The shelves at stores are full of lotion options, to the point of being overwhelming. How are you supposed to choose from all of the different brands and types? All you want is a good lotion that hydrates your skin, making it smooth and soft (especially in cold and dry seasons). It’s important to first understand what ingredients are helpful for hydration. Many products claim they are “natural” which makes you feel like they’re a good choice. But just because a product is labeled “natural” doesn’t mean it’s composed of the best stuff for your skin.

The best natural body lotion for hydrating your skin is one that is truly made from all-natural ingredients with harsh chemicals and additives that are found on most store shelves. So, how can you tell which products are genuine and which are not? Let’s break it all down here.

What to Know About Natural Hydrating Lotions

What Does Natural Really Mean?

While many brands will use the words “natural” or “all-natural” on their labels, that doesn’t mean they’re free from ingredients that are processed, altered, or unneeded. The definition of natural in skin care means the ingredients are sourced from plants without significant chemical processing or alteration. When reading the labels on lotions, if you’re looking for one that embraces minimal ingredients and uses components that exist in nature, you’ll want to find one with a very short ingredient list. The best natural hydrating body lotion will include easy-to-understand ingredients such as water, oils, extracts, minerals, and tocopherols.

What Ingredients Do All-Natural Lotions Avoid?

There is a long list of chemicals and substances that natural health or beauty products wouldn’t include. A few of the most common ones are:

• Parabens: These chemicals are linked with disruptions in hormones because they are similar to estrogen, causing your body to react as if that hormone level is higher. Parabens have been linked to certain health concerns, and research is ongoing.
• PFAS: These are also chemicals that affect your hormones, leading to possible health impacts such as sleep problems, blood pressure issues, and metabolic effects.
• Phthalates: Phthalates are a broad category of chemicals often used to make plastic strong or used as a dissolver. They’re common in skin and hair products, but there is evidence they can impact hormone systems in the body that lead to health concerns. Some countries have placed restrictions on their use, and the list continues to grow.
• Sulfates: Known as surfactants, these often change the consistency of a product, creating foaming and lathering, or are used as an emulsifier that binds ingredients together. The most commonly used one is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which can actually cause dryness in the skin — the opposite of what you want from your lotion.
• Artificial Fragrance: While natural lotions use scents that occur throughout the earth, such as through essential oils and similar plant material, artificial fragrances are produced in a laboratory. Their only purpose is to make a product smell enticing. The inclusion of synthetic scents in lotions has been associated with irritation of the skin and airways while also implied to play a role in many other significant health issues.

What Is the Best Lotion to Hydrate Your Skin?

Hydrating your skin to keep it smooth, supple, and free of dryness comes down to using ingredients that help add moisture to the area and lock it in. Here are some great ones we use in our lotion at Natural Ginesis:

• Natural Glycerin: This is a humectant, meaning it pulls water into the skin. Its ability to absorb deeply helps get the moisture down into the layers of skin in ways other ingredients can’t do alone.
• Soybean and Vegetable Oils: For really dry skin, oils help lock in the hydration while improving the moisture barrier of the skin. People with sensitive skin tend to tolerate these well.
• Glyceryl Stearate: Found in vegetable and soy oil, this is a thickener that helps stabilize the lotion while also improving the texture by decreasing how greasy the overall lotion feels.
• Panthenol: Another humectant like the glycerin, this is a building block that turns into vitamin B5 when absorbed through the skin. This vitamin is important for decreasing redness, inflammation, and skin irritations.
• Arnica Extract: Arnica is a plant ingredient that has known anti-inflammatory properties and is great for those with sensitive skin, helping with swelling, redness, and irritation.
• Tocopherol: A type of vitamin E, tocopherols are plant-based ingredients that have been studied in helping skin irritation, dermatological diseases, wound healing, and evening skin tone.
• Calendula Oil: Soothing and healing, calendula oil comes from a plant of the same name and has been used over the course of history for treating sensitive, raw, and irritated skin. Non-toxic body lotion has been created for generations with calendula.
• Jojoba Oil: Made from the nut on the jojoba plant, this oil is packed with vitamins your skin needs to thrive. Since it has a similar structure to your skin’s sebum (the natural oils that keep your skin hydrated) it is well tolerated by those prone to acne.

Which Organic Body Lotion Is Best for Dry Skin?

The best natural lotion is one that has minimal ingredients, crafted to ensure what’s in there will help instead of hurt your skin. That’s why we created our Oasis Advanced Hydrating Lotion. With an emphasis on using the tools provided in nature, this lotion has the perfect non-greasy texture that locks in moisture to leave your skin feeling quenched. It’s a great part of a daily health regimen to keep skin happy year-round and can be used on the whole family.

Just like all of the products made by Natural Ginesis, the Oasis Advanced Hydrating Lotion is crafted with care to provide non-toxic options for our bodies and homes. By avoiding the parabens, phthalates, and other ingredients most companies use, Natural Ginesis is creating a better and healthier planet, one product at a time. Take care of your skin and the earth at the same time with Oasis Advanced Hydrating Lotion.