Finding a moisturizer when you have both acne-prone and sensitive skin can seem like finding a needle in a haystack! It’s taken me 3+ years to nail down the perfect moisturizer for my sensitive acne-prone skin.
I’m going to save you that struggle and share my holy grail moisturizer plus some other lovely skincare alternatives.
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What to Look For in a Moisturizers for Sensitive/Acne-Prone Skin Types
- Fragrance-Free Formula (no essential oils either!)
- Anti-inflammatory or anti-bacterial is a huge plus
- Long-wear hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, ceramides, or polyglutamic acid
My holy grail moisturizer to treat my blemishes and satisfy my sensitive skin is the It’s Skin Tiger Cica Gel Cream.
This is a rich gel formulated with a whopping 68% of Centella Asiatica. Centella speeds up the process of healing acne, acne scars, reduces redness and inflammation and also boosts collagen production!
This has a slight naturally occurring herbal scent but 100% synthetic fragrance-free. I’m slowly trying to switch out my products to fragrance-free formulas. Unnecessary fragrance in skincare is a huge factor to consider when shopping for sensitive skin. It can greatly irritate sensitive skin types and even cause previously normal skin to become sensitized after repeated exposure to irritating perfumes.
Snail Extract Creams for Acne-Prone Sensitive Skin
The next cream on my list of moisturizers is from the Korean skincare brand Jumiso. This is the Have A Good Cream Snail & Centella moisturizer. This has two of my all time favorite skincare ingredients, centella and snail extract! Centella asiatica extract is great for acne-prone skin. I have sensitive, dry, acne-prone skin and my go-to moisturizer is a 96% centella (a.k.a cica) cream. I landed on this through a lot of trial and error, but also because studies have shown that cica is naturally anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory which helps calm irritated skin and prevent future flareups!
Snail extract is wonderful for fighting blemishes and hydrating sensitive skin. Snail mucus is packed full of hyaluronic acid, is a natural antioxidant, stimulates collagen production, and enhances wound healing!
If you want to try a higher concentration of snail extract I highly recommend the Snail Repair Cream by Lucky Fine. This is also a fragrance-free formulation with 21% snail extract. This also contains squalane which is a key ingredient for treating acne-prone skin. Squalane helps regulate excess sebum which means less oil, and even less clogged pores!
Drugstore Moisturizer Options
If you want to purchase a moisturizer in-store the Trader Joe’s Ultra Hydrating Gel Moisturizer with Aloe & Green Tea Extracts is a bomb drugstore/grocery store option. It’s paraben, fragrance, and cruelty-free. This is just an awesome no-frills basic facial moisturizer. It’s not the most hydrating formula out there, but it gets the job done with no muss or fuss. It’s around $9 in-store and can also be purchased online if you don’t live within driving distance of a Trader Joe’s.
Another amazing drugstore option for acne-prone sensitive skin is from the dermatologist approved brand CeraVe. Almost their entire product line is perfect for catering to sensitive skin but the cult classic Moisturizing Cream is the cream of the crop.
This cream is formulated with hyaluronic acid and ceramides to help retain moisture. It’s also formulated to be fragrance and oil-free, hypoallergenic, and non-comedogenic! CeraVe is a tad more expensive than other drugstore skincare brands but these products are well worth the money. You can also very frequently find coupons for CeraVe in the Sunday paper!
