Yes, acne-prone and oily skin types need moisturizer. Without one, how will your skin barrier remain intact as you use retinol, clay masks, and exfoliating acids? If you’ve been scared off of moisturizers for being too heavy and clogging your pores, this is your list of options from lightest to richest—and don’t worry, they’re all non-comedogenic/acne-safe/non-pore-clogging:
Smood Problem Solver Gel Cream Moisturizer
This is an all-in-all for someone who doesn’t want to do too much. It contains super gentle retinyl to increase skin cell turnover (for my skin, it doesn’t contain enough to give me tons of your traditional retinol benefits or irritation, but it may for someone with sensitive skin). To hydrate, it has ceramides and hyaluronic acid, and to brighten, it contains licorice root extract and 4% niacinamide. It’s a slippery texture that layers well with other products, so no excuses when it comes to putting sunscreen on top!
Futurewise Slug Cream Barrier Repair Moisturizer
For something that’s less gel and more cream (plus no actives), there’s the super-accessible Futurewise moisturizer, which is available at CVS. If you have fungal acne, I would skip this one since it contains many fatty acids, but I think someone with drier clog-prone skin would love this!
Fenty Skin Instant Reset Brightening Overnight Recovery Gel-Cream
While this does contain niacinamide, it’s too low of a percentage to irritate my easily bothered skin. It has a super glowy finish, so someone looking for glass skin would be obsessed. It also has aloe to soothe!
Mixsoon Bean Cream
Between the Mixsoon Bean Eye Cream and this, I’ve fallen in love with this line. Finding products without heavily moisturizing ingredients can sometimes be a drag because they never feel as plush and luxurious, but this doesn’t make me miss my old creams at all. I would 100% use this again (it’s currently an empty!)
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