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Moisturiser head-to-head
Can ordinary users tell the difference between a budget moisturiser and one that costs more than 14 times as much? Right Choice investigates
Winter is around the corner and while you might not feel the need to bring out the woollens yet, your skin will tell you that the weather is changing. One of the first signs of cooler temperatures is dry skin. One of the most effective ways to keep your skin feeling soft and supple in winter is using a moisturising cream. These come in a range of prices, but are the expensive ones really better than budget buys? We pitted a budget moisturiser against a premium brand to see if our test volunteers could really spot the difference.
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Dr Maithili Kamat
What makes a good moisturiser?
A good moisturiser forms a protective layer on the surface of your skin, preventing the moisture in your skin from escaping. It also calms and soothes irritated and inflamed skin.
Skin types are classified as dry, oily and normal. Dry skin lacks moisture and individuals with dry skin usually notice roughness and flaking, wrinkling and stretched skin, especially around the mouth and after a face wash. Dry skin also tends to be more sensitive and tends to wrinkle faster. Oily skin feels sticky, greasy and appears dull. This is due to over-secretion of oil (sebum) by the oil glands on your face, more so on the T-zone (forehead, nose, chin) of the face. Oily skin is more prone to acne. A skin with the right balance of moisture and oil is classified as normal skin.
It is a good practice to moisturise your face after a face wash. If you have normal skin, use a lotion. If you have oily skin, opt for a gel or gel-cream based moisturiser. Those with dry skin need moisturisers the most. They can use a moisturising cream. People with sensitive skin should use fragrance-free products. It is best to apply a moisturiser within three minutes of washing your face.
It is important to use the right moisturiser for your skin type, irrespective of the price. A skin aesthetician or dermatologist can guide you on this.
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HOW WE TEST
We compared two face moisturisers, one high-end – Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream at Rs.695 (50ml) – and another low-cost – Nivea Creme at Rs.190 (200ml). As this was a blind test, each cream was repacked in an unbranded container so that the users were unaware of which brand they were using.
We picked 24 healthy male and female volunteers to participate in this user trial. A dozen of them each tried one product for a week and the remaining 12 tried the other for the same period. Each user was instructed to apply the product evenly to their faces, once in the morning and once in the evening, after washing their skin beforehand.
After seven days, each user had to answer a set of questions to rate the cream on factors such as absorption into the skin, whether the product left their skin feeling greasy, fragrance, moisturising effect and their satisfaction levels with the product.
The users were then made to try out the other sample of moisturiser, following the same instructions and answering the same questionnaire after using the product for a week. The results were then statistically analysed to reveal which brand got better ratings.
FEATURE EXPLAINED
However, in terms of moisturising effect and likeliness to buy, Nivea held its own against the expensive brand.
Verdict Across the attributes the testers were asked to rate, Body Shop’s Vitamin E Moisturising Cream was more preferred overall than Nivea Creme.
Find out whether the premium amount you pay for a highend brand is worth the extra money 6.5 containers of Nivea costs 1, 235 or 26 containers of Body Shop costs 18, 070 It is Rs.16, 835 cheaper to use Nivea Crème over Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream.
At the rate of 10ml a week, in a year, you will need:
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Overall, our testers revealed that, while the cheaper option was not a bad moisturiser by any means, the pricier one was more preferred (see ‘How they fared’, opposite). Here’s what a few users had to say when we revealed the brands.
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