I have always had very dry skin, which is problematic for someone who cannot stand the feel of lotion. It takes me a long while to find a moisturizer that I like and when I do, I stick with it. I’ve been using La Roche-Posay for about four years now. I have run the gamut from very expensive 8 part regimens to home-made, crunchy mom skin care and I think La Roche-Posay is the best. I will be sharing what I find to be the best La Roche-Posay Moisturizer. If you care about how I went from super high end skin care, to hippy mom skincare and back again, read on. If you care not, and it’s no offense to me, skip on down to the review itself.
I would consider myself a little bit crunchy. Not all the way, but ya know, I try to avoid toxins in my skincare and household products. I like to eat pastured meat, avoid highly processed food, filter our water and I still like a crispy Coca-Cola now and then, ya know?
I have a lot of friends who make their own skincare or use very natural products. Spoiler: I am not one of them.
I have tried a lot of the recommendations coming from my crunchy girls and more often than not, they irritate my skin more than it helps OR I can not stand the feel. Most of the products in the natural category claim to provide deep hydration, but for me it tends to just sit on top of my skin. I understand there is a benefit to sealing in moisture, its just that I don’t have much moisture to seal in, ya know? Also, I have the most sensitive skin when it comes to fragrance, even essential oils. Most natural products contain essential oils and while that might work for some sensitive skin types, it does not work for me.
Side quest: A few years ago I made a whipped body cream with shea butter and coconut oil. It had a very emollient, might I even say luxurious, texture. I made a big batch to gift to my sisters and sister-in-law for Christmas. I packaged it in cute little containers and was like, “I am going to love this!”. I regret to inform you, dear reader, that was not the case. My sister-in-law absolutely raves about it, meanwhile I can barely stand the feel of it. I am glad she loves it!
**Disclaimer this post contains affiliate links. If you clíck them, I may make a small purchase with no cost to you. Also I am not a medical doctor. I’m someone learning about how to best care for her 30 something skin. If you’re concerned with your skin, ask your dermatologist. **
Moving on. I found La Roche-Posay Products about 4 years ago and really have not looked back. I’ve run the gamut on skin care. I’ve spent hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars on skin care over the years. I have simplified my skin care routine because I learned that less is more. I found that I was continually stripping away my skin’s barrier by over-cleansing and over-exfoliating. My skin is very dry in the winter and leans more toward combination skin in the summer. If you’ve read any of my other skin care posts you know that. Here is an indepth review of La Roche-Posay Moisturizers that I wrote a while ago. This will cover some of the same things but a little bit has changed since our seasons have changed.
Today I am going to share what I think is the best La Roche Posay moisturizer and why. I have tried several moisturizers from La Roche-Posay, none of them have disappointed.
Before I jump into what I feel is the best moisturizer overall, I thought I would share my current very simple skincare routine.
I use La-Roche Posay brand products for a facial cleanser and facial moisturizer. I use a hyaluronic acid from the brand called “The Ordinary”.
Everyday:
La Roche Posay Lipikar AP+ Gentle Foaming Moisturizing Wash,
La Roche Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5
Once or Twice Per Week I use The Ordinary Glycolic Acid. I use it in the evenings, after cleansing and before moisturizing. I let it dry before applying moisturizer.
Dry Skin and the Skin’s Natural Barrier
You can read a much more detailed account of my experience with the products below but before we go there, we really need to address large causation of dry skin.
I had never had many skin issues until I was in my thirties. I inadvertently caused my own problems, and I will explain in a moment. On the quest to figure out why my once truly clear complexion had been replaced with an uneven skin tone and acne-prone skin, I started learning about the skin microbiome. I did not realize that our skin has its own microbiome and plays an essential role in protecting our skin.
I began to learn that I was essentially stripping my skin barrier all the time. I was over-doing everything and breaking out constantly. Like many women in their 30s, I began really upping my skincare game. However, it was all too much. I had a 6-step program morning and night and it was not doing me any favors. I was over cleansing, over exfoliating and using too many “brightening” products.
I started looking into the skin barrier and how, like our gut, our skin needs to maintain proper levels of different bacteria to stay balanced. Some skin care lines, including La Roche-Posay, have been providing prebiotics in the skin care to help maintain that balance and maintain the skin barrier. I really only knew anything about pre- and pro biotics from a gut health standpoint but it turns out, they can be good for your skin, too! “Prebiotics are substances that support and foster the growth of healthy, beneficial bacteria in the overall context of our skin’s complex microbiome,” says Dr. Lauren Penzi. (NBC.COM)
The prebiotic thermal water in the La Roche-Posay double repair face moisturizer seems to really help my skin. Turns out I did not need an 8 step skin care routine. I have found that less is more. A couple resources I found about the skin barrier were: This article from Westlake Dermatology ,this one from the La Roche-Posay Website bout how to improve the skin’s barrier and lastly this one also from La Roche-Posay explaining both layers of the skin’s protective barrier.
I did not realize until recently that La Roche-Posay brand skincare was named after the town of La Roche-Posay in France. That is where they get the thermal spring water which is one of the key ingredients in the La Roche-Posay product lines and helps restore the skin’s barrier with prebiotics.
I think these are the 4 best La Roche-Posay Moisturizers
La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+ Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream: This is a thicker moisturizer. I like that it is more cost effective and I used this all winter on my face and body. However, I noticed once Spring came and the weather wasn’t so dry this became too heavy for my skin. Another reason I think this is perhaps too heavy now is that it did it’s job and restored my skin’s barrier. Obviously that is the entire point. So I currently don’t use moisturizer on my body unless I shower before bed, and even then its very little. I find that this works best if I leave my skin a little damp from the shower to really thin out this formula. So for now, this moisturizer is off duty.
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer: I like the non-greasy texture of this moisturizer. This is great under makeup and makes for a wonderful daily moisturizer. I think it would work best for normal to dry skin. It’s got a great lightweight cream texture and which makes it very wearable with or without make up over top. I think the double repair really supports healthy-looking skin. I like the toleriane line.
**I think someone with oily or combination skin might want to try the Toleriane Double Repair Matte Moisturizer. I have never tried that because as I have mentioned before, I’m already pretty dry to start with.
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair UV SPF Moisturizer for Face This moisturizer has a similar creamy texture to that of the double repair moisturizer but certainly has a bit of a sunscreen feel and smell. Also, as you can see in this photo below, it certainly has more of a white-cast look to it. I have very fair skin so this is not a problem for me. I found the white cast to be negligible once spread over the skin. This is a broad spectrum spf 30. It is a chemical sunscreen versus a mineral sunscreen. I typically do not love the texture or feel of a chemical sunscreen but I did not mind this one. I actually felt it performed similarly to a make-up primer. My make-up did not budge so that is an additional benefit. I tend to reach more for the Double Repair without the SPF with my ride or die, Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue foundation and that has SPF 30.
La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Hand Cream, Instant Relief Moisturizing Hand Lotion Listen. To. Me. This is the best hand cream you are going to find. I have tried soooo many hand creams. So. So many. My hands truly looked crepey and desert-like all winter until I ordered this. Over the last couple years I have noticed my regularly dry hands are really dry. I’ve had dry hands since I was a kid. They would crack and bleed when I was a kid, and still do sometimes. My mom used to douse my hands in “Bag Balm” at night and have me wear cotton gloves to bed. If you’re not familiar with dairy farming, this product might be foreign to you. Anyway, all I am saying is I have tried it allll. And this is by far the best hand cream I have used. I will try to gather all my various hand creams into one pile for a photo. Ironically, I cant find this hand cream at the moment. I tossed it in a bag to take with me to teach and now I can not find it. I need to order some more apparently. Just a note, this is NOT the Cicaplast balm. I’ve tried that and that’s not this. It’s a good one, but I found this Cicaplast HAND CREAM to be far superior for my dry hands.
In conclusion, all four are great.
In the winter, I tend to use the Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream. However, I think for the other 9 months of the year the Double Repair is best. It’s just a really great moisturizer. It’s honestly pretty neck and neck between the Toleriane Double Repair and the Lipikar Triple Repair BUT I think what sets this apart for me is that the Double Repair seems to diminish the appearance of my pores. So if I don’t need the extra moisture, that’s what I have been reaching for. Like I mentioned, the Double Moisture Face Moisturizer with SPF is a great product, it’s just one I personally do not need all the time. And the
I feel like La Roche-Posay offers really quality products at an affordable price. I love how gentle the products are and there seems to be a product line for all skin types. Great skin does not have to costa fortune! Best of luck. Drop any questions in the comment section!
-Lauren
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