A lightweight, oil-free water gel moisturizer with hyaluronic acid, designed to hydrate the skin without a heavy or greasy feel.
Water, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Polyacrylamide, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Dimethiconol, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Chlorphenesin, Carbomer, Laureth-7, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance, C12-14 Pareth -12, Sodium Hydroxide, Blue 1
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Guru Score
The Guru Score: every expert's verdict on a product, in one simple number.
Under the score you'll see how many experts weighed in, or "Early verdict" while only a few have. Paid takes count for half in the score.
Guru Certified means at least 6 experts, a score of 85% or more, and almost no Nays.
How we score →Yay
16 experts · Strong agreementWhat the gurus are saying
That lightweight water-gel texture is what keeps coming up: hydrating without feeling sticky, heavy or greasy, and quick enough to absorb that sunscreen and makeup sit easily on top. Oily and combination skin gets the most love. The catch is fragrance, which several flagged as stronger than they like, and one breakout story blames it, so fragrance-sensitive skin should take note.
What they liked
What they flagged
The concerns the experts tie this product to, in their own words. Paid and founder takes don't count.
“It's great if you're acne prone, oily skin, you want something really lightweight but still want that hydration boost.”
Dr. Daniel Sugai, watch at 7:19
“Even for my patients with oily skin, I recommend a lightweight moisturizer, and the one I probably go to the most is the Neutrogena Hydroboost Water Gel.”
208SkinDoc, watch at 8:15
“It's a great affordable option that helps keep your skin barrier healthy.”
208SkinDoc, watch at 16:30
“Neutrogena Hydro Boost is great to help with dehydrated skin, it's a little more fast absorbing and more ideal for oily and combination skin.”
Dr. Jenny Liu, watch at 8:48
“It has urea, which is good for softening dry, rough skin texture and hydrating the skin, gently exfoliating and smoothing the skin surface.”
Dr Dray, watch at 8:00
“When your skin has better water content in it, then you get a diminishment of these little fine lines, what I like to call dehydration lines.”
Dr Dray, watch at 12:20
“Sometimes I put the Neutrogena Hydro Boost before it just to kind of plump up my skin and then put this on top absolutely perfect for crepy skin.”
Beyond50Skin, watch at 10:59
Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.
Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.
Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.
Source: DermNet
A lightweight, oil-free water gel moisturizer with hyaluronic acid, designed to hydrate the skin without a heavy or greasy feel.
Mostly yes. 14 of the 16 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 82%.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel with Hyaluronic Acid holds a Guru Score of 82%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 16 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel with Hyaluronic Acid is generally suited to dry skin, combination skin and normal skin.
In their reviews, experts say Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel with Hyaluronic Acid is good for breakouts and acne (2 experts), excess oil and shine (2 experts), skin barrier support (1 expert), dehydrated skin (1 expert), rough or uneven texture (1 expert) and fine lines and wrinkles (1 expert).
2 experts who reviewed Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel with Hyaluronic Acid say it is. Dr. Daniel Sugai put it this way: “It's great if you're acne prone, oily skin, you want something really lightweight but still want that hydration boost.”
Lower-priced products in the same category that the experts still rate highly.
See how they stack up →Other products the same gurus have weighed in on, plus more from this brand and category.
Compare side by side →Stories where our editors dug into this product or its brand.
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