No matter what type of skin you have, you need some type of moisturize. If all you want from a product is moisture, then you still need to know what type of moisturizer is right for your skin type. There are a lot of different types of body lotions and creams aside from all the facial moisturizers. Does it really matter if you use lotion or cream as long as you use some type of moisturizer? Of course it does!

Body moisturizers are no different than facial moisturizers when it comes to making the right choice for your skin. They may be specific for your skin type or to serve a certain purpose. First, Let’s look at the difference between body lotion and creams.

Both body lotion and cream serve the same purpose, which is putting moisture back into your skin. What determines which one is right for you is how dry your skin is and what areas you want to put the moisturizer on. Body lotions are usually made of water and oil. They are light moisturizers that aren’t greasy feeling and are absorbed quickly into skin when applied.

As a rule, lotions are used on skin that is not severely dry. You may not have dry skin in the summer, but it becomes drier when the winter season rolls around. That’s when you want to apply lotion, to provide a light moisturizer to your unusually dry skin.

Body creams are also made with oil and water, but they are thicker in consistency. They also absorb rather easily into the skin, but they provide a barrier between your skin and elements that may chap or irritate your skin. If you have oily skin then you want to avoid creams as they tend to block pores and can cause blemishes in acne prone skin.

Sometimes people have drier skin in some areas of their body, such as hands and elbows, than they do in others. If that’s the case, you may want to put cream on the drier areas and lotion on the oilier parts.

One of the newer types of body creams is body butter. If your skin is dry at all, you’ll love the way the body butter feels on your skin. It absorbs well and has the consistency of a butter spread.

Unless you have sensitive skin, you may prefer a body lotion or a cream that is scented. A lot of fragrance lines offer moisturizers in your favorite scent if you want your moisturizer to enhance your perfume and make the scent last longer. Places like Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works offer lines of scents that are refreshing with your choice of lotions, creams, or body butter.

If your facial moisturizer is an anti-aging skin cream, you may want to wear a body lotion or cream that has anti-aging ingredients as well. Some of these boast of properties that reduce the progression of aging in your skin while others have a “skin firming formula” that helps restore elasticity to your skin while you sleep.

An added benefit to these moisturizers is that they tend to be less expensive than those for use on your face while they seem to work just as well. Most of them have the same or similar ingredients and some are available for different skin types.