Natural face moisturizer: how to choose one for winter skin

A Nova Scotia winter is hard on faces: salt wind off the harbour, cold mornings at the bus stop, then hours of dry indoor heat. The right natural face moisturizer is mostly about texture and skin type, and once you know whether you need a light cream, a rich cream, an oil or a balm, the shelf gets much easier to read.

Clean ingredients: what makes a natural face moisturizer different

A natural face moisturizer leans on plant butters, plant oils, botanical extracts and simple humectants like glycerin and aloe vera, instead of mineral oil, synthetic fragrance and long lists of preservatives. The ones we stock also tend to be cruelty-free, many are vegan, and a few are gluten free too. Short, readable ingredient lists are a big part of the appeal, and for sensitive skin, fewer ingredients means fewer things that might irritate.

Every moisturizer does the same three jobs, and the ingredients fall into three groups:

• Humectants draw water into the skin. Glycerin, aloe vera and hyaluronic acid are the common ones; hyaluronic acid can hold up to a thousand times its weight in water.
• Emollients smooth and soften. Plant oils, squalane and shea butter fill in the rough, dry patches.
• Occlusives leave a thin layer on top that slows down moisture loss and helps protect your skin barrier, the outer layer that keeps water in and the weather out. Beeswax, lanolin, cocoa butter and tallow all do this.

What changes from jar to jar is the balance of the three, and that's what you feel as texture. A light gel is mostly humectants; a winter balm is mostly occlusives.

Why your face feels drier in winter

Cold air holds very little moisture, and so does heated indoor air. Wind strips away the oils that sit on your skin, and hot showers do the same. Put that together and skin that feels fine in August can feel tight, rough or flaky by January, especially on the cheeks and around the nose.

Most people don't need a whole new routine for winter. Often the only change needed is a richer face moisturizer, a few drops of face oil on top at night, or a balm for the coldest, windiest days. Keep the gentle cleanser and the sunscreen you already like.

Cream, balm, oil or gel: choosing a texture

Texture is the quickest way to narrow down your options. Here's how the main types compare.

Balms and rich creams work much like their body care cousins. For a closer look at how lotions, creams, butters and balms differ, see our guide to body lotion, cream or balm for dry winter skin.

Matching a face moisturizer to your skin type

Skin types aren't strict boxes, and your skin can shift with the season. Use these as a starting point.

• Dry skin: feels tight after washing and may flake. Reach for a rich cream with shea butter or cocoa butter, and add a face oil at night if you need more.
• Sensitive skin: stings or goes pink easily. Choose short ingredient lists and unscented formulas, and skip essential oils, which are a common trigger even in natural skincare. Soothing ingredients like aloe vera, calendula and chamomile are long-time favourites for sensitive skin, and so is niacinamide, which helps support the skin barrier.
• Combination skin: oily through the forehead and nose, dry on the cheeks. A light cream or gel all over, with a little extra on the dry spots, usually works well.
• Normal skin: comfortable most of the year. A light day cream is plenty, with something richer on the worst winter days.
• Oily skin: still needs moisture, especially in dry indoor air. An oil-free gel keeps skin comfortable without heaviness. Skip formulas high in denatured alcohol, which can strip natural oils and leave skin feeling tight.

Green Beaver face cream

Green Beaver was founded in 2002 by two scientists, Karen Clark and Alain Ménard, and its skincare is made in Canada. Its rich face cream for very dry skin is the one we point to most in winter. You'll see it called Extra Dry Skin Face Cream on our shelf and Intense Moisture Face Cream on Green Beaver's site.

Shea butter and cocoa butter do the heavy lifting, with sunflower, coconut, borage and Canadian-sourced cranberry seed oils, aloe vera and Labrador tea extract. It's unscented, made for very sensitive skin, and works as a daily moisturizer or a night cream. A little goes a long way, so start with a small amount over the face and neck.

Green BeaverExtra Dry Skin Face Cream, 40 mLRich and unscented, with shea butter, cocoa butter and Labrador tea. GMO-free and cruelty-free.Shop →

Weleda Skin Food

Weleda has made Skin Food Original Ultra-Rich Cream since 1926, and it still has a loyal following. It's easy to see why in February. It's thick and intensely moisturizing, built on lanolin, sunflower and sweet almond oils and beeswax, with organic pansy, chamomile, calendula and rosemary extracts. The scent is a fresh, slightly herbal blend of lavender, rosemary and sweet orange essential oils.

It's made for dry, rough skin anywhere on the body: hands, elbows, feet and cuticles especially. On the face, many people use a small amount as a winter night cream or on dry cheeks before heading out in the wind. It leaves a light protective film, so it's richer than most daily face creams. Because it contains lanolin and beeswax, it isn't vegan. If you'd like the Skin Food plant extracts in something lighter, the Ultra-Light Dry Oil is a spray that dries to the touch in moments.

Derma E creams for day and night

Derma E makes a wide range of vegan, cruelty-free face creams, so it's easy to pair a day cream with a night cream. The Hydrating Day Cream is built around hyaluronic acid with green tea, vitamins C and E, aloe and jojoba. It has a fine, silky finish that sits well under makeup and is made without parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, lanolin or gluten.

For night, the Vitamin C Intense Night Cream pairs a stable form of vitamin C with hyaluronic acid, rooibos and plant oils, and helps even out the look of skin tone and soften the look of fine lines and wrinkles over time. The Anti-Aging Regenerative Night Cream is a richer vitamin A cream with antioxidants astaxanthin and Pycnogenol, a good fit for normal to dry skin through the winter. The Vitamin E 12,000 IU Cream is the heavy-duty one for very dry spots on the face, hands or feet, and the Vitamin A Treatment Oil is a few-drops face oil you can press in on its own or add to your cream.

Day cream or night cream?

A day cream is usually lighter, so it sits well under makeup and sunscreen. A night cream is often richer and may carry ingredients like vitamin A, vitamin C or gentle fruit acids that are best used while you sleep. You don't need both: plenty of people use one good natural face moisturizer morning and night. In winter, though, a lighter cream by day and a richer one at night is a comfortable split.

Face oils and balms for the coldest days

Face oils have no water in them, so they don't add hydration on their own, but they're very good at sealing it in and easing winter dryness. Squalane, in the Beauty From Bees oil, mirrors the skin's own oils, so it sinks in fast with a silky, non-greasy finish. Press a few drops over your cream at night, or mix one drop into your moisturizer in the morning. Balms, including tallow balms, are thicker still and make a good shield for cheeks and noses on a windy walk.

Beauty From Bees is a Canadian brand started by Michelle Sayers, a mother of four who made skincare for her own family for about ten years before turning it into a business. Its face oil stands in for both eye cream and moisturizer, a few drops morning and night. Skin Essence Soothe can be mixed with a few drops of water in your palm for a lighter feel, and drier skin can layer a cream on top. Our Beauty From Bees guide covers the rest of the range.

How to apply moisturizer for deep hydration

How you apply a face moisturizer matters almost as much as which one you choose.

1. Cleanse gently. Use lukewarm water and a mild cleanser. Hot water feels lovely in January but leaves skin drier.
2. Keep skin slightly damp. Pat your face with a towel and leave it a little damp. Moisturizer spreads further and locks in more water this way.
3. Go thinnest to thickest. If you use a toner, it goes on first, then a serum. Then your cream, then a face oil or balm on top if you need it. A hydrating serum under a rich cream is a great winter combination.
4. Don't stop at your jaw. Smooth what's left on your fingers over your neck and the backs of your hands.
5. Finish with sunscreen by day. Use a separate sunscreen or a moisturizer with SPF as the last step in the morning.

The best winter moisturizer is the one that keeps your face comfortable from the bus stop to bedtime.

Canadian makers worth knowing

We're a family-owned Atlantic Canadian store, and we love stocking skincare made by other Canadian makers. Green Beaver makes its skincare in Canada. Carina Organics has made its products by hand on the North Shore of Vancouver since 1972, and its unscented moisturizer is 100% biodegradable. Beauty From Bees grew out of skincare one mom made for her own family. The Cure Skincare was started in Nova Scotia by Nitasha Goel, and those Atlantic Canadian roots still show in its small handmade batches, now made in Hamilton, Ontario.

The Cure SkincareFace + Eye Cream, 1 ozAn everyday face cream gentle enough for around the eyes, with coffee seed extract, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide.Shop →

Kinvara is a female-founded skincare brand from Galway, Ireland, and Muskoka Tallow was started by a mom looking for simple skincare for her family. Browse more in our natural beauty and personal care department.

Questions we get a lot

How do I moisturize my face naturally?

Wash with lukewarm water and a gentle cleanser, apply a natural face moisturizer while your skin is still a little damp, and seal it in with a few drops of face oil at night if you're dry. A humidifier in the bedroom helps in winter too.

What is the most natural face moisturizer?

The simplest options are single plant oils and short-list balms, but they don't add water to your skin. For most people, a cream made mostly from plant butters, plant oils and aloe or glycerin is the best balance of natural and comfortable.

What can I use instead of moisturizer on my face?

A face oil or a balm can stand in on dry skin, especially pressed onto damp skin so there's water to hold in. Oily skin usually does better with a light gel than with no moisturizer at all.

Is Green Beaver a Canadian company?

Yes. Green Beaver was founded in 2002 by two scientists, and its products are made in Canada.

Where is Green Beaver sold?

We carry Green Beaver face cream, body lotion, deodorant and toothpaste at both of our stores in Bedford and Dartmouth, and online.

Is Weleda Skin Food good for your face?

Many people with dry skin use it on their face, especially at night or on windy days. It's very rich and leaves a light film, so start with a small amount, and choose a lighter cream if you have oily or combination skin.

What is Derma E good for?

Derma E makes vegan, cruelty-free skincare for most needs, from hyaluronic acid day creams for dry skin to vitamin C and vitamin A night creams and an SPF 45 daily moisturizer.

How do I find the best moisturizer for my skin?

Start with how your face feels at the end of the day, pick a texture to match, and give a new moisturizer two or three weeks before you judge it. Ask friends with similar skin what they like, then come and test the textures in store.

Is Andalou a clean product?

Andalou Naturals uses fruit enzymes, plant oils and gentle fruit acids. As with any brand, read the ingredient list for anything your skin doesn't like, such as fragrance.

Natural face moisturizers are in the personal care aisle at both stores: 486 Starboard Drive in Bedford and 590 Portland Street in Dartmouth, open seven days. For lips, our natural lip balm guide has winter picks too. In HRM, order by 11 am with Luminate Express for same-day delivery, or choose pickup. Anywhere else in Canada, orders over $80 ship free.

Sources: Green Beaver, About Us; Green Beaver, Intense Moisture Face Cream; Carina Organics, About Us; The Cure Skincare, Our Story; Beauty From Bees, About Us; Kinvara Skincare; Weleda, Skin Food Original; Muskoka Tallow, About Us; product labels. This article is general information, not medical advice.