16 Best Moisturizers For Black Skin

After 28 hours of research evaluating 93 products, we picked Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Moisture Rich Night Cream as our top choice.

Despite having a lot of melanin, dark skin is more prone to looking ashy and having dark spots compared to fairer complexions. The skin experiences increasingly frequent water loss through time, and even lesser for darker skin tones. Varying cases of hyperpigmentation are also common in African-Americans due to the lack of collagen and ceramides in their skin.

Luckily, there are a lot of skincare products made for black skin. Keep your skin healthy and hydrated by upgrading your skincare routine with moisturizers for black people. Check out this list for a deeper insight into the best moisturizer for black skin.

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#1 Best Moisturizer for Black Skin Overall

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Moisture Rich Night Cream

  • Its cocoa butter formula is a cult favorite
  • Deeply moisturizing cream that leaves skin soft and radiant
  • A small portion goes a long way

Pros

Cocoa butter is a staple product for African-American skin for its heavy-duty use in reducing stretch marks, nourishing dry and rough skin patches, and anti-aging properties.

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#2 Best Tinted Moisturizer with SPF Protection

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Broad Spectrum

  • Leaves skin with a healthy, dewy glow
  • Lighweight and buildable coverage
  • Perfect for the summer or when you don’t want to wear heavy makeup

Pros

This lightweight tinted moisturizer provides protection from the sun’s rays with SPF 20 sunscreen, oil-control, hydration, and gives a natural, semi-matte color to your skin. 

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#3 Best Moisturizing Lotion for Black Skin

Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Moisturizer Cream

  • Highly efficient anti-aging, plumping, wrinkle-removing moisturizer
  • Infuses your skin with moisture and protects from sun and pollution damage
  • Never worry about dry or cracking skin again

Pros

Anti-aging formula, contains hyaluronic acid, helps to plump up the skin, minimizes wrinkles and age lines, includes excellent moisturizing properties, moisture-binding, contains amino acid peptides to regenerate the skin, and feels luxurious.

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#4 Best Luxury Dupe Moisturizer

Weleda Skin Food Original Ultra-Rich Body Cream

  • Cheaper alternative to the famously expensive La Mer Créme de La Mer
  • Moisturizes all types of dry skin, whether it be on your face or body
  • Ultra rich formula known for its organic roots

Pros

Its use of extracts from flowers, fruits, and roots, as well as minerals and essential oils, allows it to heal even severely cracked skin.

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#5 Best Budget-Friendly Moisturizer

St. Ives Face Moisturizer for Dry Skin

  • Incredibly cheap for what it is
  • All-natural ingredients that yield amazing results
  • Perfect for dry skin

Pros

Resolves skin issues like dry skin.

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#6 Best Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin

Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer with Sunscreen

  • Protection from sun exposure with its SPF15
  • Light and silky smooth face cream with a gentle formula
  • Proven effectiveness across all skin types and colors

Pros

It’s doctor-approved formula has been the same since 1947 and has been effective for a lot of people ever since.

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#7 Best Drugstore Moisturizer

Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Facial Moisturizer

  • SPF15 protection from UV rays
  • Leaves a matte finish and dries up fast
  • Feels light despite having a thick consistency

Pros

Its formula goes well with all skin types and it also makes colored skin look radiant from within.

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#8 Best Moisturizing Lotion For Dry Skin

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion For Dry Skin

  • Highly effective, budget-friendly moisturizer
  • Say goodbye to dry skin!
  • Great texture, fragrance, and absorption rate

Pros

Great price, available everywhere, 24-hour moisturization, soothing formula, natural ingredients, protects your skin, great for your body as well as your face, lightweight yet creamy, quick-absorbing, and fragrance-free.

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#9 Best Natural Face Moisturizer for Black Skin

Christina Moss Naturals Facial Moisturizer

  • Cruelty-free and all-natural and organic ingredients
  • Leaves face soft and smooth
  • Doesn’t cause breakouts

Pros

An all-natural healing moisturizer that softens and repairs skin. Perfect for all skin types. 

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#10 Best Facial Moisturizer for Oily Skin

La Roche-Posay Matte Face Moisturizer

  • Moisturizes and mattifies your skin
  • Tightens pores and refines skin texture
  • Great to use as a makeup base

Pros

This facial moisturizer balances the moisture for those who have oily skin. It gives a fresh matte finish, tightens enlarged pores, exfoliates, and is easily absorbed into the skin. You can also use it as your to-go makeup base. Very convenient!

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#11 Best Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin

Burt’s Bees Daily Face Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin

  • Excellent lightweight, natural moisturizer
  • Perfect for sensitive, easily irritated skin
  • Creamy texture; feels wonderful when applied to your skin

Pros

Formulated specifically for sensitive skin, light texture, long-lasting, excellent moisturization, quickly absorbed into your skin, non-greasy texture, hypoallergenic, not too oily, 98% natural, cruelty-free, and excellent combination of ingredients.

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#12 Best Lotion for Combination Dry/Oily Skin

Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream

  • Packed with revitalizing properties
  • Made for dry and oily skin
  • Rich texture, fragrance-free moisturizer

Pros

This fragrance-free moisturizing cream by Cetaphil contains the key ingredients to combat dry skin. Its rich and smooth texture glides evenly on the skin to provide long-lasting moisture and soothe troubled, dry and itchy skin.

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#13 Best Moisturizer with SPF

Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer

  • SPF50 protection against 98% of UV rays
  • Prevents signs of aging with vitamin E and antioxidants
  • Non-greasy consistency that feels light on the skin

Pros

Its broad-spectrum sunscreen feature is quite high for a moisturizer, which makes it a double-acting product great for multi-use.

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#14 Best Face Cream for Acne-Prone Skin

Era Organics Face Moisturizer Cream

  • Non-greasy, lasts up to 8-12 hours
  • Slows down the aging process by boosting collagen production
  • All-natural ingredients that work even better than most brands

Pros

Its 12-in-1 organic formula improves skin conditions by healing acne and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

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#15 Best Face Lotion for Sensitive Skin

Sheamoisture Daily Hydration Face Lotion

  • Lightweight formula that’s paraben-free
  • Dry skin becomes baby smooth after only a few weeks of use
  • Uses exotic ingredients to achieve that tropical glow

Pros

Leaves the skin supple and soft to the touch, while it deeply nourishes the inside with essential fatty acids from coconut oil, coconut milk, and shea butter.

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#16 Best Multi-Purpose Moisturizer

SheaMoisture Balancing Moisturizer

  • All-in-one product that helps with breakouts and other skin concerns
  • Can double as a face and body lotion
  • Combines the benefits of African black soap and shea butter

Pros

Whether you have oily, dry, or sensitive skin, Shea Moisture African Black Soap can help make your skin healthy and look its best.

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Moisturizer for Black Skin Tips & Advice

What To Consider When Buying A Moisturizer For Black Skin

We all have different needs and preferences, and that goes for skincare as well. But most of the time, you’re still clueless about what works well for you. Get some new ideas for your next purchase with this handy buying guide:

Skin Type 

Your skin’s reaction to any kind of product is determined by its type: dry, oily, combination, or sensitive. For dry skin, thick creams are great since they nourish the skin from inside and out. The opposite goes for oily skin, which works well with gel or water-based solutions that help balance the skin’s pH level. Meanwhile, people with combination skin stick to mild formulas or they sometimes mix two products in one use. Trips to the dermatologist are usual for people with sensitive skin, which if you have, might require you to opt for milder formulas.

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Ingredients

Once you find out what your skin type is, you’ll know what to look out for when shopping for skincare products. Humectants like hyaluronic acid, alpha hydroxy acids, and glycerin are great for all skin types. However, cocoa butter, shea butter, and African black soap are much more beneficial to black skin because of their hydrating effect.

There are various kinds of humectants out there, but natural ones like aloe vera, honey, and seaweed stimulate the skin to hydrate itself while moisturizing the surface. Occlusive agents like petroleum and mineral oil are then added to keep the moisture locked in the skin.

Non-Comedogenic

Ever experienced clog pores even when you’re a regular user of moisturizer? Try a non-comedogenic formula, which avoids trapping oil and dirt. Most moisturizers for black skin now include salicylic acid and tea tree oil, among others, that remove dead skin cells and deep cleanse pores.

Benefits of Using Moisturizer If You Have Dark Skin

Darker skin tones are more prone to dryness and hyperpigmentation, both of which are caused by excess melanin. Lasers, chemical peels, micro-needling, and other common treatments are not applicable to black people, since these can easily cause skin inflammation. Opting for melanin skin-focused moisturizing products can help treat skin conditions like eczema and rosacea, as well as dark spots that are most prevalent within the community. Signs of aging and damaged skin can also be prevented with the regular use of nutrient-packed face cream. Treat yourself to a proper skincare routine and you’ll enjoy supple and soft skin that glows from within.

4 Skin Care Tips for Black Women

Flawless skin comes down to three major factors: a balanced diet, a great skincare routine, and overall good health. Whether you’re unfamiliar with the science of skin tones or well-versed with your preferences, we round up a few helpful tips to help you maximize your skin treatments. Read below on how to achieve the best version of your skin:

Gentle Cleansing Is Key

Getting rid of impurities without stripping off natural oils is a tricky practice. To stay on the safe side, make sure to use gentle facial cleansers and toners that gear towards your skin type. If you have dry skin, micellar water easily clears oil and dirt on the surface. Oily skin types can benefit from a gentle exfoliator, but daily use might trigger a breakout. Foam and gel-type cleansers are an all-around good choice for both oily and combination skin since they aren’t deep cleaning and harsh on the skin. Try plant-based options like aloe vera, or stick with salicylic acid for a squeaky clean finish.

Moisturize As Often As The Season Calls For It

Ashy skin is a common predicament in the black community, caused by dead skin cells that rise whenever the dry season is approaching. Keep your skin hydrated by moisturizing at least twice a day, right after every shower. Stick to a lighter formula around the summer, and then fall back to a deeply moisturizing cream as soon as autumn approaches. Never skimp on the moisturizer to achieve that dewy, young-looking skin.

Treat Your Dark Spots

People with melanin-rich skin often encounter the usual dark spots every now and then, with some leaving it untreated until it becomes hyperpigmentation. It’s all caused by excess melanin that evolves into a cluster, which then becomes the stubborn dark spot on your face. Prevent discoloration from getting out of hand by using products formulated with glycolic acid. Use a serum infused with glycolic acid and let it rest on your skin overnight for faster healing.

Wear Sunscreen Daily

Skipping sunscreen because you’re dark might seem reasonable, but since melanin overproduction causes dark spots, you’ll most likely end up with dark spots or sunburn. Whether or not you’re going outside or it’s cloudy, UV rays full of damaging free radicals can still reach your skin as long as there’s a window nearby. The zinc oxide in sunscreens helps protect you from free radicals, skin cancer, skin inflammation, and even acne breakouts. Not only that, but it also seals moisture in the skin while boosting collagen production, along with treating dark spots.

How do you apply moisturizer?

Applying moisturizer may seem like common sense, however, there is actually a right way to do it. The first thing is to always make sure your hands are clean. This means when you get out of the shower, don’t touch anything else beforehand. Using a small amount of moisturizer, start in the center of your face and move outwards. Too much moisturizer will end up clogging your pores and leave your skin looking greasy. A quarter-sized dollop is a perfect amount. Swirl your moisturizer using your ring fingers making circular motions. The ring fingers use the least amount of pressure, which will prevent damaging your delicate facial skin. Don’t forget to apply face moisturizer to your neck and décolletage. These areas show aging first so it’s important to keep them moisturized, too. Be sure to follow the same method from above. Once you’ve hydrated, let your facial moisturizer fully absorb into your skin before applying things like a primer, foundation, and concealer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What moisturizer is best for my skin type?

The number one rule of skincare is knowing your skin type. Dry skin needs formulas that penetrate layers and lock in moisture, like SheaMoisture African Black Soap. While oil-free, non-comedogenic, and non-acnegenic are a must for oily skin types since these reduce breakouts. People with combination skin can ditch products with fragrances and occlusives to avoid irritating the skin and oil overproduction. And if everything fails, mild moisturizers like Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer are the no-fail recommendation.

How do you keep black skin moisturized?

Cleansers that don’t strip off moisture are best since they don’t have fragrances, alcohol, or any kind of irritant that may cause hyperpigmentation. Depending on your skin type, your face cream should have water-inducing humectants and ingredients capable of locking in moisture for a long time. Finish up with an obligatory sunscreen that at least has a minimum of SPF30 to protect yourself from the sun’s UV rays and free radicals.

How can I make my black skin glow naturally?

A healthy balanced diet goes a long way. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein are packed with nutrients that help repair skin from the inside. Skipping processed foods and anything with sugar tone down breakouts, as well as avoiding alcohol altogether. Increasing your water intake to the suggested minimum amount of 2 liters per day will not only cleanse your insides but help clear up oil build up on your face as well.

What are the best skin care products for African American skin?

Besides the basic sunscreen, products with shea butter, cocoa butter, petroleum, and African black soap should be part of your bathroom cabinet. These ingredients block water from escaping your pores, gently strips off dirt, and softens dry patches of skin. These also help remove dead skin cells from the epidermis, which causes the trademark ashiness brown skin gets when not moisturized properly.

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