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Your skincare products collectively help you treat and prevent wrinkles in your 30s. From your cleanser to your serum, each one serves a different purpose. And in the quest for the ultimate anti-aging skincare routine in your 30s, you tend to make your daily moisturizer take on the role of an age-defying wrinkle-erasing cream. But sometimes, your moisturizer needs to simply, well, moisturize! Rather than working double or triple duty, the best moisturizers for your 30s cover the very fundamental part of your routine; hydration!
A 20-something skin might bounce back from using some sloppy, heavily silicone- and fragrance-based moisturizer for 3 months. But a good moisturizer for your 30s doesn’t leave anything to chance, because you can’t afford to do so in this decade.
The best moisturizers for your 30s make sure your skin gets a good amount of hydration as a result of a balance between humectants, emollients, and occlusives. Anti-aging is, in a sense, maintaining healthy skin. And healthy skin comes down to hydrated skin.
Because there’s just too much stuff that depends on hydration like circulation underneath the skin that’s essential for carrying nutrients and the skin barrier that’s responsible for keeping the bad stuff out and the good stuff in. And they all need water to function properly.
When you make sure your skin gets all the hydration it needs, you’re strengthening your skin barrier. The wall between your skin and wrinkle-causing elements becomes stronger. And your skin is able to protect itself better. That’s why a good moisturizer is crucial in your 30s.
Plus, we indulge in retinol and exfoliants in our 30s a little too often. When we overdo it, we damage our skin barrier. So a simple moisturizer becomes more helpful than an anti-aging cream when your skin is extra dry from retinol or too sensitive from over-exfoliation.
So leave anti-aging to your serums and exfoliation to your treatments. We’re going to help you find the right moisturizer to use in your 30s for the sole purpose of hydrated, moist, soft, and plump skin.
The Best Moisturizers For Your 30s
Below are the best moisturizers for people in their 30s.
1. Lancome Hydra Zen Glow Liquid Lightweight Moisturizer with Hyaluronic Acid
This is literally my third bottle! This is one of the gentlest and lightest moisturizers I’ve ever used. I’m in my late 30s and this is where I get my daily hydration from! It’s full to the brim with humectants, which are hydration boosters such as hyaluronic acid, amino acids, and glycerin. It has a very runny texture that just slips into your skin and leaves it plump and visibly glowing! It has a very subtle dewy finish and an amazing smell! It’s suitable for all skin types including oily and acne-prone and even though I have sensitive skin from rosacea, I literally have no problems with it!
Quick Tip: If you have dull skin and you need a glow boost, try Caudalie Vinoperfect Glycolic Essence. Apply it on clean skin and then moisturize with this one. You’ll see visibly glowing skin immediately! It’s the perfect pairing!
2. Biossance Squalane + Omega Repair Cream
This is a winner for all skin types because it has a great blend of what every skin needs. It has glycerin and hyaluronic acid for hydration. It has skin-repairing ceramides, jojoba esters, and squalane as emollients to soften the skin and reduce flakiness. And finally, it has shea butter to lock the moisture in. An ideal moisturizer for all skin types has these 3. The formula increases moisture and prevents transepidermal water loss for long-lasting hydration. It leaves the skin full and bouncy. The moisturizer is also vegan, cruelty-free, and tickles your sustainability.
3. Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream
This is another hit you’re going to get addicted to in your 30s! The moisturizer attracts water to the skin with humectants and infuses it with skin softeners for day-long hydration. It packs squalane as well as avocado and olive oil, which are rich in fatty acids that support the skin barrier. It smoothes the surface of the skin and seals the moisture in with its nourishing base. It’s replenishing but it’s not heavy. Also, it’s fragrance-free!
4. Fenty Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer SPF 30
If you don’t want to layer products and prefer a daily moisturizer with SPF, this one is ideal. It’s suitable even for sensitive skin. It gives you daily sun protection with chemical SPF 30. And it keeps the skin moisturized with hyaluronic acid and vitamin B3 aka niacinamide. It’s oil-free, suitable for all skin types, and leaves your skin dewy. And hey, it layers well under makeup too! It won’t pill. Its scent is addictive and is actually all you need for daily moisture and sun protection.
5. StriVectin Re-Quench Water Cream Hyaluronic + Electrolyte Moisturizer
This one’s a refreshing splash of water. It’s an oil-free moisturizer with a gel texture that provides instant relief for dry and dehydrated skin. It’s made with multi-tasking niacinamide to help repair the skin barrier, reduce the look of enlarged pores, and soften the skin texture by locking water in. Additional goodies include hyaluronic acid to plump the skin and aloe to calm it down. It leaves the skin soft and supple without the annoying greasy feel. Plus, it contains antioxidant-rich beetroot extract for some vitamin infusion.
6. Shani Darden Weightless Oil-Free Moisturizer
This one is amazing for oily and combination skin that’s prone to acne. It’s a lightweight moisturizer that is super replenishing. It’s made with hyaluronic acid, and collagen, which simply hydrates the skin and keeps the surface soft. Additionally, it has algae extract to smooth and moisturize. So you still get that soft creamy feel from your moisturizer but you don’t have to deal with the shine or greasiness. It’s non-comedogenic and non-acnegenic. So you don’t need to worry about it clogging your pores or causing breakouts.
7. Belif The True Cream Moisturizing Bomb
If you have dry skin, this is the absolute best moisturizer for your 30s. The whole cream is made to repair the damaged skin barrier, comfort irritation, and of course, boost moisture. The texture is a bit thicker but it’s incredibly replenishing, especially in colder months. The K-beauty moisturizer is made with a rich blend of botanicals like calendula, oatmeal, and moisturizing squalane, and ceramides. It also soothes the skin with vitamin B5. Look at how yummy the texture is! If you’re prone to acne, this also comes in gel form, which I equally love for thirsty, dehydrated skin.
8. Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream
This one is a hard worker for very dry skin. The cream hits the trifecta with its combination of humectants, emollients, and occlusives. It draws water into the skin with hyaluronic acid and keeps the skin all smooth and soft with squalane. And it creates a barrier on the skin with vegetable oil and shea butter to seal the moisture in. The moisturizer also contains anti-inflammatory botanical extracts. This one comes in handy if you’re recovering from retinol dryness too.
9. CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion
For a nighttime moisturizer to let the skin bathe in water while you’re getting your beauty sleep, this drugstore moisturizer is everything. It’s gentle and suitable for all skin types. And it’s super budget-friendly too. The moisturizer is formulated with hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and barrier-restoring niacinamide to care for the skin at night. It’s oil-free but moisturizing enough for dry skin too. The fragrance-free moisturizer helps you wake up to soft, rested, and fresh skin in the morning.
10. The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA
If you have normal skin and just want to maintain that god’s gift, this one is filled with ingredients to keep your skin’s status quo. Amino acids, fatty acids, hyaluronic acid -all the goodies for a healthy complexion. The formula is all about providing the skin with lipids that are already present in the skin to reinforce a strong and protective barrier to keep the moisture in and external aggressors out. The affordable daily moisturizer will provide long-lasting hydration for smooth, radiant, and healthy skin throughout your 30s.
The Verdict
Lancome Hydra Zen Liquid Glow Moisturizer is my absolute favorite for women in their 30s. As a daily moisturizer, it gives hydration that lasts all day and instantly plumps dehydration lines! It layers well beautifully with your other skincare products, and works well under sunscreen and makeup too! It’s suitable to use even on sensitive skin and every single one of my friends that bought it after my suggestion loved it!
So these are some of the best moisturizers you can use in your 30s to maintain plump, bouncy skin. If you need something more targeted and prefer more active ingredients, check out the best anti-aging creams for your 30s to target signs of aging.
