immerses your skin in moisture to soothe sensitivity and combat dryness. This cream also has anti-aging effects, meaning it works to smooth out rough skin and fine lines at the same time.

4. M-61 Hydraboost HA Gel Moisturizer

If you’re looking for an oil-free gel moisturizer that provides deep nourishment with a lightweight feel, then this skincare product might be the one for you.

The M-61 Hydraboost HA Gel Moisturizer is powered by hyaluronic acid to help hydrate the skin from within. Because this ingredient is a humectant, it helps the skin retain moisture, leaving you with the healthy and hydrated skin feeling of your dreams.

5. IS Clinical Reparative Moisture Emulsion

If you’re looking for a botanical-based moisturizer to rejuvenate your skin, this skincare product might be the one for you.

The IS Clinical Reparative Moisture Emulsion achieves both surface-level and skin-deep hydration to nourish dry skin by targeting the source of dryness: the skin barrier.

This moisturizer is formulated with pharmaceutical-grade botanicals and antioxidants to soothe irritated skin and powerful peptides to strengthen the weakened skin barrier and prevent additional side effects of dry skin.

Kick Dryness to the Curb

There is a reason there is no one “right” way to do skincare: you’re supposed to customize your daily routine to your own needs. What’s best for your best friend will be different than what’s best for your sister and what’s best for you.

The first step in tailoring your skincare routine to you is determining your skin type. If you have dry skin, you need to build a routine that will deeply nourish and hydrate your skin.

Dryness is uncomfortable and bad for your skin. By selecting skincare products meant for your skin type, you can say goodbye to dry skin and usher in a new glowing, healthy era.