Does it matter which body lotion I use

If you have sensitive skin, doctors recommend moisturizers without fragrance or allergic ingredients, but terms such as ‘hypoallergenic’ and ‘dermatologist-recommended’ are often just marketing tools.

What do you look for in a body moisturizer? Is it the smell, how smooth it leaves your skin feeling, or how much it costs? If you are attracted by terms such as “dermatologist recommended” or “hypoallergenic”, you may be disappointed.

A study of the top 100 best-selling whole-body moisturizers found that 95% of the products claiming to be dermatologist-recommended had at least one ingredient that could cause an allergy. Of the hypoallergenic moisturizers, 83% contained a substance on the allergen list of the North American Contact Dermatitis Group. The most common potential allergy-causing ingredients were fragrance mix and paraben mix (a preservative).

The dermatologists who carried out the study were interested in comparing moisturizers they would recommend to consumers and ones that people are actually buying. Between 5% and 45% of people (surveys vary) say they have sensitive skin that, when they use creams, can become red and irritated. What dermatologists suggest is that they use moisturizers free of additives, and perfume. Unfortunately, out of those moisturizers claiming to be fragrance-free, around 45% had at least one ingredient that was a fragrance cross-reactor and could irritate the skin. One moisturizer labelled “natural” had the highest number of potentially allergenic ingredients from the NACDG list.

Moisturizers work by hydrating the skin and maintaining the epidermal barrier (the outermost layer of the skin) – this both heals and protects the skin from being fragile and easily broken. And the type of moisturizer you buy can make a difference – especially to your wallet. Terms “dermatologically recommended” and “hypoallergenic” are “marketing tools with minimal to no regulatory oversight or substantiation”. They increase the price of moisturizers, but without evidence that they improve their effectiveness.

They point out that many of the most affordable moisturizers, such as coconut oil or pure shea butter, have no allergens. While lotions are the most popular moisturizers, dermatologists recommend we use ointments if our skin is really dry. Lotions contain water, so they evaporate quickly on the skin and then don’t do anything useful. However, people tend not to like ointments because they feel greasy.

Most people who have easily irritated skin pick “bland” moisturizers without a fragrance and with few ingredients. You don’t need separate face and body moisturizers, but recognizes that people buy both because they prefer fewer heavy creams on the face. In fact, the moisturizer most widely recommended by dermatologists is petroleum jelly – it is greasy but is great at protecting skin.