How do I Choose the Best Hydrating Moisturizer?

Why do you think hydration products are made to look different and more expensive from other products on store shelves? What about them, if anything, merits a higher price tag?

@Sunshine31 - Moisture surge is my favorite hydrating gel. It really makes my skin feel soft without adding too much oil.

What I love to do is put a jar of this hydrating gel in the refrigerator and when I finish working out and take a shower, I apply some of this on my face and it feels amazing. The coolness from the gel is really refreshing. I absolutely love it.

@Orangey03- I think that if you have combination skin and have some dry areas on your face you are probably better off getting a water based hydrating moisturizer instead of an oil based moisturizer because the oil would be too rich and it would tend to cause you to break out.

Clinique has a whole line of hydrating moisturizers for combination skin along with richer creams for those with drier skin.

But a great way to moisturize your skin naturally is by eating a lot of foods with Omega 3 fatty acids like salmon and nuts. You can also get fish oil supplements and after a few weeks your skin will glow and will feel a lot smoother. I got this tip from a television show and it really works.

If you are older and suffer from dry, aging skin, you can find plenty of products formulated to provide intense moisture to your body. My mother's skin gets painfully dry in the winter, and without the right moisturizer, her knuckles crack and bleed.

She found a product that is supposed to act like an invisible glove over your hands. It is for people like her who have to put their hands in dishwater and clean every day and who suffer the pain of dry skin.

She says that it both protects and nourishes the skin of her hands. Even if she goes a day without washing dishes, she puts the moisturizer on just because it feels good and smoothes out her wrinkles.

I spend a lot of time out in the sun, so any moisturizer that contains plenty of aloe is ideal for me. It soothes my parched skin, even when I don't have a sunburn.

The sun and wind work together to chap my skin. I always wear sunscreen, but I find that it dries my skin out sometimes. I buy the spray-on kind because it is more durable, but it really saps my skin of moisture.

After I shower, I apply the aloe lotion, and I feel soothed right away. This lotion has a cooling effect. When I don't use it, my skin looks tough and wrinkled.

For the skin on my elbows, knees, and the soles of my feet, I use a body butter moisturizer. It's more creamy and thicker than a regular lotion, and it seeps into the thick skin of rough areas like these.

I prefer the scented kind. I have to use an unscented lotion on the rest of my body because of my sensitive skin, but my rough patches can handle the perfumed body butter.

I love the invigorating scent of peaches. Maybe it's mental, but the peaches and cream scented body butter actually seems creamier than some others I've tried.

I use a sensitive skin moisturizer on my face, and the label lists spring water as the first ingredient. The moisturizer has the consistency of mousse, but it feels like a juicy cream when it spreads across my skin.

I don' t know how the company came up with this texture trick, but I love it. This moisturizer keeps my skin hydrated all through the night, and I wake up with a face that looks more youthful and fresh.

If I use this moisturizer every day in the winter, I can avoid the flaky, dry skin that usually develops around the corners of my nose. I put it on in the morning under my makeup to stay hydrated during the day, and I reapply it at night after showering.

I have tried all different kinds of skin moisturizers and have found those that I like best have shea butter in them.

This leaves my skin feeling so soft and luxurious. I have used expensive, high-end moisturizers and ones that are cheaper from a retail store.

Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference in those that cost a lot compared to those that are cheaper.

For my skin those that are most hydrating have a thick feel to them, go on smooth and don't feel greasy. I think this is why I like the shea butter, because this is how it feels on my skin.

I am trying to make up for some sun damage I did to my skin when I was younger. This means using a good natural moisturizer that also has some sunscreen in it.

As I have gotten older I notice that my skin does not have nearly as much natural oil that it used to. When you are a teenager, you don't like that oily, shiny skin because it can cause acne and your face feels shiny all the time.

Now I would love to have some of that natural oil in my skin. I try to keep my skin soft and smooth by using moisturizer every day.

I will apply it when I am done showering in the morning before I put on my makeup. My makeup also goes on much smoother and more even if I have moisturizer on first.

When I remove my makeup at night, I also apply moisturizer before going to bed. Even though I don't need the sunscreen at night, I use the same moisturizer for both morning and evening.

By having a moisturizer with sunscreen in it, I feel that I am protecting my face every time I am out in the sun.

@manykitties - If you don't want to go through the whole trial and error thing you can also check out reviews of products from a blogger you trust. I follow several beauty blogs and so far they haven't steered me wrong in terms of which products to try out.

Right now I actually have two favorite moisturizing products. The first is John Varvatos Hydrating Facial Moisturizer which is a bit of a treat as it is more of a luxury product, so I use it sparingly. For regular use I like Jergens Naturals Hydrate Daily Moisturizer with jojoba oil. It does a great job of keeping my skin silky smooth and it is really affordable.

One of the hardest products to find is definitely a good hydrating face moisturizer. I have tried several different kinds and finally settled on using Sea Breeze Naturals Hydrating Moisturizer. I find that it doesn't leave my skin feeling oily or too dry.

One of my favorite things about my hydrating facial moisturizer is that it smells fantastic and doesn't hurt my sensitive skin. I actually tried a few brands that made my skin even more dry, or they made me itch like crazy. I guess you just have to try several products to really get the best one for you.