Best fragrance-free moisturizer (checked against the INCI)
Updated · Based on 4158 screened products
Short answer: we checked 379 face and body moisturizers; 331 list none of our watchlist groups, and 124 of those pass our fragrance-free check: they are the picks below. The 48 flagged ones most often list titanium dioxide (32).
Top clean picks (buttons are affiliate links, disclosure)
Of the other 207 clean moisturizers, 136 list parfum, fragrance, aroma or flavour, 134 list a fragrance allergen that the EU requires to be labelled, and 23 list neither but contain essential oils, floral waters or other fragrant plant ingredients on our list (a product can be in more than one of the first two groups). Flags among the 48 flagged ones: titanium dioxide (32), parabens (17) and butylphenyl methylpropional / lilial (7) (a product can have more than one). "Unscented" on a label is not the same thing: a product can contain masking fragrance or essential oils. We checked every ingredient list for parfum/fragrance/aroma, essential oils (e.g. lavender, citrus peel, rosemary leaf oil), floral waters/hydrosols and the fragrance allergens that the EU requires to be labelled (Annex III of EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009). A product that lists any of them is excluded here.
Included product types: face and body moisturizers: creams, lotions, gel-creams and hydrating fluids/milks. Not included: balms, multi-use balms, ointments, scar or spot treatments, eye creams, serums, oils, body butters, hand creams, SPF moisturizers and self-tanners.
Affiliate disclosure: buy buttons and "View on Amazon" cards on this page may be affiliate links (rel="sponsored"). If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Commissions never affect which products pass our ingredient screen or their order. As an Amazon Associate, CleanGlow earns from qualifying purchases. Learn more.
All picks, ranked
HourglassEquilibrium Restorative Hydrating CreamFace Creams✓ No watchlist ingredients foundSee ingredients →Full ingredient check: Equilibrium Restorative Hydrating Cream →
CliniqueFor Men Moisturizing LotionFace Creams✓ No watchlist ingredients foundSee ingredients →Buy at Amazon (brand store) Buy at Clinique Sephora (search) Ulta
CliniqueDramatically Different Moisturizing CreamFace Creams✓ No watchlist ingredients foundSee ingredients →Buy at Amazon (brand store) Buy at Clinique Sephora (search) Ulta
Full ingredient check: Dramatically Different Moisturizing Cream →
FarmacyHoney Cloud Lightweight Barrier Repair MoisturizerFace Creams✓ No watchlist ingredients foundSee ingredients →Full ingredient check: Honey Cloud Lightweight Barrier Repair Moisturizer →
La Roche-PosayToleriane Double Repair Moisturizing DropsFace Creams✓ No watchlist ingredients foundSee ingredients →Buy at Amazon (brand store) Buy at La Roche-Posay Ulta
Full ingredient check: Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizing Drops →
NiveaMEN Maximum Hydration Liquid MoisturizerFace Creams✓ No watchlist ingredients foundSee ingredients →Buy at Amazon (brand store) Buy at Nivea
Full ingredient check: MEN Maximum Hydration Liquid Moisturizer →
NiveaEssentially Enriched Body LotionBody Lotion✓ No watchlist ingredients foundSee ingredients →
ATTITUDEBody Lotion - PregnancyBody Lotion✓ No watchlist ingredients foundSee ingredients →
NeutrogenaHydro Boost Body Gel Cream Fragrance-FreeBody Lotion✓ No watchlist ingredients foundSee ingredients →Buy at Amazon (brand store) Buy at Neutrogena Ulta
Full ingredient check: Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream Fragrance-Free →
How we ranked
Every pick is a clean product in our directory: its listed ingredients contain none of our 10 watchlist groups, which are based on IARC Monographs – List of Classifications classifications and EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 prohibitions/restrictions (see methodology). Clean products are ordered by a data score (max 9):
- Full ingredient list on file (5+ INCI entries): +2
- Ingredient list from the brand's own product page (not a crowd-sourced database): +2
- Verified direct buy link (brand product page or Sephora page verified in Sephora's sitemap): +2
- Fragrance-free by our INCI check (no parfum/fragrance/aroma, no essential oils, no labelled fragrance allergens): +1
- Official product photo: +1
- Any product photo: +1
Products with the same score are ordered by, in turn: (a) the number of buy links we can offer, where a verified brand or Sephora product page counts double an Amazon brand-store link or a retailer search link; (b) whether we have an official product photo; (c) the length of the ingredient list, shorter first. Item (c) is only a neutral ordering signal to keep the order stable; it says nothing about safety or quality. Only if all of these are equal do we fall back to alphabetical order by brand and product name.
To keep the list varied, the top 3 are always three different brands and no brand appears more than twice in a table, so a lower-scoring product from another brand can appear above a higher-scoring one from a brand that is already listed.
Because every pick here is fragrance-free, that criterion does not change the order on this page.
The score only measures how complete and verifiable our data is. It is not a rating of performance, and we did not test products, collect reviews or compare prices. Affiliate commissions never affect inclusion or order.
FAQ
How many moisturizers did you check, and how many are fragrance-free?
We checked 379 face and body moisturizers. 48 are flagged for watchlist ingredients and 331 are clean; 124 of the clean ones pass our fragrance-free check.
What counts as fragrance-free here?
A product passes only if its ingredient list has no parfum, fragrance or aroma, no essential oils (for example lavender, citrus peel or rosemary leaf oil), no floral waters or hydrosols and none of the fragrance allergens that the EU requires to be labelled (Annex III of EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009). "Unscented" on a label is not the same thing: a product can contain masking fragrance or essential oils.
Why did the other 207 clean moisturizers fail?
Of the 207 clean moisturizers that fail the fragrance-free check, 136 list parfum, fragrance, aroma or flavour, 134 list a fragrance allergen that the EU requires to be labelled, and 23 list neither but contain essential oils, floral waters or other fragrant plant ingredients on our list (a product can be in more than one of the first two groups).
What got moisturizers flagged for watchlist ingredients?
The most common flags among the 48 flagged moisturizers are titanium dioxide (32), parabens (17) and butylphenyl methylpropional / lilial (7). A product can have more than one flag.
How did you choose and order the picks?
Only products whose listed ingredients contain none of our 10 watchlist groups qualify, and the order follows the rules in the "How we ranked" section of this page. We did not test the products, collect reviews or compare prices, and affiliate commissions never change which products qualify or their order. The full criteria are in our methodology.
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Hazard is not risk. An IARC classification says whether a substance can cause cancer under some conditions (e.g. titanium dioxide is classified for inhaled powder), not that a cosmetic containing it is harmful at normal use. EU restrictions set use limits. This page is informational, not medical advice; talk to a dermatologist about your own skin.