Best Face Forward: 8 Face Creams to Reach for All Season Long
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After more than two years of wearing face masks, the only thing you should be putting on your face right now is some good moisturizer. At least that’s what men’s groomers are saying, talking up the importance of a good face cream as our mugs get exposed to the elements — and people — again.
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“Over the past two years of wearing masks, the most common skin issues have been irritation, dry skin, acne, clogged pores, and beardruff – flaky dry skin within facial hair,” says Willis Orengo, a New York-based barber and ambassador for grooming brand, King C. Gillette.
“Masks create a warm and humid environment underneath them that traps moisture and sebum,” adds Barbara Goodstein, founder and CEO of B GREAT. “This can make pre-existing acne worse or cause new breakouts by clogging pores.” What’s more: “These pores become inflamed, leading to the classical red tender acne lesion. Masks can cause facial itching, rashes, and swelling [too],” she says.
Fortunately, there’s a way to repair your mugs now that your face masks are off. “To remedy these issues,” he says, “it is important to maintain a proper skincare routine” — starting with a good face cream.
In This Article
The Best Face Creams to Buy Online
How to Apply Face Cream
How We Chose Our List of Best Face Creams
What Are the Best Face Creams?
We tested dozens of face creams to find the best ones to use right now.
BEST OVERALL: Tula Super Soothe Skin Moisturizer
EDITOR’S CHOICE: Marlowe Facial Moisturizer
TOP REVIEWS: Lumin Daily Moisturizer
BEST FOR SENSITIVE SKIN: La Roche-Posay Ultra Soothing Face Moisturizer
BEST FOR DRY SKIN: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream
BEST FOR FACIAL HAIR: King C. Gillette Facial Moisturizer
1. Tula Super Soothe Calming Sensitive Skin Moisturizer
One of our favorite face creams for men is this unisex moisturizer from Tula. Dubbed the “Super Soothe Calming Sensitive Skin Moisturizer,” it’s super gentle and effective, leaving your mug soft and supple.
Oatmeal and aloe help to calm any irritation (say, from shaving or the sun), while cucumber and ginger keep you feeling cool and refreshed. The brand says its special formula uses probiotic extracts to “Improve skin smoothness and maintain skin balance.”
Dermatologist-tested, the Tula face cream is is formulated without fragrance, non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic.
2. Marlowe. Facial Moisturizer for Men
MARLOWE. No. 123 Men’s Facial Moisturizer 6 oz | Lightweight Daily Face Lotion for Men | Includes Natural Extracts to Hydrate, Soothe & Restore
The nourishing water-based formula that MARLOWE. uses for its facial moisturizer (above) contains natural ingredients like green tea extract (for antioxidants), willow bark (to help calm stressed skin) and algae (to soothe). It’s also free from parabens and phthalates, and is cruelty-free (not tested on animals). MARLOWE. is a lightweight lotion so it’s great for oily skin as it won’t look too shiny or greasy on your face.
3. La Roche-Posay Ultra Face Moisturizer
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Ultra Soothing Repair Face Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin, Gentle Moisturizing Face Cream for Dry Skin, Packaging May Vary, Formerly Toleriane Ultra
Got more sensitive skin? We’ve been using La Roche-Posay for years, thanks to its cool, comforting texture (from the addition of prebiotic thermal water) and lightweight feel. It massages into the skin easily without leaving any white residue, and its oil-free, fragrance-free and non-comedogenic formula makes it great for anyone prone to redness or irritated skin.
Other things to note if you’ve got sensitive skin: make sure to use a good sunscreen too. You don’t want to leave your skin exposed to the elements. Many of the best sunscreens for sensitive skin double as a good face cream; otherwise, you’ll want to start with a light layer of moisturizer before rubbing in n some sunscreen overtop.
4. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream
First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration Moisturizer for Face and Body, 14 oz
Prone to dry skin? While dry skin can be due to a number of things, from genetics to the environment, you don’t have to perpetually suffer from dry skin either. One of the best face creams for dry skin comes from First Aid Beauty, whose best-selling face wash and cleansers have become a must-have on our bathroom shelf.
The brand’s “Ultra Repair Cream” is known as an “intense hydration moisturizer,” thanks to ingredients like oatmeal and shea butter. Unlike the other face creams on our list, which have more of a gooey lotion consistency, this one has more of a “whipped” texture, making it easy to pick up on the fingers and distribute it evenly around the face. There is no greasy after-feel, and, for a dry skin cream, there is surprisingly no heaviness on the skin either. Everything absorbs instantly.
5. King C. Gillette’s Face & Stubble Moisturizer
King C. Gillette Moisturizer for Face & Stubble with Vitamin B3 and B5 Complex, Face Moisturizer for Men, 100 mL
What if you’re someone with facial hair, like a beard or five o’clock shadow? “You want a lightweight face cream that keeps moisture in, and irritants out, especially if you’re prone to dry flaky skin,” says Orengo, who recommends King C. Gillette’s Face & Stubble Moisturizer, which can calm irritation and dryness and illuminate skin. “There are lots of good ingredients in there like emollient oils, vitamin B complex, and glycerine,” he says, “so you can trade discomfort and beardruff for smooth and soft skin.
6. Hemp Skincare Bundle
Many brands are now touting the benefits for CBD for skincare, including the brand B GREAT, whose Hemp Skincare Bundle includes an antioxidant cream to help rejuvenate tired skin; a “relief and recovery cream” to ease soreness in the body; and a “hemp lip defense,” which helps to moisturize dry lips.
According to B GREAT founder Goodstein, the best CBD face creams can go a long way towards healing and conditioning your face. “CBD may have an anti-inflammatory effect on sebocytes, the skin cells that produce sebum,” she explains. “Most importantly, it has been shown to reduce inflammation. As an anti-inflammatory, CBD may be able to help reduce swelling, pain, and redness from existing breakouts, or irritation from skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.”
We recommend using the B GREAT cream after a long flight or work day where you’ve been masked up — we’ve found the face cream to help our skin feel more refreshed (it’s a great value with three products included too). “CBD is especially effective in skincare products, wherever instances of inflammation occur, including eliminating razor burn, reduce puffiness under the eyes, and reducing swelling causes by long duration mask wearing.,” Goodstein says.”
Related: The Best CBD for Stress Relief
Despite some misconceptions, CBD products (including CBD face creams) are fully legal for purchase online. “CBD, more formally known as Cannabidiol, is derived from the hemp plant and not from marijuana,” Goodstein says. “After the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill Act, CBD products were made fully legal to be sold and purchased in the United States. CBD can be taken on planes and there is no restriction around traveling with CBD,” she adds.
7. Ghost Democracy Clean Daily Face Moisturizer
Ghost Democracy Clean Lightweight Daily Face Moisturizer
You’ve probably seen Ghost Democracy all over social media but it’s not just hype: the brand’s Clean Daily Face Moisturizer is one of the best face creams we’ve tested, thanks to its lightweight feel and super intense hydration.
In just a few days, our skin felt more moisturized and more supple with a healthier glow overall. There’s none of that greasy feeling too — Ghost Democracy’s face cream is oil-free and quick-absorbing.
Ghost Democracy says its formula contains 12% probiotics (I.e. the “good” bacteria) that helps to balance your skin’s microbiome. Oat seed extract helps to calm skin, while niacinamide (a.k.a. Vitamin B3) is great for strengthening skin and pro-vitamin B5 helps to help promote skin softness and elasticity.
8. Lumin Daily Face Moisturizer
Lumin burst onto the scene a few years ago with its line of accessible and affordable skin care products for men. We had a chance to test everything from their under eye creams to their charcoal face wash and loved their clean scenes, real ingredients and actual results (think: brighter, healthier-looking skin).
These days, we’re big fans of Lumin’s line of moisturizers, which come in three options: a daily moisturizer for all skin types; a lightweight option if you’re prone to oiliness; and an extra strength version for dry skin. The moisturizers use natural ingredients like meadowfoam seed oil to boost hydration and lock in moisture; ginger extract to help fight environmental stressors and even skin tone; and green tea extract, which is a natural antioxidant. The cream is light enough to use for daytime and at night, and it absorbs easily so there’s no sticky feeling after you rub it in. Reviewers say it’s great to help calm skin after shaving too.
How to Use and Apply Face Cream
The best face creams for men form a barrier of moisture for your skin, while keeping environmental stressors out. The best face creams should also be light enough to apply every day, with an even coating all over your mug, down to your neck and behind the ears (because earlobes get dry and chapped too!)
To apply: squeeze a quarter size amount between your fingers, then rub evenly into your face, making sure to get the forehead, nose, cheeks and jawline.
How We Chose the Best Face Creams
We personally tested each of the brands in this article to put together our list of the best face creams for men. We tested the face creams out on men with different skin types — from sensitive to scraggly (I.e. with scruff or facial hair).
All of the face creams on our list were easy to apply, easily absorbed and left our faces feeling nourished and moisturized. We did not include any creams that were overly greasy or creams that didn’t last through the day (I.e. formulas that wore off and left our skin feeling dry very quickly).
All of these top face creams are also highly-rated by thousands of users online who back up our opinions with their own hands-on reviews.
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