I asked 4 skin experts to share the best night creams for oily skin to calm breakouts and balance oiliness
All while you’re snoozing
There’s long been debate about whether a night cream feels entirely necessary as part of a decent skincare routine. After all, if your regular daytime moisturiser is working well for your skin then why change a good thing? Of course, the main function of a face cream is to provide hydration, but while you might want your day moisturiser to also offer instant benefits - brightness and firming or maybe some SPF protection - the best night creams will help to aid our skin in its reparative cycle that occurs overnight.
“Night creams tend to be richer and are designed to support the skin’s natural repair process while you sleep,” explains Dr Eteri Kenkadze, specialist dermatologist at Evolution Aesthetics. “They often contain ingredients like peptides, retinoids and antioxidants to boost skin regeneration and hydration, plus they’re usually thicker and can include more potent ingredients that shouldn’t be exposed to sunlight.”
The best night creams for oily skin - at a glance
- Best overall night cream for oily skin: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Night Cream, £14.25 | Lookfantastic
- Best night cream for over 30s: Beauty Pie Super Retinol + Vitamin C Night Renewal Moisturizer (1% Retinol Complex), £18.50 | Beauty Pie
- Best night cream for dehydrated skin: Avène Hydrance Aqua-Gel Moisturiser, £25.25 | Lookfantastic
- Best night cream for spot-prone skin: The Inkey List C-50 Blemish Night Treatment, £9.48 | Amazon
- Best night cream for dull skin: Medik8 Advanced Night Restore, £59 | John Lewis
- Best high-street night cream for oily skin: CeraVe Oil Control Moisturising Gel-Cream, £16.50 | Lookfantastic
- Best night cream for combination skin: Paula’s Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturiser, £33 | Amazon
When it comes to the best night cream for oily skin in particular though, choosing one can be a little more complex. After all, I speak from personal experience when I say that applying anything too rich or heavy can often result in waking up with a flurry of unwanted breakouts. Instead, it’s important to take a look at the ingredients list to make sure you’re picking an overnight moisturiser that will really benefit your skin. “Ingredients like niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, retinol, salicylic acid, lactic acid, peptides, and glycerin are non-comedogenic so work well for oily skin types and also help with oiliness,” explains Cosmetic Doctor and Dermatology Expert, Dr Sonia Khorana.
Plus, considering things like the texture of your night cream is also key. “Lighter, gel based formulations are a good choice for oily skin,” suggests Dr Sophie Momen, consultant dermatologist at the Cadogan Clinic. “And I would advise selecting lighter formulations that do not contain ingredients such as shea butter, which can be occlusive on oily skin.”
Ahead, the 7 best night creams for oily skin according to dermatologists and skincare experts.
1. Neutrogena Hydro Boost Night Cream
Dr Kenkadze recommends this as one of the best night creams for oily skin. “It’s a great oil-free option with hyaluronic acid for hydration without heaviness,” she explains. It’s brimming with great ingredients like amino acids, electrolytes and peptides, which are all renowned for the barrier-repairing capabilities and their ability to restore hydration and allow deeper absorption of your other skincare products. It manages to walk the fine line of being incredibly moisturising and plumping, but without clogging pores, feeling heavy, or causing oily skin to become even more so. Plus, the affordable price point is seriously impressive considering how smooth and supple skin is left come morning.
2. Beauty Pie Super Retinol + Vitamin C Night Renewal Moisturizer (1% Retinol Complex)
Although it’s positioned as a moisturiser for mature skin, Dr Sonia Khorana recommends this as one of the best night creams for oily skin thanks to its impressive ingredients list. The star ingredient is an encapsulated slow release retinol at a concentration of 1% which helps to increase cell turnover, preventing congestion from dead skin cells, and also reduces the appearance of texture—whether that’s from fine lines and wrinkles or scarring from breakouts. Plus, there’s a real focus on brightness here thanks to the inclusion of vitamin C and ferulic acid so your skin will look genuinely glowing the next day.
3. Avène Hydrance Aqua-Gel Moisturiser
While this isn’t a moisturiser that has been formulated specifically for use at night, the Avène Hydrance Aqua-Gel Moisturiser is an all-round approach to hydration with the brand touting it as an all-in-one product that can be used as a day moisturiser, an overnight mask, and even an eye cream. Dr Sophie Momen recommends it wholeheartedly as a night cream for oily skin thanks to its focus on skin hydration because, turns out, oily skin can suffer from dehydration too. This product will be particularly beneficial if you’re using any prescriptive treatments for acne which can cause dryness and irritability, or if you use a lot of actives like salicylic acid in your routine and are finding that your skin is little sensitised.
4. The Inkey List C-50 Blemish Night Treatment
When I’m in the midst of a bad breakout or my skin is particularly congested, few things work faster or more effectively than this overnight treatment from The Inkey List. Admittedly, it might be a bit of a stretch to call it a night cream—it’s more gel-like in texture—but you use it in place of your evening moisturiser so I’m allowing it. This is an exfoliating product packed with salicylic acid to unclog pores and the rather innovative Stay-C 50 complex which aims to reduce breakouts and prevent existing ones. Yes, it doesn’t feel like the most luxurious moisturising experience on the skin, but if you want a night product that will make a visible difference to redness, sore blemishes and congestion by morning then you can’t do much better than this stuff.
5. Medik8 Advanced Night Restore
Another of Dr Khorana’s recommendations for the best night cream for oily skin comes via this rejuvenating formula from Medik8. Ceramides are a brilliant ingredient for oily skin because they occur naturally within the skin, and therefore really support skin health overall. Those that deal with breakouts or excessive sebum levels might find that their skin can end up looking quite dull from all of the congestion and, potentially, from the amount of harshly exfoliating products that we gravitate towards when we are blemish-prone. This moisturiser is rich without being cloying, and it tackles skin damage brilliantly overnight to leave it feeling stronger, healthier and brighter. And, crucially, it does all of this without clogging pores.
6. CeraVe Oil Control Moisturising Gel-Cream
Dr Edel Woods, aesthetic doctor and founder of ORA Skin Clinic, recommends this affordable gem from CeraVe as the best night cream for oily skin. “It’s such a good high street option and contains reparative ingredients like niacinamide to help calm redness as well as hyaluronic acid to restore lost moisture,” she explains. Like others on this list, there’s no reason that this moisturiser couldn’t be used morning or night, but the way that it locks in hydration and supports the skin barrier means it does lend itself particularly well to overnight use when your body’s circadian rhythm is fully in repair mode.
7. Paula’s Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturiser
I think that this night cream would apply to almost anyone with oily skin, but the sheer texture and lightweight feel means that combination skin types will particularly benefit from the formula. While it doesn’t contain any particular pore-cleansing ingredients, it is brimming with niacinamide to improve the appearance of large pores, even skin tone, and help restore the skin barrier. Plus, there’s a rather unique addition in the form of blueberry which is a natural antioxidant that calms redness and protects the skin. It feels hydrating without being heavy and leaves skin much more even in tone and texture.
