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If your face looks and feels like an oil slick, moisturizing daily is likely the last thing you want to do. We get why you would feel that way. When you have oily skin, your goal is to remove excess oil, not add more, right? But we have to break it to you, even oily skin needs to be moisturized.
You need to use a moisturizer regularly, no matter your skin type. The key is finding the right moisturizer for oily skin.
For oily skin, and especially those who have acne-prone skin, it’s important to look for moisturizers labeled as oil-free or non-comedogenic.
Below, you’ll find our top picks for lightweight, moisturizers that will keep your oily and breakout-prone skin hydrated, glowing (but not greasy), and feeling fresh.
If you don’t know your skin type, check out: What Is Your Skin Type?
The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA
This formula offers non-greasy hydration that acts as a direct topical supplement of natural moisturizing factor components. It contains 11 amino acids, phospholipids, alpha/beta/gamma fatty acids, triglycerides, sterols and sterol esters, glycerin, ceramide precursors, urea, saccharides, sodium PCA, and hyaluronic acid, offering immediate hydration.
When we tested this moisturizer we found it to be the lightest, most barely-there moisturizer. This is the perfect pick for oily skin peeps that really don’t want to use a moisturizer at all.
CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion
CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizer features three essential ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide in an oil-free, non-comedogenic formula that can hydrate and calm the skin while helping to restore the skin’s natural barrier. This rich, yet lightweight night cream uses our patented MVE Delivery Technology to deliver a steady stream of much-needed moisture throughout the night. Suitable for normal to oily skin.
This moisturizer is popular and for a good reason. It works well and it is afforable. If you can even find a bottle of this moisturizer, you need to buy it.
Glossier Priming Moisturizer Balance
A lightweight gel-cream moisturizer that balances oil without drying skin or leaving a flat, powdery finish. Pores appear minimized, the shine is gone, and the skin is hydrated and happy.
We love that Glossier now has a priming moisturizer for every skin type. Since this moisturizer os formulated to work as a primer, you won’t need one before applying makeup. Yay for one less step!
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat Daily Face Moisturizer for Oily Skin
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat Anti-Shine Face Moisturizer for Oily Skin is an oil-free face moisturizer. This moisturizer targets excess oil, mattifies the skin, and refines pores. The face moisturizer is non-comedogenic with a light matte finish and visibly tightens pores.
When this moisturizer says that it will mattify the skin, it really means it. If you have very oily skin and want a matte finish to the skin, this is the moisturizer for you.
TONYMOLY The Chok Chok Green Tea Watery Cream
This light gel-cream utilizes fermented green tea to moisturize skin, protect it from pollution, and help brighten it for a more youthful-looking appearance. Along with antibacterial lemon seed oil and soothing rosewood oil, this light cream seeps into the skin immediately and leaves it with a plump and soothed look and feel.
Versed Dew Point
If you want to keep your skin hydrated but don’t like the feel of traditional cream textures, meet your new moisturizer match. The lightweight gel-cream formula with a jelly-like texture absorbs instantly and disappears into your skin, leaving it feeling refreshed, never greasy.
Sodium hyaluronate (like hyaluronic acid it helps draw in and retain moisture in skin) and aloe leaf juice hydrate while natural antioxidants found in green tea soothe skin, fight damaging free radicals, and quiet inflammation.
belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb
This cult-favorite gel-cream is designed to ‘burst’ when applied, releasing explosive hydration. The lightweight, hydrating formula absorbs quickly so combination and oily skin types can hydrate for smoother-looking skin without heaviness and greasiness.
When testing this moisturizer we loved that it worked well for both combination and oily skin types. The gel formula absorbed quickly and did not feel heavy at all.
Recommended reading: The Best of Belif Skincare
Farmacy Daily Greens Oil-Free Gel Moisturizer with Moringa and Papaya
This refreshing formula contains a blend of phytonutrients—moringa sourced from a local family farm in Coachella Valley, CA, papaya, and willow herb—known to help reduce shine and clear pores of dirt and impurities. It is also formulated with powerful moisture magnets like hyaluronic and polyglutamic acids that hydrate skin.
SUNDAY RILEY Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream
This formula offers non-greasy hydration that acts as a direct topical supplement of natural moisturizing factor components. It contains 11 amino acids, phospholipids, alpha/beta/gamma fatty acids, triglycerides, sterols and sterol esters, glycerin, ceramide precursors, urea, saccharides, sodium PCA, and hyaluronic acid, offering immediate hydration.
When we tested this moisturizer we found it to be the lightest, most barely-there moisturizer. This is the perfect pick for oily skin peeps that really don’t want to use a moisturizer at all.
Tatcha The Water Cream Oil-Free Pore Minimizing Moisturizer
The Water Cream provides nutrient-rich, balanced hydration with a water-burst feeling upon application to deliver nourishment without leaving skin sticky or greasy. It clarifies and refines skin with pure, powerful Japanese botanicals and restores healthy-looking radiance.
The beautiful packaging, the cute scoop, and the unique texture of this moisture make using this moisturizer a luxurious experience. We love that this formula makes your skin feel like it is drinking in water. Buy a trial size and try it for yourself. You’ll be hooked.
Shop Moisturizers For Oily Skin
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