Moisturizers for Mature Skin: Expert Recommendations and Top Picks

As skin ages, it often exhibits signs such as fine lines, wrinkles, and excessive dryness. Altering your skincare routine, especially focusing on moisturizers, can help manage these changes. While moisturizers hydrate your skin, they also protect your skin barrier, which becomes increasingly prone to dryness over time.

The Importance of Moisturizers for Aging Skin

Dr. Lauren Moy, a respected dermatologist, explains that aging makes our skin drier due to several factors. She advises selecting moisturizers that are compatible with mature skin. The following are expert recommendations for the best moisturizers suited to mature skin types.

Our Expert-Recommended Moisturizers

• Best Overall: Moy and Dr. Reshmi Kapoor recommend La Roche-Posay’s moisturizer. It includes prebiotics to support the skin’s microbiome and restore its natural barrier. Glycerin and ceramides are also added to lock in moisture. This lightweight, fragrance-free cream suits all skin types.
• Most Versatile: Dr. Jeremy Brauer recommends a thick yet gentle, fragrance-free moisturizer from Cerave. Containing hyaluronic acid and ceramides, it provides lasting hydration without being greasy. Its noncomedogenic formula suits even sensitive or oily skin and carries the National Eczema Association’s Seal of Acceptance.
• Best for Skin Barrier Health: Dermalogica’s lightweight cream protects the skin barrier with a ceramide-building complex and also features squalane to enhance skin texture, as noted by Brauer.
• Best Splurge: Erno Laszlo Firming Cream may be costly but offers excellent hydration and firmness, with ingredients like olive oil and bakuchiol, a plant-based retinol alternative perfect for sensitive skin types.
• Best for Oily Skin: Murad’s gel moisturizer is designed for oily skin, with peptides to improve texture and elasticity. It’s oil-free and restores moisture effectively.
• Best for Dry Skin: Kapoor and Moy both favor a rich cream that includes ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids to maintain the skin barrier and hydrate deeply.
• Most Lightweight: Brauer recommends a noncomedogenic daily moisturizer for oily skin, featuring botanical extracts to soothe the skin and reduce redness.
• Best Budget Pick: An affordable moisturizer tested by NBC Select staff showed improvements in firmness and glow after consistent use.
• Best Day Cream: Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream is praised for hydration and a dewy finish, with peptides to aid collagen production.
• Best Night Cream: Caudalie’s product targets fine lines, volume loss, and dark spots while improving skin hydration overnight.
• Best Retinol Moisturizer: Known to reduce fines lines and enhance skin elasticity, this option carefully balances retinol and soothing ingredients.

How to Choose Moisturizers for Mature Skin

Key factors when shopping include:

• Ingredients: Seek ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, ceramides, and antioxidants to address dryness and support collagen production.
• Skin Type: Oily skin benefits from gel-based options, while dry skin requires richer creams. Sensitive skin needs gentle, fragrance-free products.
• Moisturizer Type: Understand the differences between humectants, emollients, and occlusives to match your skin’s needs.

Proper Use of Moisturizers

Apply moisturizers over serums and toners. Begin with clean, damp skin and use a quarter-sized amount, applying with gentle pressure in upward circular motions. Use sunscreen daily, especially when using products with retinol or vitamin C.

Meet Our Experts

The experts, Dr. Reshmi Kapoor, Dr. Lauren Moy, and Dr. Jeremy Brauer, provide their insights with significant experience in dermatology, ensuring reliable advice for mature skin.