Editor’s Note: Updated on March 12, 2024.
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Skin dryness is something that many of Us experience at one time or another. Changes in the weather, exposure to fragrance and hormonal imbalances are several contributing factors that lead to dryness. Even something as simple as washing your hands or applying hand sanitizer can change skin from soft and hydrated to dry and brittle.
Sometimes all it takes is a change in your skincare routine to revive dry, parched skin. Moisturizing body washes are helpful too. They wash away germs and impurities without removing the skin’s natural oils, often resulting in dryness, irritation and even redness. We’ve rounded up 12 of the best moisturizing body washes of 2024 to keep you in the loop on the latest and greatest products to cleanse and hydrate at the same time.
1. Blu Atlas Body Wash
Nourish your skin with a clean body wash that will leave you feeling refreshed and hydrated. This lavish body wash is vegan-friendly and has been made with premium ingredients to give you the most luxurious moisturizing wash the market has to offer. All of the ingredients are sourced from natural origins such as plants, fruits, and minerals. The body wash comes in two indulgent flavors including classic and coconut-apricot.
Blue Atlas’ formula is a gel-textured cleanser that lathers into a fluffy foam once in contact with wet skin. It is preservative-free, paraben-free, synthetic dye-free, phthalate-free, and cruelty-free. Blue Atlas also offers a money-back guarantee in case the product doesn’t work for you. That’s how confident they are in their moisturizing miracle and its ability to give you the best moisturizing wash possible.
The key components selected by dermatologists to lock in hydration include aloe barbadensis leaf, coconut-derived emollients, sugarcane, and green tea extract. Aloe barbadensis leaf (iconic for its moisturizing abilities) is high in vitamins A, C, and E. Aloe barbadensis leaves contain plenty of antioxidants that protect your skin cells from damaging free radicals. Coconut-derived emollients get rid of impurities and soothe irritated skin. Sugarcane is used to exfoliate the skin and leave it feeling smooth and looking bright. The natural exfoliant is also potent in antioxidants. Green tea extract is used to calm the skin from redness and puffiness. This extract is another iconic ingredient for its ability to even out skin tones, reduce inflammation, and limit signs of aging.
2. Drunk Elephant Kamili Cream Body Cleanser
Clean your skin while benefiting it with some creamy hydration that will make it feel replenished. This thirst-quenching cleanser has a neutral pH level of 5.0, which makes it gentle enough to be used daily for even the most sensitive of skin. Drunk Elephant’s trade-marked Kamili Cream Body Cleanser is an excellent impurity remover that successfully gets rid of dirt without agitating the body’s fragile skin barrier. Give your body a layer of protective lipids after a luxurious wash in the shower without any extra body-lathering, thanks to their formula that leaves the skin with the lipids even after rinsing your body off. The formula is free of cruelty, fragrance, drying alcohols, silicones, dyes, sulfates, and essential oils. It comes in a generous 8oz bottle and buying a bottle helps Drunk Elephant continue their support towards the International Elephant Foundation.
Indulge yourself with this body wash’s fragrant formulation that contains sweet almonds, maracuja oils (also known as passion fruit oils), and sacha inchi seed. Maracuja oil is used for its rich array of antioxidants, omega 6, and omega 9. This oil is a hydrating prodigy to all skin needing some nourishment, soothing, and youthful rejuvenation. Sacha inchi seed adds even more antioxidants and omegas to further moisturize and soothe irritated skin. Drunk Elephant’s ultra-mild surfactant blend is used to ever so gently cleanse the skin with surfactants that are coconut-based. Lastly, the brand’s multi-amino-acid blend adds some strength to the skin to help keep it strong and healthy.
3. Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash
If you suffer from dry, itchy, irritated skin, or perhaps you are just wanting a little bit of moisturizing love on your skin, this is the body wash for you. Aveeno’s formula is a soap-free relieving cleanser that is pH-balanced and safe to use on all skin types. It is so hydrating and creamy that it can be used as a shaving cream. It comes in a 12oz bottle and a whopping 33.8oz container to last you many washes around the clock. The product can last around 1,095 days after being opened when kept out of sunlight and at room temperature. It is hypoallergenic and made free of parabens, dyes, fragrances, and drying alcohols.
The Skin Relief Moisturizing Body Wash contains many nourishing ingredients like Aveeno’s prebiotic triple oat complex. This complex uses three different parts of oats to boost the natural barrier of the skin, keep it balanced, help maintain its natural ecosystem, and keep it healthy. To ensure they have the best oats consistently used throughout production, Aveeno sources their oats from France, America, Canada, and England, where the cooler climates increase an oat’s hydrating and defensive abilities. The oats are processed into oat flour through a gradual process that makes sure their biologically-active properties stay constantly top-tier. When using this product as a shaving cream, you can expect to have smooth and baby-soft skin.
4. Palmer’s Coconut Oil Body Wash
Experience a moisturizing body wash with ingredients sourced sustainably and ethically. This affordable lotion is made with noticeably hydrating components that leave your skin feeling revived after the first wash. It is made from plant-derived ingredients and is mineral oil-free, paraben-free, gluten-free, sulfate-free, and phthalate-free.
Some of its revitalizing and moistening additives include vitamin E, Tahitian monoi oil, cocoa butter, and coconut oil. Vitamin E protects the skin from nasty free radicals that visibly age skin, smoothes out scars, boosts the skin’s defensive duties, and keeps it quenched. Tahitian monoi oil keeps the skin saturated in moisture and strengthened against everyday environmental damage. This particular oil has been used for centuries in the Polynesian cultures as a beauty source for keeping hair and skin naturally hydrated. Cocoa butter is known as a super ingredient. It is used to support and retain collagen. While doing so, the natural fatty acids in this butter help the skin hold onto any hydration it comes across. Coconut oil is used for its rich proteins and acids that offer an elite level of hydration. It’s one of the 10 best moisturizing body washes because it comes with a natural ability to retain moisture in the dermis while encouraging skin regeneration.
If you want to achieve the best results from this body wash, it is recommended to pour a small amount on a cloth or loofah, gently work it around your entire body, then rinse off the body thoroughly. It isn’t recommended to use this body wash on your face or in your hair. For the best results that Palmer’s can offer, follow up your shower with one of their hydrating body lotions.
5. Sol De Janeiro Brazilian 4 Play Moisturizing Shower Cream Gel
From the makers of the infamous Brazilian Bum-Bum Cream, Sol De Janeiro bring you their other moisturizing hit for the shower. It is a moreish body wash that will keep you lingering in the shower with its iconic scent of salted caramel and pistachio, all the while, giving you the freshest clean and a visibly hydrating lift to your skin. The deluxe cream cleaner is an excellent impurity remover and will leave your skin feeling irresistibly soft. Even with its prestigious ingredients, Sol De Janeiro has been able to make its unique formula completely free of sulfates, mineral oils, gluten, phthalates, and parabens. Double down on moisture retention on your legs by using this as a moisturizing shaving foam.
Some of the key ingredients you can find in this ray of sunshine include coconut oil, cupuacu butter, and acai oil. Coconut oil gives the skin a superior amount of sustenance to encourage healthy healing, soften the skin, and douse it in hydration. Cupuacu butter gives your skin the essential fatty acids it needs to resurrect moisture retention and increase elasticity in the skin. The legendary acai oil used in this creamy gel has an abundance of antioxidants that will help the skin stay looking youthful, bright, and all-around healthy.
Give yourself a full body skincare routine for after the shower with Sol De Janeiro’s other skin-hydrating focused products like their infamous Brazilian Bum Bum Cream, Samba Foot Fetish Care, and Brazilian Bod Buff Smoothing Scrub ‘N Mask. The products listed here are all bottled in their cute yellow packaging, and all make you feel like a pocketful of sunshine.
6. HAAN Purifying Verbena Body Wash
Immerse yourself in a moisture-rich body wash that’s good for you and the environment. HAAN’s Purifying Verbena Body Wash is here to uplift you with some replenished freshness and deep hydration to the skin. Their summer-inspired smelling formula will reinstate your skin’s pH levels to a natural and balanced proportion. This body wash gently cleanses the skin and it is suitable to be used each time you’re in the shower. Experience the refreshing aroma of summer with citrus fruits, wood, and flowers. If you finish a bottle of this body wash, you can purchase refill packs for the pump bottle so that you waste less plastic every time you need more. By purchasing one 15oz bottle or refill of this body wash, you help HAAN provide 92 gallons of clean water and water wells to people living in developing countries.
87% of this body wash is made of natural ingredients including aloe vera, cocos nucifera glycerin, glycerin, and HAAN’s prebiotic complex. Aloe vera is the key ingredient to give your skin some moisturizing enhancement with its ability to quench the skin’s dehydration, soften the feeling of the skin, replenish dryness, give it a radiant glow, and soothe any irritation. Cocos nucifera glycerin gives this wash its latherable and foaming ability to reach all areas of the skin. It is made from coconuts and can provide extra benefits to smoothen and hydrate the skin. The added glycerin is made from other plant-based oils to give the skin even more thirst-quenching goodness. The prebiotic complex provides the skin’s microbiome with more nutrients like fructose and insulin, to keep it protected from pollution, keep it balanced, and give the skin an illuminating radiance.
7. Kiehl’s Creme de Corps Smoothing Oil-to-Foam Body Cleanser
Add some fun to your shower or bath with a decadent body cleanser that hydrates everything it touches. Pour the Kiehl’s oily textured product into the palms of your hands, then lather it into the skin and watch it transform into a soft foamy formula that delicately cleanses the skin of dirt and grime. Give your skin the hydro replenishing it needs with the moisturizing properties of Creme de Corps Smoothing Oil-to-Foam Body Cleanser. Leave the shower with silky smooth skin that’s ready to take on whatever the day or night has planned. It smells comforting with its homely blend of almonds and vanilla. It is a lightweight formula made to cleanse all skin types and will keep your skin looking healthy, supple, and full. Be sure to apply the product to wet skin. Although this product is great for the body, it is important that you do not use it on your face or hair.
The ingredients include caster oil and grape seed oil for their naturally moisture-rich benefits to the skin. Castor oil is used to gently yet effectively remove dirt and other impurities from the skin. Castor oil has been used a lot historically in remedies to treat some health concerns. Grape seed oil gives the skin plenty of antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and vitamin E. This combination is powerful when it comes to skin replenishment, and it does just that very well. The grape seed oil used in Kiehl’s formula has been extracted from all sorts of different grape seed breeds.
To encounter the full skin moisturizing routine with Kiehl’s, be sure to follow up your shower with their Creme de Corps classic body lotion and their Creme de Corps moisturizing dry oil.
8. Ethique Orange & Vanilla Solid Cream Body Cleanser
Get clean with a body wash that not only moisturizes the skin but is also climate-positive and cost-effective. Ethique’s body wash is a solid formula that lathers once wet. It is soap-free, making it suitable for all skin types needing a decent hydrating cleanse. The pampering bar is pH balanced to ensure the microbiome of your skin is well looked after and healthy. Ethique offers a money-back guarantee so that if you don’t like this cleanser, you can return it and get a full refund. This bar is 0.2 pounds and lasts the same amount of washes as three 12-ounce bottles of body wash. It is one of our top 10 best moisturizing body washes because Ethique also offers it in a smaller bar so you can test it out before committing to a regular-sized one. A blend of vanilla and sweet orange gives this body wash its moreish fragrance. By buying one regular-sized Cream Body Cleanser, you save 30.5oz of water. Ethique’s formula is climate-positive, vegan-friendly, and cruelty-free.
Let’s get down to the bar’s lavish ingredients like kaolin clay, coconut powder, creamed cocos nucifera (also known as coconut butter), and vegetable glycerine. Kaolin clay soaks up dirt with its powerful cleansing abilities while limiting the skin from drying out in the process. Coconut powder is used for the sugars and proteins it provides to make the skin feel soft and silky without the use of any heavy oils. Creamed cocos nucifera comes from the flesh found inside a coconut, and it is used in this bar for its deeply hydrating properties on the skin. The creamed cocos nucifera in Ethique’s products is sourced from the Pacific Islands and helps the bars maintain firmness in the bathroom. Lastly, the vegetable glycerine (also sourced from Pacific Island coconut flesh) attracts hydration to the skin without the use of other waxes or oil. This glycerine is palm-free and completely plant-based, unlike most glycerin types, which are usually sourced from palms or petroleum.
9. CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser
Help your skin retain its own moisture and absorb new moisture with the Hydrating Cleanser made by the amazing dermatologists at CeraVe. It is a gentle cleanser that is suitable for sensitive skin, regular skin, and dry skin. The gentle cleansing abilities of this body wash are soft on the body’s natural ability to maintain its skin and won’t make your skin feel tight or dry. It is a foaming body wash that helps your skin hold onto moisture. The skin-soothing formula works with your body to help restore the skin’s natural barrier against everyday pollutants and keep it supple. CeraVe’s Hydrating Cleanser is paraben-free, soap-free, sulfate-free, and non-comedogenic. Best of all, this wash is accepted by the National Eczema Association, which means it is suitable for even the most fragile skin.
Let’s delve into the valuable ingredients of hyaluronic acid and CeraVe’s three essential ceramides. The three essential ceramides found in CeraVe’s products are the same natural ones that are found in your skin to hold skin cells together and keep harmful contaminants out. Those who suffer from skin conditions like psoriasis, acne, rosacea, and eczema, are likely to have lower ceramide levels in their skin. Dry skin usually occurs due to being exposed to harsh climates or too much sun. That’s why it’s important to give your skin the ceramide boost it needs when it’s feeling dry. On the other hand, hyaluronic acid is a naturally produced sugar that the body makes to maintain balanced moisture levels in the skin. It helps to keep your skin feeling smooth, looking plump, and looking voluminous. Your body’s ability to produce hyaluronic acid reduces as you age, this is why it is necessary to provide your skin with products that contain it while you age.
10. Native Limited Edition Girl Scout Trefoils Cookie Body Wash
Harmful synthetics and fragrances often lead to dryness and peeling. Many brands have taken note of that and opted for cleaner formulas to ensure the ultimate hydration. Native is one brand that is on board with delivering cleansing products that don’t strip or irritate the skin.
The Native Limited Edition Girl Scout Trefoils Cookie Body Wash delivers a luxurious lather, despite being phthalate-free and sulfate-free. The Trefoil scent smells just like the shortbread cookies. The scent is so nostalgic. It’s inspired by one of the Girl Scout’s most popular cookie flavors and encourages users to take on the day inside and outside of the shower without leaving any heavy residue on the skin.
11. Nécessaire The Body Wash Eucalyptus
There’s nothing like a luxurious bath experience. Nécessaire is an influencer-approved brand known and loved for its innovative skincare products. Nécessaire brings luxury into daily routines like bathing and applying skin. The Eucalyptus Body Wash is an oil-in-gel cleanser enriched with several beneficial ingredients to keep skin clean without stripping the moisture it thrives on.
Niacinamide is a standout ingredient that works to boost hydration. It enhances the skin’s barrier, soothes redness and minimizes the appearance of pores and fine lines. The nourishing ingredients don’t stop there. It’s formulated with plant oils naturally enriched in vitamins C and E along with Omegas 6 and 9 to provide additional moisture to the skin. Plus it’s enriched with plant surfactants to cleanse without stripping. It’s dermatologist-tested and non-comedogenic, making it safe for shoppers with sensitive and acne-prone skin types.
12. Beloved Calm Vegan Body Wash with Turquoise Water Lily & Vitamin E
This relaxing body wash smells like the tranquil mixture of the turquoise water lily it contains. Designed to create a calming and soothing environment, Beloved’s Calm Vegan Body Wash with Turquoise Water Lily and Vitamin E thoroughly washes away grime and impurities while keeping your skin hydrated.
Vitamin E is a popular ingredient found within this nourishing cleanser. It’s a skin barrier-protecting ingredient that destroys nasty elements like free radicals. Vitamin E also promotes wound healing, while soothing skin irritation and minimizing the appearance of dark spots. Waterlily is another helpful ingredient that doubles as a moisturizer. It provides anti-inflammatory properties and works to calm irritated skin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do moisturizing body washes work?
Yes, moisturizing body washes absolutely work, so long as you’re using a moisturizing body wash that contains the correct ingredients. Even though body wash is only rubbed and left on the skin for a short period of time, it can work miracles to hydrate it. This is why it’s important to have a decent body wash, because as quickly as it can work miracles, an unsuitable wash for your skin can cause damage.
Why is my skin still dry after the shower?
This is most likely to be because of a few different factors such as your shower being too hot for your skin to handle; the time you spend in the shower being too long; the ingredients in your shower products being too harsh; you’re not moisturizing straight after drying yourself down. Be sure to use a gentle yet hydrating body wash to ensure your skin has enough nutrients to retain hydration, like the Blue Atlas Body Wash.
What is the difference between moisturizing body wash and shower gel?
The difference between moisturizing body wash and shower gel is generally the textural difference between them. A body wash is usually runny, whereas shower gels are less runny due to having a gel-like texture. Both gels and body wash clean the skin successfully, however, gels tend to have harsher ingredients that dry out the skin. Body washes (especially the moisturizing kind) are usually far more gentle on the skin, and can leave you with lasting moisturizing effects even after showering. Of course, always check the ingredients on a gel or wash as it always comes down to how harsh the ingredients are as to whether they will have a moisturizing effect.
Should I moisturize every time I shower?
If you suffer from dry skin, it is recommended to moisturize after each shower with a lotion that is gentle and hydrating. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to moisturizing after each shower, however, if you want to maintain hydrated skin, it is a great idea to apply moisturizer at least once a day after a hot shower. If you don’t want to moisturize your skin often, ensure you do so when you start feeling dry to prevent your skin from developing an unwanted condition.
How often is too often to moisturize?
The best practice for using a moisturizer is to apply it twice daily after having a hot shower – once in the morning and once in the evening. This is so that your skin stays well-hydrated throughout the day and night. If you suffer from dry skin or irritated patches of skin, you may need to apply it more frequently. Ensure you are using a suitable moisturizer for your skin type. If you are suffering from a skin condition, or have an undiagnosed skin condition that isn’t improving, visit a dermatologist to get the best skincare advice. Do not use a body-specified moisturizer on your face unless you know it’s appropriate to do so.
What is a moisturizing body wash?
A moisturizing body wash is a commonly used liquid soap that acts as a moisturizer. It cleans the skin with gentle ingredients to hydrate and nourish. They are ideal for all skin types but are often recommended for shoppers with dry skin. Moisturizing body washes are usually creamy, smooth, and easily latherable.
What makes body wash moisturizing?
A moisturizing body wash sanitizes the skin, removes impurities, and gets rid of dirt, while trapping water into the dermis. Body washes that claim to be moisturizing will generally include ingredients like jojoba oil, almond oil, petrolatum, mineral oil, aloe vera, glycerine, shea butter, soybean oil, or olive oil. Ingredients like these are oil-soluble so they can replace the natural oils (produced by the skin) that can get stripped from the skin when washing in the shower.
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