How to Choose the Right Moisturizer

Walk down any moisturizer aisle and you'll see hundreds of jars and bottles that all seem to promise the same thing. It's easy to grab whatever's on sale and hope for the best. We started making our own products after years of dry, rough skin and moisturizers that only helped for a little while, so we've spent a lot of time thinking about how to choose. Here's the simple version.

1. Start with where it's going

The biggest mistake we see is using one product for everything. Your face, your body, and your roughest spots have different needs.

• Face: the skin is thinner, and most people want something lightweight that won't feel heavy under makeup or sunscreen.
• Body: large areas that need everyday moisture you can put on quickly and generously.
• Rough spots: heels, elbows, knees, knuckles, and fingertips get thick and rough, and often need something more concentrated, in a small amount.

Once you know where a product is going, the choice gets much easier.

2. Think about how your skin feels

You don't need a label for your skin type, but it helps to notice how it behaves:

• Feels tight or flaky, especially after washing: you'll probably like a richer lotion with butters and oils.
• Gets shiny during the day: look for something lightweight that absorbs quickly.
• Shiny in some places and dry in others: use a light moisturizer on your face, and give the dry areas a little extra.
• Reacts easily to new products: keep your routine short, introduce one new product at a time, and try it on a small patch first.

3. Pick a texture you'll actually use

The best moisturizer is the one you'll put on every day. If a cream feels greasy, you'll skip it. If a lotion feels too thin in winter, you'll stop reaching for it.

• Lightweight lotions and creams absorb quickly and work well for faces and everyday body use.
• Richer, more concentrated formulas are better for small, rough areas.
• Mists are quick and light. They're nice after a shower or during the day, but they don't replace lotion.

4. Read the ingredient list

Moisturizers usually combine a few kinds of ingredients:

• Ingredients that help skin hold water, like glycerin and urea. In a lotion, urea helps smooth rough areas and supports hydration.
• Oils, like rosehip seed oil and grape seed oil, which help nourish dry skin.
• Butters, like shea butter and cocoa butter, which give a richer feel and help lock in moisture.
• Other conditioning ingredients, like vitamin E and squalane.

You don't need every ingredient on this list. Look for a short list you recognize, and watch for anything you already know your skin doesn't like.

5. Adjust for the season

Skin usually needs more in winter, when the air is cold outside and dry inside. Many people use the same lotion all year and simply use more of it in winter, adding a richer formula on the spots that get rough. In summer, a lighter layer, or a mist on hot days, may be all you want.

6. Use it the right way

How you use a moisturizer matters as much as which one you buy:

• Put it on damp skin, within a few minutes of a shower or hand washing. It helps lock in moisture.
• Be consistent. A little every day does more than a lot once a week.
• Exfoliate gently, not often. A gentle scrub on rough areas a few times a week, followed by lotion, keeps rough spots from building up.

Common mistakes

• Using a heavy body cream on your face, or a face cream on your whole body.
• Using a concentrated formula all over when it's made for small rough spots.
• Moisturizing only after a shower, and not after hand washing.
• Switching products every few days before giving one a fair try.
• Scrubbing too hard or too often.

How our products fit together

We kept our lineup small on purpose. Each one has a job:

• Non-Greasy Face Moisturizer: a lightweight everyday face cream for all skin types, with rosehip seed oil, squalane, glycerin, and vitamin E.
• Daily Non-Greasy Body Lotion: our everyday body lotion, with 5% urea, rosehip seed oil, shea butter, and glycerin, and a soft, non-greasy finish.
• Healing Lotion: our most concentrated formula, with about 10% urea, for very rough spots. Use a small amount, just where you need it. It's not for all-over daily use.
• Hydrating Sugar Scrub: a gentle emulsified scrub for rough hands, feet, elbows, and knees, one to three times a week. Follow it with Daily, or with Healing Lotion on very rough spots.
• Hydrating Body Mist: lightweight hydration, best right after a shower. It doesn't replace lotion.

Not sure between the two body lotions? Read 5% vs 10% urea lotion. Wondering about the mist? See body mist vs. lotion.

The short version

Choose by where it's going: face, body, or rough spots. Pick a texture you'll use every day. Look for a short ingredient list with oils, butters, and ingredients that help skin hold water. Then put it on damp skin and stick with it.