Take “Sex and the City” actress Sarah Jessica Parker, for example, whose number one face moisturizer is La Roche-Posay Toleriane Moisturizer, per Today. The French brand is known for quality products available at drugstores, and you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg for it. According to Healthline, a moisturizer’s job is to hydrate the outer layer of your skin to relieve dryness and reveal soft and healthy skin. They recommend looking for a moisturizer with ingredients like glycerin, ceramides, and SPF to hydrate and protect the skin, and affordable brands like CeraVe and Cetaphil make those moisturizers that do the job.
New York City-based dermatologist Charlotte Birnbaum told Byrdie, “The difference between an affordable moisturizer versus an expensive moisturizer can be a few things: marketing, packaging, and possibly proprietary ingredients.” She added that the proprietary ingredients are generally rarer, which can explain the price hike, but often, there is no scientific proof that they work. Board-certified dermatologist Kavita Mariwalla calls face moisturizers “a totally overrated expense in skincare” because more expensive does not mean more hydration, per Mind Body Green. Instead, she recommends choosing a moisturizer that your face needs in your budget. And there are also other skincare products that are a total waste of money.
