Chances are good that you don’t regularly think about your skin barrier. Why should you—when it’s doing its job of keeping in moisture and defending against pollutants, your skin just looks and feels great. When skin feels dry and tight, however, it's this damage to your skin barrier that might (and should) make you consider the best barrier repair creams.
Everything from using too harsh ingredients to cold weather and dry air can set you on a path towards redness, flaking, and skin tightness, according to Dendy Engelman, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in NYC. That’s why the best barrier repair creams are a crucial step in your daily skin-care routine, both as a preventative product and a reparative one. These heavy-duty moisturizers are designed to both repair your barrier and function as a barrier against moisture loss and irritation, both critical functions for our skin’s overall health—and a lot different than your daily hydrator.
If you’re worried that a barrier cream will feel like a suffocating, smothering layer of grease on your face, you can rest easy. These creams will replenish moisture and repair the skin without feeling like you dunked your face in goo. Here, we tested over a dozen formulas across dry, oily, eczema-prone, and combination skin types.
While many feature ingredients like moisturizing shea butter and hydration-replenishing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, they have a non-greasy texture that cocoons the skin in a cushiony veil. We also found options for mature and sensitive skin types, so you can say goodbye to flakes, tightness, and overall skin irritation that can come with age or reactive skin. Our top barrier repair creams Best Overall: Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Advanced Repair Barrier Cream, $48 Best for Dry Skin: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Balm B5 Cream for Dry Skin, $33 $24 Best for Sensitive Skin: Aestura Atobarrier365 Cream with Ceramides, $32 Best for Fine Lines: Rhode Barrier Restore Cream, $20 Best for Combination Skin: Dr.
Jart+ Ceramidin Skin Barrier Moisturizing Cream, $62 Best for Redness: Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Recovery Cream, $40 $28 What we love: What could improve: Lightweight The tube key is sold separately Absorbs quickly Smooths fine lines and wrinkles When we asked fellow beauty writers for their favorite barrier repair cream, this Kiehl’s formula came up repeatedly. Unlike many barrier creams that feel dense or occlusive, this one has a balm-to-cream texture that melts into skin without leaving residue—and it works on all skin types. It also contains oatmeal to soothe dryness and redness, beta-glucans to calm sensitivity, allantoin to reduce inflammation, and exfoliating salicylic acid to gently slough off dead skin.
It gives you brighter, more even-toned, and supple skin almost immediately. Although the texture starts off as a balm, it’s far from greasy. It feels silky in application, melting into skin like a dream and leaving behind a plush, smooth canvas that’sperfect for layering sunscreen and makeup on top.
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