Moisturizer is the cornerstone of any skin care regimen, but truthfully, there's no such thing as a single best moisturizer for men. What works on oily skin may not be great for dry skin. Ditto for acne-prone skin versus sensitive skin—and what about people with sensitive and acne-prone concerns? Clearly, there's a lot to consider.
“The role of a moisturizer can be multi-faceted,” explains board-certified dermatologist Kunal Malik MD of Spring Street Dermatology in NYC. “Its primary role is hydrating and replenishing moisture lost throughout the day. It should also help strengthen the skin’s barrier function, protecting it and sealing in active ingredients.” (Active ingredients are the part of a product that's actively working to better your skin—such as hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, or vitamin C.) Dr. Malik points out that, because of these functions, moisturizer plays both defensive and proactive roles in building barrier reinforcements and actively moisturizing and containing treatment-focused ingredients. So, which is the best men’s moisturizer for you? Read on for our tested picks and expert advice for finding the right one for your specific skin needs.
The Best Moisturizer for Men, According to GQ
Best Overall: PrettyBoy Revival Recovery Gel Moisturizer
If I could gift each and every one of you this moisturizer, I would in a heartbeat. As someone who tests skin care products as part of my job, I turn to PrettyBoy’s hydrator for its soothing and barrier-reinforcing recipe. But on top of that, this moisturizer can be pretty much anything you need it to be, from lightweight day cream to high-powered recovery night cream. It suits every single skin type, and can nourish your facial hair and prevent flaking beneath the beard, if you have one. It can also cushion your skin and shield it after a shave and even neutralize your need for an eye cream. Plus, PrettyBoy is the first mens skin care brand to earn the National Eczema Association’s Seal of Acceptance. (Seriously, it’s so good.)
| Texture | Gel |
| Key ingredients | Niacinamide to soothe, smooth, and fortify skin; squalane and hyaluronic acid to hydrate; apple fruit extract to buff away dead skin cells; and ceramides to reinforce barrier functions. |
Best for Irritated Skin: Aesop Seeking Silence Facial Hydrator
We know Aesop is much more than its iconic hand soap. I’ve been using their grooming products for years, and they keep getting better and more refined with high-quality, often natural ingredients—and they're simply more effective at what they’re formulated to do. A prime example is the new Seeking Silence moisturizer, which lives up to its name. This lotion provides a moment of moisturizing zen, especially if you’re dealing with razor burn, windburn, or sunburn. A little scoop of this lightweight lotion goes a long way. Squalane hydrates, ginger root reduces inflammation, while bisabolol treats redness. And, of course, it doesn’t hurt that the packaging exudes apothecary cool.
| Texture | Lotion |
| Key ingredients | Squalane hydrates and nourishes, ginger root reduces inflammation and soothes, while bisabolol calms and treats redness. |
Best Multi-Action Moisturizer: Malin+Goetz Advanced Renewal Moisturizer
This new advanced formula moisturizer from perennial grooming go-to Malin+Goetz feels more like a serum than a moisturizer. It’s a super-concentrated formula that smooths and firms like a serum while delivering serious hydration through its moisturizing components. The magic lies in its proprietary complex of peptides, squalane, and apple stem cells. This proprietary complex acts as a super antioxidant, mimicking skin cells to protect and rejuvenate. Use it a few times a week for maximum impact, and let the sleek cobalt-blue dispenser, adorned with the iconic M+G font, add a touch of style to your routine.
| Texture | Sort of a Lotion and Serum |
| Key ingredients | Apple stem cell, meadowfoam seed oil, and squalane to combat dehydration, fine lines, and wrinkles. |
Best Overnight Moisturizer: Ursa Major Golden Hour Recovery Cream
The first thing you'll notice about the Golden Hour Recovery Cream (beyond the fitting name) is its texture. It's somewhere between a lotion and a rich cream, with viscosity clearly a priority in its formulation. It's also packed with serious nutrients: antioxidants; vitamins A, C, and E; plus essential fatty acids like omega 3, 6, 7, and 9. Add in calendula, sea buckthorn, and blackcurrant, and you've got a hydration dream team working to boost moisture, firmness, and elasticity. You can feel it getting to work almost instantly, and while it's not an ideal daily morning moisturizer (unless it's the depths of winter), this ultra-rich cream absorbs fairly quickly to work as an overnight repair aid.
| Texture | Cream |
| Key ingredients | Vitamins A, C, and E as antioxidants; calendula soothes, sea buckthorn for hydration, and blackcurrant for firmness and elasticity. |
Best for Oily Skin: Sisleyum Anti-Aging Comfort Cream
Before you throw tomatoes at us for recommending a nearly $400 moisturizer, please note that this is one helluva face cream. It's loaded with ingredients you've never heard of, and while that may detract you from applying it anywhere near your face, they're all meant to do good. For example, isodonis japonicus helps firm and tone the face to slow down signs of aging, phyt'active of kinkeliba soothes the skin and fights free radicals, and phytosqualane moisturizes and protects. Our skin is the target of stress all day every day, whether it's from the sun, wind, or air pollution, and this moisturizer is meant to protect the face from all of that so you can face each and every harmful thing with a layer of defense. Plus, it's one of the few mattifying moisturizers that actually works, able to prevent skin from looking greasy pretty much all day.
| Texture | Lotion |
| Key ingredients | Isodonis japonicus, phyt'active of kinkeliba, phytosqualane, rosemary essential oil, sage essential oil |
Best for Dry Skin: Sofie Pavitt Face Omega-Rich Moisturizer
Every celebrity seems to have a skin care line (or tequlia brand), but what about a celebrity facialist? An esthetician to the stars (and a celeb in her own right), Sofie Pavitt's line of skin care products are a winner if you can't make it into her chair so she can work her magic on your face. The creamy Omega-Rich moisturizer is a savior for anyone who has dry skin. As someone who's oily because my skin is actually just dehydrated, this moisturizer has helped to balance out my sebum production so that I'm not a greasy mess by noon. Pavitt also developed her moistuzier to be non-comedogenic, so it won't clog pores leading to breakouts.
| Texture | Cream |
| Key ingredients | Omega-3, omega-6, squalene, jojoba oil, argan oil |
Best Moisturizer with SPF: Jack Black Dual Defense Face Moisturizer
SPF isn’t just for the summer, people. While many moisturizers include SPF, we’re particularly impressed by this oil-free hydrator from the grooming pros at Jack Black. Lightweight yet hardworking, its dual-purpose formula combines hyaluronic acid and niacinamide to boost moisture, while a mineral SPF 30 protects against harmful rays. Plus, an antioxidant blend of cranberry, rosemary, and green tea helps combat free radicals and strengthen your skin’s barrier. It’s a fantastic daily go-to, especially for those who spend more time outdoors.
| Texture | Lotion-Cream |
| Key ingredients | Hyaluronic acid for hydration and zinc oxide as a sunscreen agent |
The Best for Combination Skin: Cetaphil Daily Oil-Free Hydrating Lotion
Your dermatologist’s favorite drugstore brand has a roster of products that are perfect for every skin type. This one satisfies a vast majority of us: It wears light enough like a gel to never suffocate the oilier patches of skin, while also doubling down on hydration to center the more dryer skin types. Whether you have a combination of both, or are on a specific side of the oil-level spectrum, this gentle moisturizer will keep your skin soft and satisfied. It’s especially useful as a post-shave moisturizer, since it is replenishing and gentle on freshly compromised skin, too.
| Texture | Lotion |
| Key ingredients | Urea and hyaluronic acid keep skin soft and hydrated. |
The Best for Acne-Prone Skin: COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All in One Cream
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The fever and adoration for COSRX’s cream is real. And yes, it really is fueled by snail secretions (ethically sourced, at that!). I’d endorse this stuff for pretty much every skin type, which is why I’m logging it here under “acne prone”—since they have some fairly specific needs beyond other types. I’m the kind to use serums, treatments, and cleansers to target my own blemishes and to layer a dense-but-not-occlusive barrier over the top of those serums and treatments (you know, something to trap the actives inside the skin while nourishing from the outside). While the craze around “slugging” suggests occlusive and skin-blanketing protection from moisture loss, this snail-mucin moisturizer is far more lightweight to never suffocate pores and yield more blemishes. Quite the opposite, especially when I’ve layered retinol or salicylic acid beneath.
| Texture | Gel Cream |
| Key ingredients | A snail-mucin base plumps and hydrates skin while hyaluronic acid also pulls in and retains added moisture. |
The Best for Plumping: Dr Dennis Gross DermInfusions Blur and Repair Cream
Usually when you read the words “blurring” on a product, it means that the product is loaded with silicone, which can bring on breakouts and clog pores for some people. This product, however, does so without needing to tap silicone, and instead unites four different weights of hyaluronic acid to plump skin at every level and taps shea butter and ceramides to smooth skin in just an hour. In the long term, this moisturizer will also help to plump and blur lines with resveratrol, an ingredient known for anti-inflammatory properties and peptides that firm. When we used it for a month, we saw not only an instant glow-up that helped skip appear plumper, but also the fine line reduction that came with consistent, daily use.
| Texture | Cream |
| Key ingredients | Hyaluronic acid (four weights), resveratrol, peptides, shea butter, and ceramides |
More Moisturizers We Love
La Roche-Posay
Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer
Don't dismiss it because of its too-good-to-be-true price tag: This affordable, high-quality moisturizer from drugstore darling La Roche Posay is the real deal. It uses ceramides, niacinamide, and glycerin to repair and reinforce your skin barrier.
Ilia
Barrier Build Skin Protectant Cream
Ilia's popular for its makeup, but its newly released Barrier Build Skin Protectant Cream proves that the brand knows how to do all types of skin care right. It's a non-comedogenic moisturizer, which means it won't clog your pores and cause breakouts, while a hefty heaping of colloidal oatmeal will help to protect and calm irritated and sensitive skin. It rubs on luxuriously without being too greasy, and it absorbs quickly into the skin while leaving a nice, healthy glow in its wake.
Blue Lagoon Iceland
BL+ The Cream Light
This fast-absorbing moisturizer is a lighter version of the brand's OG cream, which makes it great for the warmer months or for anyone who just wants something that feels light on the skin. It's fragrance-free, making it great for anyone with sensitive skin, and the proprietary BL+ Complex helps with collagen production and skin protection for a more youthful and glowing appearance.
What to Know About Different Skin Types
Remember, no two people have the same needs from a skin care product; typically, you should factor in your skin’s oil levels (including a lack of oil), as well as conditions like acne, sensitivity, loss of resilience over time, and more. Here are the key qualities to look for in a moisturizer based on key skin conditions and demands.
Oily Skin
Dr. Malik says to choose light, oil-free, water-based formulas, and bonus points if they promise to have non-comedogenic ingredients (meaning their formulas are proven to not clog pores). For this same reason, you’ll want to avoid hefty suffocating creams and oil-heavy products, he notes. (Hey, your skin makes enough sebum as it is!)
Read More: How to Deal with Oily Skin
Dry Skin
Look for moisture-drawing ingredients, known as humectants (hyaluronic acid, glycerin, urea), says Dr. Malik—as well as skin-softening emollients (urea doubles as this, plus squalene and shea butter). Many dry-skin moisturizers have a richer feeling texture than other options, he adds. Also, avoid formulas heavy on alcohol as well as added (artificial) fragrance.
Read More: 5 Ways to Get Rid of Dry Skin
Sensitive Skin
With sensitive skin, you don’t want many bells and whistles. Formulas should be fragrance-free, paraben-free, lanolin-free, hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, and alcohol-free. Ideally, the brand will signal as much with its messaging, too, noting that the product is safe for the most sensitive skin types. Dr. Malik says to look for soothing ingredients such as colloidal oatmeal, as well as skin-barrier-boosting ones like ceramides.
Read More: The Best Skin Care for Sensitive Skin
Acne-Prone Skin
If you are prone to pimples, you have to balance this with other skin variables (like dryness, oiliness, sensitivity, etc). So your search for the best product becomes one of balance and priorities. But universally, be sure your products are non-comedogenic, with oil-free formulas, says Dr. Malik. Ideally, your regimen will include acne-fighting ingredients somewhere, though it doesn’t have to be your moisturizer that pulls all that weight. (Those pore-clearing ingredients include salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and niacinamide.) Make sure any moisturizer wears light and isn’t occlusive—as in, it won’t totally seal off the skin.
Read More: 8 Habits to Prevent Acne
Combination Skin
If your skin is oily in some parts (like the T zone), and dry in others (often the cheeks), then you could be classified as having combination skin. For this, Dr. Malik says you want to choose products similar to oily skin (as outlined above)—“but consider balanced formulas with a blend of hydrating and oil-controlling ingredients,” he says.
Normal Skin
If you can’t log any complaints about being overly oily or overly dry, then lucky you. For this kind of “normalcy” (which isn’t so normal as it is rare), Dr. Malik says to prioritize lightweight formulas with hydrating ingredients (think hyaluronic acid, squalene, and glycerin).
Aging Skin
For skin that has lost buoyancy, softness, and resilience over time, you want to prioritize hydrating ingredients to help with dryness, notes Dr. Malik. He advises using anti-aging ingredients such as retinols, peptides, vitamin C, and niacinamide. “Some [optimal] moisturizers may include exfoliating actives such as alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic and lactic acids), too,” he says. Lastly, be sure your daytime moisturizer includes SPF.
Moisturizers FAQ
What ingredients should you look for in a moisturizer?
"Look for ingredients that hydrate and lock in moisture," advises Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah. "Natural options like olive fruit, avocado (emollients), and aloe leaf (a humectant) are excellent choices" So are hydrating powerhouses such as ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide to help maintain your skin's moisture barrier for long-lasting benefits. Some brands combine adaptogens and scientific compounds for the best of both worlds.
What if I have a beard?
While our skin isn't drastically different, people with facial hair face unique challenges. "Shaving removes the top layer of skin and causes micro-abrasions, leading to irritation and ingrown hairs," says Dr. Ayensu-Danquah. Hydrating moisturizers help soothe these issues while promoting skin repair, and agents like aloe vera and squalene are helpful here.
What ingredients should you avoid in a moisturizer?
What you might avoid might vary based on your skin type, but as a rule of thumb, steer clear of "ingredients that can irritate skin or disrupt its natural balance." In general, try to avoid parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, triclosan, sodium laureth sulfate, dyes, and high alcohol concentrations—all of which are ingredients that can irritate the skin or disrupt its natural balance.
Why do moisturizers come in different consistencies (gel, lotion, balm, etc.)?
The consistency of a moisturizer depends on its water-to-oil ratio. "A higher water content creates a lighter, fast-absorbing formula, while more oil results in a thicker, richer product," explains Dr. Ayensu-Danquah. Advances in skin care technology also mean lightweight formulas can now deliver deep hydration, catering to different skin types and preferences.
How often should you use a moisturizer with SPF?
“Daily SPF is essential for protecting your skin from sun damage and environmental stressors, helping maintain your skin's health and longevity,” says Dr. Ayensu-Danquah. That said, if you are applying a separate SPF, a moisturizer with an SPF is not essential.
How often should you apply moisturizer?
Twice a day is optimal, and overall, think of the morning as a hydrating shield for the day and nighttime as more of a recovery and nourishing cream. Dr. Ayensu-Danquah adds that “a moisturizer should be applied daily to keep your skin’s barrier strong and promote repair. For those needing an extra hydration boost, layering a serum underneath your Moisturizer can enhance the results.”
Do you need a different moisturizer for day and night?
Not necessarily, although heavier creams and thicker textures tend to be best for overnight repair, while lighter formulations in gels and lotions are more geared toward AM usage. “If your moisturizer is formulated with appropriate ingredients (like hyaluronic acid or glycerin as humectants, ceramides, and shea butter as emollients), it can work both day and night," Dr. Ayensu-Danquah says. For an added benefit in the evening, Dr. Ayensu-Danquah recommends also using a mask twice a week.
Meet the Experts
- Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah is a board-certified skin surgeon, Borghese Skin expert, and fellow of the American College of Surgeons
- Dr. Kunal Malik, MD, of Spring Street Dermatology in NYC