Natural Facial Moisturizers

Natural moisturizers lessen exposure to chemicals

Natural skin-care products continue to grow in popularity and availability, but it's still hard to find a lot of quality reviews for them. Experts also point out that it's hard to find skin-care products that are 100 percent natural because preservatives are included in most of them. Experts say that natural moisturizers, ideally, should be free from parabens (chemical preservatives) and should use mostly natural ingredients. Look for products that contain shea butter, cocoa butter, olive oil, jojoba oil and other plant oils.

Desert Essence 100% Pure Jojoba Oil, a natural plant oil, (*Est. $12 for 4 oz.) gets high ratings from hundreds of consumers at MakeupAlley.com for being versatile. Several say they use it on their face and body and even their scalp and hair. Experts say that jojoba oil is similar to the skin's natural oils and does a good job of making skin look and feel better. Several users say the oil is soothing to their dry, irritated skin. The Environmental Working Group, a consumer advocate group that tends to be more critical of typical skin-care ingredients, says Desert Essence 100% Pure Jojoba Oil is completely safe for the skin and the environment, and it gets their lowest hazard score of zero.  Although skin care expert Paula Begoun doesn't review this product, she gives jojoba oil an excellent rating in her cosmetic ingredient dictionary at CosmeticsCop.com. She says that it has emollient (moisturizing) properties similar to other plant oils.

Jason Natural Ester-C Lotion Anti-Oxidant Regenerating Moisturizer (*Est. $17 for 4 oz.) gets a good review from Begoun for its high antioxidant content -- it contains a large amount of vitamins A and C. The Environmental Working Group says this moisturizer poses a moderate risk because of its inclusion of fragrance, but it doesn't contain any parabens and most of the ingredients are natural. It should be noted, however, that some users at MakeupAlley.com complain about the smell of the Ester-C Lotion. On the other hand, several say that the lotion absorbs easily and moisturizes well without leaving skin overly greasy.

Although there is a lot of coverage for natural moisturizers, there is not a lot of consistency in the picks, which is why we chose not to include any of them as Best Reviewed.