Best Face Moisturizers For Black Skin – 2023 Reviews and Top Picks

Best Face Moisturizers For Black Skin

To help you find products that can actually meet your skin’s unique needs, we’ve come up with this list of the best face moisturizers for black skin after spending more than 20 hours assessing each brand for their hydrating properties, skin benefits and value for money.

At A Glance: Our Best Choices For The Best Face Moisturizers for Black Skin

Jack Black Double-Duty Face Moisturizer has an emollient formula that won’t make your skin extra oily. It’s considered an advanced facial treatment in one product.

Cetaphil Fragrance-Free Daily Facial Moisturizer offers a lower sun protection at SPF 15. However, we liked that the product offers vital hydration with its water and glycerin content.

It's particularly good to use on black skin because it can help keep its vital moisture without triggering too much oil production. One thing to note about this moisturizer, however, is that it can stain clothes.

Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer SPF 15 contains soy to help boost your skin's collagen production. It's oil-free and blends well into the skin.

Although it has SPF, it isn't as heavy as the other sunscreens are. You can use it daily to help improve your skin tone in just 4 weeks.

Era Organics Natural Face Moisturizer Cream has an impressive list of deeply hydrating ingredients. It contains superfoods for the skin, like manuka honey and aloe vera.

Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel By Clinique is a good choice for those with acne-prone black skin. It’s gel type and feels really light on the skin.

Below, our beauty editors share the best face moisturizers for black skin that can actually live up to their claims.

Jack Black

If you are looking for a vegan moisturizer to get the job done, we highly recommend Jack Black Double-Duty Face Moisturizer. It offers SPF 20 broad spectrum protection, vitamins, antioxidants and moisturizers.

The product is also fragrance-free which fits highly reactive skin. Plus, it’s gluten-free and certified organic.

As for how it works, the word “double-duty” should already gave you a hint. This one doesn’t just moisturize- it provides long-lasting hydration that doesn’t feel oily or sticky.

It has an impressive list of ingredients, too. You can find vitamin E, blue algae extract and sea parsley in its list.

The product doesn’t have any intense scent, though I’d compare its smell with baby wipes. It isn’t too masculine but not too feminine either.

Things We Liked

  • Contains moisturizing and soothing ingredients
  • Smell isn’t overwhelming
  • Has antioxidants
  • Has SPF 20

Things We Didn't Like

  • Scent isn’t for everyone
  • May cause breakouts

#2 Cetaphil Fragrance-Free Daily Facial Moisturizer

Cetaphil Fragrance-Free Daily Facial Moisturizer has SPF 15 and a non-greasy formulation that won’t clog your black skin. We particularly liked this 2-in-1 product as it is suitable for all skin types.

Cetaphil Fragrance-Free Daily Facial Moisturizer Reviews

It’s also lightweight and non-comedogenic. You can feel its hydrating effect without any greasy feeling after application.

This product can help retain your skin’s vital moisture. If your skin type is dry, we’re recommending this product as it has both glycerin and water.

Users who have extra sensitive skin liked that this moisturizer keeps their skin looking radiant without flaking or clogging. It has no fragrance and is dermatologist recommended.

One downside of this product is that it tends to stain clothes. When applying the moisturizer on your neck area, we suggest taking extra caution.

You should also be careful when using the product near your eye area. Because it has sun protective ingredients, it can cause burning and irritation.

Things We Liked

  • Can retain skin’s moisture
  • Has water and glycerin
  • Dermatologist recommended

Things We Didn't Like

  • Can stain clothes
  • Irritating to the eyes
Aveeno

Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer SPF 15 is clinically proven to even out and improve your skin tone in four weeks. It relies on Total Soy Complex to make your skin more radiant looking.

Soy or soybeans are largely known for its ability to boost collagen production. It’s widely used in a lot of anti-aging and anti-wrinkle products.

This moisturizer is oil-free which is good news for black skin. It’s also non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic.

Users liked that it doesn’t feel as heavy as regular sunscreens. It’s lightweight and blends quickly.

The moisturizer comes in a pump bottle. Users find that the packaging makes it hard to use all the product up as they find the pump ineffective.

Things We Liked

  • Has SPF
  • Lightweight
  • Contains soy

Things We Didn't Like

  • Ineffective pump bottle
Era Organics

Era Organics Natural Face Moisturizer Cream offers deep hydration that will suit your black skin. It has amino acids, fatty acids as well as vitamins and minerals to thoroughly hydrate your skin.

One of the impressive things about this cream is that it’s loaded with ingredients your skin will surely love. It contains manuka honey, olive oil, shea butter and coconut oil.

You can also find aloe vera in its mix.

The combination of these ingredients means that you can’t only rely on the cream for hydration, but in improving your overall skin health, too. It can stimulate cell regeneration, boost your skin’s elasticity as well as toughen up its fibers.

Take note that the cream is slightly scented. Although not that bothering, it can still cause some issues, especially if you have really sensitive skin.

Things We Liked

  • Contains deeply hydrating ingredients
  • Can improve overall skin complexion and tone
  • Non greasy
  • Has no fillers and alcohol

Things We Didn't Like

  • A bit pricey
  • Has a subtle scent
Clinique

If your black skin leans more on the acne-prone or oily side, Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel By Clinique makes a great product to invest in. It’s a gel type which means it won’t feel heavy on the skin.

Apart from that, it’s also non-acnegenic and hypoallergenic. It doesn’t contain any thickening agent and is fragrance-free.

The product comes in a sturdy plastic packaging that comes inclusive with a pump. A pump means less messy application and it’s more hygienic, too.

There is no stickiness or tackiness right after you applied the gel. This is actually nice, especially if you’ll be wearing makeup on top of it.

It also dries quickly so there’s no need to wait.

Things We Liked

  • Non-acnegenic
  • Hypoallergenic
  • Good for those with acne-prone skin
  • Packaging comes with a pump
  • Works well under makeup

Things We Didn't Like

  • A bit pricey
  • May not be enough if you’re into deep hydration

Reviews and Comparisons of The Best Moisturizers for Black Skin

Rankings

Best Overall

2nd choice

3rd choice

4th choice

5th choice

Top-Rated Moisturizers for Black Skin 2017

Jack Black
Cetaphil
Aveeno
Era Organics
Clinique

Brand

Key Ingredients

Natural botanicals

Avobenzone 3%, Octocrylene 10%

Active Naturals Total Soy Complex

Aloe Vera, Manuka Honey, MSM, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter and more

Cucumber fruit extract, barley extract and more

Fragrance-free

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Consistency/ Texture

Light

Light

Light

Light

Gel

Quantity

3.3 fl oz

4 oz

4 oz

4 oz

4.2 oz

Packaging

Bottle with pump

Bottle with pump

Bottle with pump

Jar

Plastic bottle with pump

Get Started

What Makes Black Skin Different

People with black skin tend to have more issues than those who have lighter complexion. For one, there’s the problem with having oily skin patches on the face and dry areas on the rest of the body.

Black skin also has a higher resistance against UV damage because of the high amounts of melanin in their skin. However, despite having a stronger protection against UV damage, black skin is still susceptible to injuries when exposed to the sun for a long period of time.

Aside from color, black skin is also thicker and tends to be drier than lighter skin tones. These features are partly due to the increased number of cellular layers and strength in its stratum corneum or the outer layer of the skin.

Also, because black skin is thicker and more compact, you’d notice that they don’t show wrinkles too much. In contrast, however, people with dark skin color do shed more skin.

How to Care for Black Skin

No matter what your skin color is, having a good skin care routine is important. Taking care of the largest organ in your body should not be dependent on its color but its type instead.

As a general rule, here are some of the things you should do when it comes to taking care of your skin:

  • Use a gentle cleanser on your skin. Skip bar soaps and always go for water-soluble ones.
  • Know your skin type and find products specifically formulated for you. Not all black skin have the same skin type.
  • Exfoliate your skin once or twice a week. Black skin has more dead skin cells and higher sebum production than other skin colors.
  • Always wear your sunscreen. Use products that have SPF 25 and higher.
  • Find a good moisturizer loaded with hydrating and nourishing ingredients. You should keep an eye out for products that have antioxidants, glycerin and alpha hydroxy acids.
  • Steer away from using products that contain alcohol and are comedogenic.

When looking for the right moisturizer, it’s best if you can find one that’s water-based. This type of moisturizer absorbs easily into the skin and doesn’t leave any sticky residu.

Aside from water, milk is also a good base for your moisturizer. Most products market this ingredient in the form of lactic acid.

Milk can effectively nourish your skin while leaving it supple and smooth. Aside from these benefits, milk also has a skin lightening property.

Best Ways to Moisturize Black Skin

Applying your moisturizer on damp skin helps seal in more moisture. To get the best effects, we recommend applying the product after you shower or wash your face.

You can moisturize once or twice a day, depending on your skin’s needs. When moisturizing, make it a point to use gentle motion and to avoid tugging your skin.

Aside from using quality moisturizer, you can also use a moisturizing mask at least once a week. Hydrating face masks can bring your skin the added nourishment that your moisturizer can’t give.

Conclusion

In this review, we’re placing Jack Black Double-Duty Face Moisturizer as our best face moisturizer for black skin. Although it has a lower SPF than the other products, we liked that it can’t only moisturize but also improve your skin.

It has soy to make your skin elastic and young-looking. It also has water and glycerin to boost your skin’s hydration.

For $12.06, we think this moisturizer is a good deal particularly because you’ll get 120mL of quality moisturizer.

Best Face Moisturizers For Black Skin – 2023 Reviews and Top Picks

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Dr Kathleen May Eusebio-Alpapara

A board-certified dermatologist who practices both medical and cosmetic dermatology

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