Here are 10 day creams to prove it
According to Mintel , British women are spending more than ever on facial skincare (£1.15 billion a year to be exact), with day cream usage especially increasing from 59 per cent in 2017 to 66 per cent last year. Meanwhile, our interest in green formulas is also on the up with The Soil Association reporting a 14 per cent growth year on year in sales of certified organic and natural beauty and skincare products. Put these two together in a neat skincare sandwich and you have...our roundup of the best organic day creams for every skin type.
Pai Chamomile and Rosehip Calming Day Cream, £38 for 50ml
Designed to soothe and take down redness in rosacea prone skin , this deeply hydrating day cream is cooling when applied (in a non-tingly way), with chamomile, shea butter and vitamin E providing a nourishing cushion against dryness and irritation. Rosehip seed oil brings omega-rich fatty acids into the mix to help to strengthen the skin barrier , alongside carotenoid antioxidants to fight free radical damage. It’s also Soil Association approved, vegan, cruelty-free and fragrance-free.
Green People Light Day Moisturiser, £18.50 for 50ml
Fragrance-free and anti-inflammatory thanks to the addition of calming willow bark, this is the ideal organic day cream situation if you’re skin is both sensitive and oily. The texture is silky rather than sticky, it absorbs quickly and sits well under makeup and the formula is enriched with prebiotics to balance the skin’s natural microbiome. Ingredients are 88.8 per cent certified organic and you won’t find any alcohol, synthetic fragrance or SLS lurking here either.
Susanne Kaufmann Regeneration Cream Line F, £51.30 for 50ml
A fresh and restorative option for combination skin especially, this rather basic looking organic day cream contains plant derived hyaluronic acid to plump skin and help it to hold onto moisture. A herbal chamomile blend aims to alleviate inflammation, although said blend also contains witch hazel so be aware of that if you have sensitive or rosacea prone skin as it’s a potential irritant. Otherwise, it clears up dry and flaky patches brilliantly without prompting an oil slick. Expensive, but if you’re after effective natural actives produced sustainably (each product is handmade in Austria), it’s a brand worth getting to know.
Aurelia Cell Revitalise Day Moisturiser, £58 for 60ml
Another undeniably spendy lotion, this day cream is the longstanding choice of our Art Editor Sarah thanks to its immediate softening effect. It contains 100 per cent bioorganic ingredients including antioxidant baobab and hydrating argan oil and the brand prides itself on its ‘immune boosting’ probiotic technology, designed to improve skin cell function and make skin healthier and more resilient over time. This one’s tricky to measure but Sarah swears by it for getting her dry skin out of a hole and making skin look and feel more supple. It does contain essential oils so just be on the alert if you’ve got sensitive skin.
Botanics Hydrating Day Cream, £9.99 for 50ml
Onto something that ticks both the eco and affordable box, this basic day cream contains 81 per cent organic ingredients and serves very dry skin especially well - it’s got plenty of nourishing plant oils going on to get skin’s lipid levels back on an even keel. Rosehip, jojoba and cocoa seed oil are the main players in terms of moisture and vitamins, although this is relatively heavy so not one the one if you’re prone to breakouts.
Dr Organic Skin Clear Moisturiser, £6.99 for 50ml
Speaking of which, if you’re contending with a sebum and shine overload this might be the organic day cream pick for you. A big whack of aloe vera helps to address inflammation while fruit derived AHAs exfoliate the surface of the skin to help to see bacteria on its way, with willow bark extract to counteract redness. As the packaging loudly indicates, naturally antiseptic tea tree oil is added to further aid acne bacteria clear-up. Tread carefully if you have issues with fragrant plant oils, but otherwise, a bargain choice for oily skin.
Bamford Moisturising Lotion, £80 for 50ml
Once you’ve had a sit down and put the kettle on in a recovery effort post consideration of price tag, you may discover that this buttery textured cream is actually pretty lush stuff, although there’s no getting away from the fact that it comes at a high cost for a daily staple. For your investment you’re getting 98 per cent natural ingredients, including strawberry seed oil grown at the Daylesford farm, vitamins C, E and A rich rosehip oil, cotton thistle extract for a soothing effect and emollient squalane to boost the skin’s moisture take up. Shea butter and argan oil also ramp up hydration - this is just the thing for very dry and dehydrated skin.
Herb Farmacy Face Cream, £25 for 60ml
A rich-ish 85 per cent organic hydrator containing marshmallow, calendula, ginkgo, rosehip and damask rose extracts, this vegan, cruelty-free day cream is wholesome on almost every count, including its fully recyclable packaging. It’s heavyweight hydration, so not for the shiny, but if a traditional, get the job done moisturiser is just what you need, it fulfils the brief.
Nourish Argan Skin Renew Moisturiser, £28 for 50ml
85 per cent organic and with a tripeptide , argan, rose and kale oil (really) spiked formula, the Nourish lot aren’t having you on the hydration front - it’s thick stuff. It’s almost honey-like in texture and one for really dry days - you really don’t need much to see and feel the effects. Swerve it if you’ve got spots, but if you crave something comforting, it’s proven to boost moisture by 80 per cent. It smells kind of funky in a herbal sort of way, but if you don’t mind au naturel scent it shouldn’t be an issue.
Complete Skin No31 Natural Face Repair, £85 for 50ml
Pricey, but this does do double duty in that it’s a serum/moisturiser hybrid, so aside from an SPF (which none of these day creams contain so you’ll require one on top), it’s all you need in the morning. It claims to give everything from skin to mood an uplift, which is probably stretching it, but the complex of 30 organic and natural actives takes in everything from barrier strengthening amino acids to collagen stimulating silica. Sea buckthorn provides a good source of fatty acids and AHA acids to enhance lipid levels and radiance while knotweed helps to increase skin elasticity over time. Texture wise it’s very light so this works well under makeup, but the fragrance element feels a bit unnecessary.”
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