I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: I’m firmly on team fragrance-free skincare. Most derms and skincare experts agree that fragrance—whether it’s synthetically produced in a lab or naturally derived from plants (hi, essential oils)—is a potential skin irritant, meaning is can trigger redness, irritation, and even breakouts, especially in sensitive skin types. This is even more true when fragrance is used in products like face serums, lotions, and creams that stay on your skin for hours at a time. My advice? Start your unscented skincare ~journey~ with one of these 10 best fragrance-free moisturizers, below. There’s an option for every skin type—from oily and acne-prone to ultra-dry—and an option for every budget too.
Hydration is necessary for oily and acne-prone skin types—without it, skin ends up producing even more excess oil. This oil-absorbing fragrance-free moisturizer is ideal for giving skin that much needed hydration (thanks to hyaluronic acid) without clogging your pores or making your skin feel overly greasy either.
So most fragrance-free moisturizers are an inherently better option for sensitive skin types, but this one goes above beyond for those prone to irritation. It uses skin-balancing postbiotics (!), healing thermal water, and barrier-boosting minerals to calm inflammation, minimize redness, and bring your skin back to a happy, healthy state.
This is hands-down my favorite fragrance-free moisturizer for the winter months when my skin tends to be more dry and flaky. It deeply nourishes and moisturizes with shea butter and squalane and helps minimize inflammation with centella asiatica (you probs know it as cica) and allantoin.
It’s a best-seller for a reason, ppl. This classic face moisturizer from Kiehl’s uses olive-derived squalane and glycerin to hydrate and soften skin for a *full* 24 hours. And it’s not just fragrance-free, but it’s also free-from parabens, phthalates, and mineral oil too.
This creamy fragrance-free moisturizer literally does it all: firming, smoothing, plumping, brightening, restoring, you name it. It’s all thanks to a potent blend of 11 different amino acids, ceramides, niacinamide, and peptides.
This fragrance-free moisturizer is a regular in my morning routine. Not only does it hydrate and plump skin (shout out to hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and pomegranate extract), it protects it from harmful free-radical damage (from things like blue light and pollution) with a blend of antioxidant-rich ingredients too. P.S., The fluffy texture wears perfectly under makeup.
The hero in this fragrance-free night cream is the one and only retinol. It’s the one of the most effective ingredients in existence for increasing cell turnover (your skin’s natural renewal process) and boosting the production of collagen and elastin (two proteins that help keep skin smooth and firm). Use it nightly to plump fine lines and wrinkles and improve your overall skin texture.
This lightweight, oil-free, and fragrance-free lotion has a thin texture that soaks right into skin as soon as you apply it to your face. It uses amino acids, glycerin, panthenol, and vitamin E to moisturize and repair skin without creating any sticky or heavy residue.
I’ve yet to find a dermatologist who doesn’t have good things to say about this fragrance-free moisturizer from CeraVe. The drugstore skincare staple is affordable (the $12 bottle usually lasts me around two months) and made with ceramides and hyaluronic acid to hydrate skin and strengthen your skin barrier.
This fragrance-free sunscreen also happens to be a great moisturizer, thanks to ingredients like aloe juice extract, jojoba oil, sunflower seed oil, and avocado oil. Use the ultra-sheer SPF 30 formula on bare skin (or over a basic moisturizer if your skin is on the dry side) every morning to protect from damaging UVA and UVB rays.