• Everyone wants healthy, smooth skin, but it’s not always easy to attain during the winter months, when harsh winds and dry indoor heat can cause serious damage.
  • The solution to winter-induced dry, dull, flaky skin? Use a good moisturizer.
  • Our favorite moisturizer for both face and body is CeraVe’s Moisturizing Cream, but we also have recommendations for different budgets, skin types, and needs.

As we enter the cooler months, dryness can become a serious skin issue. Even if your complexion is on the oilier side, you still need a moisturizer to keep your skin hydrated, healthy, and balanced.

Moisturizers help skin retain its moisture barrier, which is the outer layer known as the stratum corneum. When viewed through a microscope, it looks somewhat like a brick wall, with dead cells making up the bricks, and lipids – the primary three naturally found in skin are fatty acids, cholesterol, and ceramides – making up the mortar. Excessively dry skin loses these lipids, weakening the skin’s defense mechanisms and opening it up to irritation, damage, and a flaky, dull appearance. And in the winter, harsh winds and dry indoor heat only speed up the process.

On the most basic level, moisturizers help heal dry skin by attracting and sealing in water, thus replenishing what is lost to the atmosphere. Choosing the right moisturizer, though, can be an exercise in frustration. The typical drugstore has hundreds of moisturizing products on the shelves, all claiming to improve your skin.

Luckily, we’re here to help. We sorted through seemingly endless options, tested them ourselves, and pinpointed the best moisturizers for a wide range of skin types, budgets, and needs.

Here are the top moisturizers you can buy:

Updated 12/16/2019 by Caitlin Petreycik: Updated formatting, prices, copy, and links. We are currently testing and researching new options and will be updating this guide again.

The best moisturizer overall

The CeraVe Moisturizing Cream is a dermatologist favorite that soothes, pampers, and restores skin at a price that's also nice on your wallet.

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream contains three essential ceramides, hyaluronic acid to restore moisture, and time-release technology to help keep your skin hydrated for 24 hours. It doesn't have any fragrance or oil, and won't clog pores either.

This thick cream glides on smoothly but absorbs fully without leaving you greasy or sticky. It's excellent for normal to dry skin and is even safe to use on sensitive skin, eczema, and babies' extra-delicate skin.

Self chose this as one of the top drugstore moisturizers.

Pros: Suitable for use on both face and body, safe for sensitive skin, large container

Cons: If applied too thickly, it can be hard to layer foundation makeup

The best affordable facial moisturizer

Foto: sourceTarget

Neutrogena Hydro Boost gives your face every bit as much moisture as more expensive creams for a fraction of the price.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost moisturizes like a cream but absorbs as quickly and completely as a gel. The result? A healthy, moisturized, and comfortable complexion.

Although the gel moisturizer is geared towards normal-to-dry complexions, it's remarkably well-suited for slightly oily faces as well. It contains no oils, won't make you break out, and soaks in quickly, making it an excellent choice for use under makeup.

The water-based gel is a favorite of Byrdie because it's oil-free and made with hyaluronic acid to leave your skin moisturized and glowing without feeling oily.

Pros: Lightweight, soaks in quickly with no greasy feel, suitable for most skin types, good under makeup

Cons: If you have very dry skin, this might not be moisturizing enough for you

The best drugstore facial moisturizer for oily skin

Foto: sourceLa Roche-Posay

La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Mat is specifically designed for oilier skin, with ingredients that moisturize and combat shine.

Oily skin can be a conundrum - too much moisture and it can look greasy, too little moisture and it can also look greasy to overcompensate for the imbalance. Since oil doesn't contribute all that much to skin hydration, many oily individuals suffer from dry, damaged moisture barriers, too.

The search for the perfect moisturizer formulated for oily skin is like the story of Goldilocks, and La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Mat is the one that makes everything just right. It absorbs excess oil by providing the light hydration oily skin craves and leaves behind a soft matte finish.

Byrdie praised La Roche-Posay not only for producing a moisturizer that effectively reduces shine while improving skin texture, but also for supporting its claims with scientific research.

Pros: Helps reduce shine, absorbs well, good under makeup

Cons: Tube is small, expensive

The best affordable organic facial moisturizer

Foto: sourcePacifica

Want to keep potentially harmful ingredients off your skin while treating it to a healthy glow? Then try Pacifica Coconut Probiotic Water Rehab Cream.

I made the switch to organic facial-care products a few years ago when I realized that the silicones found in many traditional formulas made me break out like I was back in my teenage years. To further complicate the matter, my skin is oily, maturing, and sometimes gets flaky, tight, or dull.

After much trial and error - and many wasted dollars - I discovered Pacifica Coconut Probiotic Water Rehab Cream, and I'm not looking back. No silicones, no oils, no fragrances, no parabens, no comedogenic troublemakers. Just 100% vegan ingredients including aloe vera, coconut water, vitamin E, and plant-derived amino acids to soothe away dryness without any greasiness, shine, or breakouts.

It feels a bit thick when it first goes on, but dries quickly to provide an excellent makeup base for my pressed powder mineral foundation. It also keeps shine under control for at least a few hours.

Pros: All natural ingredients, no silicone, suitable for just about every skin type

Cons: Small size

The best drugstore body moisturizer for very dry skin

Foto: sourceVaseline

Kiss itchy, flaky, dull skin goodbye after smoothing on Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Unscented Lotion.

If you suffer from the maddening itch of dry skin, you know how frustrating it can be to find a product that provides relief. Luckily, Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Unscented Lotion is rich enough to conquer even the driest knees or elbows, and it doesn't contain fragrance or other sensitive skin-aggravating ingredients.

InStyle chose this moisturizer as one of the best options for sensitive skin according to dermatologists.

Pros: Very inexpensive, safe for sensitive skin or skin with eczema, very rich and nourishing

Cons: Might be too thick for some

The best affordable moisturizer for very sensitive skin

Foto: sourceVanicream

If you have extremely sensitive skin or suffer from eczema or psoriasis, you need the dermatologist-created Vanicream Moisturizing Skin Cream.

Developed for those with the most sensitive skin, Vanicream Moisturizing Skin Cream is notable for the many things it does not contain - like dyes, fragrance, lanolin, phosphates, parabens, formaldehyde, and other common skin irritants. What it does contain are soothing, rich, moisturizing ingredients that settle down even the most irritable skin on your body or face. It's also been given a seal of approval from the National Eczema Association.

Self included Vanicream in a list of the best drugstore moisturizers. The site's medical reviewer highly recommends it.

While the cream is thick, it does absorb fairly quick and won't leave you feeling too greasy or sticky. Some buyers complain that the pump dispenser does not work well, however.

Pros: Suitable for very sensitive skin, safe for body and face, non-comedogenic, okay for use on eczema or similar conditions, very large container for a low price

Cons: Some complaints about the pump on the container

The best moisturizer with clean ingredients

Foto: sourceNécessaire

When it comes to personal care, clean beauty products often focus on the face and neglect the rest of the body. Nécessaire is looking to change that with its Body Lotion, which utilizes vitamins, antioxidants, and omega fatty acids to nourish everything from the neck down.

We're probably more careful with the skin on our faces than on our legs most days, but Nécessaire's Body Lotion aims to balance that out with its vitamin and antioxidant-packed formula. It includes niacinamide, vitamins A, B, C, and E, two types of omega fatty acids, and shea butter, as well as marula, cacay, and meadowfoam oils. The lotion is also considered clean, as it's made without questionable ingredients like sulfates, parabens, and fragrance.

Despite the rich and nourishing formula, the lotion itself is lightweight and fast-absorbing; a few passes left my skin hydrated, gleaming, and protected from the elements. Here's our full review of the lotion.

Pros: Skin-care-level ingredients, lightweight, absorbs quickly, clean formula

Cons: Expensive compared to others on this list

The best affordable antiaging moisturizer

Foto: sourceOlay

If you want to keep fine lines at bay a little longer, try Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream.

Although no moisturizer can perform miracles, plumping, firming, and moisturizing ingredients in Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream, like niacinamide, amino peptides, and hyaluronic acid, can help give your skin a boost. You'll see immediate plumping and smoothing of fine lines, and subtle reduction of deeper creases over time.

Good Housekeeping gave the cream its seal of approval, and wrote, "This 24/7 cream outperformed 10 competitors - even a prestige brand that costs $440 - in our Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab's clinical and blinded consumer studies."

Target reviewers praised the quick results, improvements in fine lines and skin texture, and lack of fragrance or other sensitive-skin triggers.

Pros: Effective ingredients, safe for sensitive skin, absorbs well, good under makeup, reasonable price

Cons: Not suitable for very oily skin

The best drugstore hand cream

Foto: sourceAveeno

Aveeno Active Naturals Skin Relief Hand Cream keeps your hands soft and smooth for hours without any greasy feel.

Although I struggle with oily skin on my face, my hands have the opposite problem: they're dry and tend to crack and bleed. Any hint of fragrance or other irritating ingredients makes the problem even worse. The skin over my knuckles turns flame-red and burns like fire. To add to the problem, I can't stand any slippery, greasy, or tacky feeling on my skin.

Thankfully, I discovered Aveeno Active Naturals Skin Relief Hand Cream several years ago, and I hope the company never discontinues this wonderfully soothing, fragrance-free, and intensely moisturizing hand cream because it fulfills all of my requirements.

It isn't greasy or sticky feeling and only requires a couple of applications each day. There's no burning, stinging, cracks, or parched skin. And best of all, the Aveeno cream is very inexpensive. The only downside to the product is that it comes in a rather small tube.

Pros: Suitable for sensitive skin, not greasy or sticky, very soothing to extra-dry skin, concentrated so only a little is needed

Cons: Tube is not very large

Check out our other great skin-care guides

Foto: sourceGlossier

The best exfoliators

Regular exfoliation sloughs off dead skin cells, revealing brighter, more refreshed skin underneath, and helps to keep your pores clear. While exfoliators have a reputation for being harsh and abrasive, the latest crop delivers gentler sloughing and smoothing. Check out our list below to find your perfect exfoliator match:

The best clay masks

Clay masks are an easy and cost-effective way to give your skin a boost without hitting the spa. Our top pick is the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Mask because it's super affordable, all-natural, and deep cleans your pores. But if you're looking for something more particular - maybe a mask that hydrates, exfoliates, or brightens - check out the rest of our list. Here are the best clay masks you can buy:

The best face cream for dry skin

While dry skin tends to plague most people in the chillier months, for some, their daily skin-care regimen is a near-constant fight against the flake. And, if you're one of these folks, you know that all moisturizers are not created equal. Luckily, looking out for some key ingredients can save you a lot of trial and error when it comes to soothing your chapped face. We did the work for you, and came up with this list of the absolute best face creams for dry skin: