Have you ever tried applying moisturizer to your face while it’s still damp? According to some /r/SkincareAddition Redditors, it’s a great way to trap moisture in your skin.

Curel Wet Skin Moisturizer ingredients

water, glycerin, isopropyl palmitate, mineral oil, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, ethylhexyl isononanoate, cetearyl alcohol, petrolatum, c-12-15 alkyl benzoate, trisiloxane, behenamidopropyl, dimethylamine, paraffin, behentrimonium chloride, cetyl-pg hydroxyethyl palmitamide, allantoin, panthenol, ethylene/propylene/styrene copolymer, butylene glycol, methylparaben, dimethicone, lactic acid, ethylparaben, butylene/ethylene/styrene, copolymer, benzalkonium chloride, polyquaternium-37, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil, eucalyptus globulus leaf extract, sodium lauroyl lactylate, phytosphingosine, cholesterol, ceramide np, ceramide ap, xanthan gum, carbomer, ceramide eop

This item was included in my first-ever Walmart Beauty Box—you pay only for shipping ($5) to get a handful of samples. They’re stored in a zippered bag that you can use when you travel. The theme of January’s box was “Hydration Heroes” and it contained hydrating ingredients for skin as well as hair, such as the Garnier Papaya Hair Mask I wrote about the other day.

My Dad the Chemist’s review of Curel Wet Skin Moisturizer

Dear Emily, "water-activated" formula just a claim, the formula is already included water to begin with, but it’s a vehicle not the ability to activate the moisturization.

It contains the necessary ingredients to be a decent moisturizer, but just base on the formulation i can’t tell whether it would be "greasy"?

Love,
Dad

My dad makes a good point—the term “water-activated” is kind of weird when the formula itself already includes water in it. He thinks it has good moisturizing ingredients in it, but he is worried that it might end up feeling a bit greasy.

Curel Wet Skin Moisturizer review

Curel Wet Skin Moisturizer is a wonderful lotion, whether you apply it to wet or dry skin. The instructions specify that you should apply it to your skin after stepping out of the shower, and then dry yourself with a towel like usual. The ingredients are actually quite similar to the ones included in Curel Itch Defense Lotion, but a nicer consistency (silkier and easier to blend into skin). One of those ingredients is cetyl-pg hydroxyethyl palmitamide, which was called a “pseudo-ceramide” in this study (funded by Kao Corporation, the company that owns Curel).

The combination of ceramides, cholesterol, and phytosphingosine also makes this lotion quite similar to any lotion you’d find in the CeraVe line. I like it quite a bit, and it reminds me why sometimes you just need to try out some free samples to go outside your lotion comfort zone.

Related reading

• Curel Itch Defense Lotion review
  
• What’s the deal with in-shower lotion?
  
• Garnier Papaya Hair Mask review