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The 11 Best Moisturizers For Combination Skin: What To Look For

Alexandra Engler
Author:
Updated on February 14, 2022
Alexandra Engler
mbg Beauty Director
By Alexandra Engler
mbg Beauty Director
Alexandra Engler is the beauty director at mindbodygreen and host of the beauty podcast Clean Beauty School. Previously, she's held beauty roles at Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, SELF, and Cosmopolitan; her byline has appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Allure.com.
face creams for combination skin roundup
Image by mbg Creative
February 14, 2022
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For much of my young 20s, the same thing happened to me every day at around 3 p.m.: I'd glance in the mirror, and my T-zone was oil-slick and shiny.

If I'm honest with you, I was far more concerned about the sprinkled breakouts on my chin and jawline, but the glare-inducing forehead and nose weren't exactly confidence-inspiring.

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As I got older and my skin got drier and drier, my oil- and acne-prone skin transformed into more of a combination complexion (with hints of sensitivities—lucky me).

Often, I feel at a loss for where to turn for hydrators that keep my oil in check and the dry patches dewy.

"Combination skin is part oily, part dry," says board-certified dermatologist Jeanine Downie, M.D. "Typically, it's oily in the T-zone and drier on the cheeks."

This one-two punch of terrains makes for a complicated choice of moisturizer. Ideally, you want something that will control the oil in the overproduced areas, hydrate flaky areas, and balance skin all over. 

Well, we did the work for you. Here, the best organic, natural, and clean options. 

Tula 24-7 Hydrating Day & Night Cream

This lightweight option slicks on, absorbs quickly, and doesn't leave a greasy residue. The blend of barrier-supporting hydrators (like peptides and squalane) leaves skin feeling supple and dewy, and the biome-friendly biotic ingredients help balance your skin microbiome.  

24-7 Hydrating Day & Night Cream, Tula ($52)

Tula 24-7 Hydration Face Cream
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BeautyCounter Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion

This smart formula adapts to your skin throughout the day, amping up hydration when needed and laying low when your own oil production is doing the work. The blend is made of squalane, shea butter, and plum oil, which is rich in omega fatty acids. 

Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion, BeautyCounter ($54)

beautycoutner face cream
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Savor Beauty Truffle Face Cream In Normal/Combination

This delightful organic brand blends together K-beauty rituals with holistic, natural touches. Their cream comes in three varieties, each designed to cater to a different skin type. For those with combo skin, they blend together pumpkin seed oil, sage extract, and rice bran to hydrate, soothe, and tend to inflammation. 

Truffle Face Cream In Normal/Combination, Savor Beauty ($74)

savor beauty truffle cream
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Burt's Bees Truly Glowing Gel Cream

This 99% natural antioxidant-rich lotion helps brighten skin for the ultimate healthy glow. And the hybrid gel-cream texture makes it perfect for those with combo skin, as it's equal parts breathable and cushioning.

Truly Glowing Gel Cream, Burt's Bees ($17.99)

burt's bees face cream
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Tatcha The Water Cream

A face moisturizer with legions of devoted fans, this splashes onto your face in the most sensorially appealing way. (Seriously: Once you try this delightful texture, you'll be hooked.) And thanks to the botanical blend, this can help minimize the look of pores all day long. 

The Water Cream, Tatcha ($69)

tatcha the water cream
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Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Moisturizer

Sometimes, combination skin comes as the result of a compromised barrier—essentially your skin is attempting to overcompensate with oil production what it's missing in barrier support. To check this, reach for lipids like in this whipped cream. It contains phytosphingosine, multiple types of ceramides, and botanical oils.  

Lala Retro Whipped Moisturizer With Ceramides, Drunk Elephant ($60)

drunk elephant moisturizer
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Summer Fridays Cloud Dew Gel Cream Moisturizer

This provides continuous hydration by blending ceramides with three forms of hyaluronic acid. But it doesn't stop there, the product is infused with a gentle pineapple enzyme that helps smooth texture and tone. 

Cloud Dew Gel Cream Moisturizer, Summer Fridays ($44)

summer fridays face moisturizer
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Kinship Supermello Hydrating Gel Cream Moisturizer

This option contains a host of ingredients that can help balance skin. There's coconut water and marshmallow root, which have antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits to help nourish skin. Additionally, it contains the humectant hyaluronic acid. And it's rounded out with the brand's signature probiotic complex. 

Supermello Hydrating Gel Cream Moisturizer, Kinship ($26)

kinship supermello
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Osea Blemish Balance Balm

Does your specific brand of oily skin come with breakouts? You're not alone—it's very common to have acne in one area and bone-dry patches in another. If so, reach for this effortlessly light hydrator that uses a combination of anti-inflammatory botanicals to help reactive skin calm down. 

Blemish Balance Balm, Osea ($48)

osea blemish balm
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YTTP Superfood Air-Whipped Moisture Cream

Who doesn't love a mousse-like texture? Certainly, we can't help but be obsessed with them. Texture aside, the formula also contains a basket of superfoods—with extracts from kale, spinach, green tea, alfalfa.

Superfood Air-Whipped Moisture Cream, YTTP ($48)

YTTP Superfood face cream
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Pevonia Balancing Combination Skin Cream

A noncomedogenic lotion blended with aloe, safflower seed oil, vitamin E, cucumber extract—oh how the list goes on. It's a thoughtful plant-based blend, as not only does it help ease an oily T-zone, but it can help repair and restore dry, damaged skin too. 

Balancing Combination Skin Cream, Pevonia ($64)

pevonia face cream
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Alexandra Engler author page.
Alexandra Engler
mbg Beauty Director

Alexandra Engler is the beauty director at mindbodygreen and host of the beauty podcast Clean Beauty School. Previously, she's held beauty roles at Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, SELF, and Cosmopolitan; her byline has appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Allure.com. In her current role, she covers all the latest trends in the clean and natural beauty space, as well as lifestyle topics, such as travel. She received her journalism degree from Marquette University, graduating first in the department. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.