Moisturizer vs Repair Cream: What’s the Difference?

Does your skin feel or look dry, red, or rough with visible lines and wrinkles? If so, you may have dry skin or a compromised skin barrier. Increasing your skin’s hydration and replenishing essential lipids can go a long way in supporting and healing your skin barrier, as well as restoring your skin’s overall health.

In maintaining a healthy skin barrier, the use of quality face moisturizer and repair cream can help. But is one better than the other? Which formula will benefit your skin the most? Continue reading as we discuss the differences between a moisturizer and a repair cream and what products our aesthetic clinic in Singapore offers and recommends. 

What is a moisturizer?

A face moisturizer contains a blend of ingredients that either trap or restore moisture in the skin’s outer layer. It is usually the last step of a skincare routine, as it seals the skin and locks in moisture and nutrients. Moisturizers also protect the skin from environmental irritants and some formulas can help improve skin concerns such as lines and wrinkles. 

Continued use of a quality moisturizer helps improve your skin barrier and overall skin health. Other benefits include: 

• Help improve skin tone and texture
• Soothe sensitive skin
• Help skin look firmer (for face moisturizers with anti-aging ingredients)
• Applying it after a serum seals everything in and locks in nutrients

For further reading: What’s the Difference Between Face Serums and Moisturizers?

The moisturizer we recommend

Dr. Sylvia’s Hydra Pro with MoistureLock Complex is a lightweight, non-greasy formula designed to hydrate and nourish your skin. It can also soothe and heal the skin, leaving it looking and feeling healthy and radiant. This formula, furthermore, can be used as a standalone moisturizer or as a glide for microneedling procedures. Key benefits include:

• Non-greasy – its lightweight, non-greasy formula makes it suitable for all skin types, including oily and acne-prone skin.
• Hydration – it can provide intense hydration to keep the skin soft, supple, and moisturized throughout the day.
• Soothing – this formula contains zinc to soothe and calm the skin, making it ideal for those with sensitive or irritated skin.
• Radiance-boosting – regular use can help improve the overall appearance of your skin, leaving it looking more radiant and youthful.

What is a repair cream?

A repair cream is technically a moisturizer that is formulated to repair the skin barrier. The skin barrier, also referred to as moisture barrier, protects the skin by keeping the moisture in and irritants out. When it is compromised or not functioning properly, the skin will look dull and dehydrated, develop breakouts, or become sensitive. 

Repair creams usually have a rich texture that deeply hydrates the skin and restores the skin barrier. It can also improve the look of lines and wrinkles. Other benefits include:

• Helps soothe redness and inflammation
• Helps neutralize free radicals
• Strengthens and repairs the skin
• Helps replace dead or broken skin
• Helps reduce the look of fine lines and improves skin elasticity

The repair cream we recommend

Dr. Sylvia’s Vital Repair Cream contains essential vitamins, peptides, and antioxidants to repair and revitalize the skin. This nourishing and rejuvenating skincare solution helps hydrate and strengthen the skin while reducing the appearance of signs of aging, including fine lines and wrinkles.

Regular use of our Vital Repair Cream will make your skin look and feel smoother, firmer, and more radiant than before. Other benefits include: 

• Hydration – this cream contains a blend of humectants to hydrate the skin and restore its moisture barrier. It can be used after a laser or microneedling treatment.
• Soothing and calming – it has ingredients that can soothe and calm the skin after a laser or microneedling treatment. It can help reduce redness, irritation, and inflammation.
• Enhanced skin repair – our Vital Repair Cream contains ingredients that promote skin repair and regeneration, as well as support the skin’s natural healing process and promote the growth of healthy new skin cells.
• Protection from environmental stressors – with its antioxidant-rich formula, this cream can help protect the skin against the effects of pollution and UV radiation.

Which one is right for you?

If you have damaged or compromised skin barrier with signs such as dullness, dryness, itchiness, sensitivity, and rough patches, a repair cream might offer more benefits than a regular moisturizer. This is also true if you’ve undergone aesthetic treatments such as lasers, chemical peels, and microneedling.

Our aesthetic clinic in Singapore recommends the use of a face moisturizer whether you have normal, dry, oily, or combination skin. It should be the last step of your skincare routine (after a serum) to seal everything in. Just like repair creams, some formulas can also restore the skin’s moisture barrier and help protect the skin from external aggressors. 

If your skin is showing signs of damage such as dryness, redness, and overall dehydration, you can benefit more from a repair cream. If you, on the other hand, are looking to give your skin sufficient hydration instead of repairing a compromised barrier, a face moisturizer is more suitable for you. The answer to which moisturizer is best is the one that suits your skin type.

Book a consultation

Browse through our website for more skincare tips and product recommendations21. You can also visit drsylviaskincare.com for a selection of medical-grade skincare products or contact Cutis Medical Laser Clinics in Singapore for your skin concerns. Schedule a consultation with one of our aesthetic doctors and find out how we can help you reach your skincare goals.