What to look for in a moisturiser, and the three I love. Let’s look at skincare basics: moisturiser, and what you need to know and how to choose the right one for you.
I feel there’re two schools of thought when it comes to moisturisers, and I fall somewhere in the middle of them. One wants a moisturiser with a lot of benefits for your skin. The other one wants to get that from serums, and wants a basic moisturiser to – well, moisturise. It’s totally up to you what to choose!
How to decide what your skin needs
You don’t need a moisturiser. You’ll need a moisturiser to address either dehydration or dryness (not the same) of your skin. If your skin is neither dehydrated nor dry, you don’t need to use one. Easy. But: be aware that if you add especially active ingredients to your skincare routine, your skin’s needs may change.
The moisturiser you use in the morning should work well with sunscreen. (If you feel your sunscreen is moisturising enough, why use a moisturiser?)
When your skin feels dry, your skin lost water (transepidermal water loss).
How does a moisturiser… well, moisturise?
Moisturisers slow the evaporation of water with the help of three main ingredients:
Occlusives
Those ingredients form a thin layer on your skin – water loss is slowed down. This is the stuff that generally gets a bad rep: mineral oil, silicones, Vaseline aka petroleum jelly, all kinds of waxes, and vegetable oils.
Emollients
They fill in the gaps in surface skin, helping to repair it by making it smoother and more flexible. (Some also act as occlusive as well.) Dimethicone, propylene glycol, isopropyl palmitate, and glyceryl stearate are ingredients you’ll have seen many, many times on ingredient lists. Well-known emollients are also shea butter, cocoa butter, and many oils.
Humectants
The best-known humectant is maybe hyaluronic acid: an ingredient that’s able to grab onto moisture from your surroundings and draw it into the skin. Urea, panthenol and sorbitol, but also ethylene and propylene glycol are examples for this as well.
What do I need?
You’ll directly see from this that moisturisers geared towards different skintypes might include different amounts of emollients, occlusive, and humectants (here’s a great schematic of this): Oily skintypes or people in a hot climate might find a high amount of occlusives very uncomfortable, and a lot of humectants in a formula might irritate dry or sensitive skin.
Great moisturisers for most skintypes
Beyer & Söhne Hautcreme+ (normal skin)
I’ve used B&S’s moisturiser since around 2012. It has a pleasant, rather thin texture, no smell, and sinks in quickly. There’re additional iterations whose formulas (for oily and dry skin) differ from this one. It boasts a mix of antioxidants, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, panthenol, squalan and even a tiny smidge of Vitamin A (retinyl palmitate). From all we’ve seen above, it’s rather light on occlusive, but heavy on humectants and emollients, with a lot of skincare goodies packed into the mix. If you’re new to skincare, this could be your perfect moisturiser: it’s formulated without any sensitising ingredients and has a pleasant mix of actives in low doses that don’t aggravate your skin. If you’ve got very dry or oily skin, though, choose the one according to your skintype.
It’s been a staple in my routine, something I can always rely on and what I’ll use if I’ve freaked out my skin. Recently, it has become rather pricey though, with nearly €50 for 50ml. It’s available from their website, or at German pharmacies. I’m not completely a fan of their glass packaging (I was fond of the lighter plastic airless pump one). I love that you can order little sample pots, or, if you order a full-size, can gift a friend a sample for free!
Stratia Liquid Gold
Stratia Liquid Gold moisturiser is rather similar in that it’s VERY light on occlusives, but heavy on emollients and humectants. In fact, I need additional occlusives on top of it to reap its benefits fully.
The bright yellow, rather thin moisturiser ($27 for 60ml) (…) is especially good for dehydrated skin or skin with a compromised skin barrier.
The hero ingredients are a complex made out of ceramides, fatty acids and cholesterol that mimics and strengthens the skin barrier. On top of that there’s buckthorn oil (which tints the moisturiser yellow) that’s able to heal and strengthen, Niacinamide, Panthenol and green tea to calm and soothe.
I love Liquid Gold for its calming and soothing properties, and it does work a treat for me. The only issue I do have is the very, very thin texture. I used to think that because of the included oils Liquid Gold automatically is occlusive – imagine my surprise when I found out that plant-based oils AREN’T usually occlusive (shared by Stratia’s founder Allie on reddit).
Twindly: Skincare quick tip: Locking in moisture
Because of its colour, I mainly use Liquid Gold as my PM moisturiser. You have to order from the US ($27 for 60ml), which I find rather inconvenient, because last time it took nearly 7 weeks. It’s a lovely moisturiser for sensitive skin, but also light enough that combination skin might enjoy it – maybe even oily skintypes.
Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Moisturizer
The newest addition to my moisturiser family is also the heaviest. It’s official description says that it’s for normal/dry skin (dehydrated, in fact), and that it ‘strengthens skin’s ability to retain moisture’. It has a the texture of clotted cream, and a palatable price ($35 for 50ml).
‘(…) nourishes dry skin with an exclusive blend of shea butter and omega oils that quiet factors in skin which trigger signs of stress and irritation. Ceramides, plant oils and botanical antioxidants, passion fruit and guava, provide barrier-strengthening nutrients for healthier skin.’
Paula’s Choice
If we forget the ceramides and antioxidants for a second, we realise that the rather ‘whipped’ texture comes from tons of emollients and occlusives: shea butter, and so, so many oils. It nevertheless never feels greasy and on me, sinks in rather quickly. I haven’t used it for that long, but can already say that you probably won’t enjoy this if you’ve either combination to oily skin, or like light textures. I suspect that this will be too much for me come summer, but I was surprised how much I liked it this spring.
Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
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