Product

Neutrogena Hydro Boost: Dermatologist Review

The famous hyaluronic acid gel, in which hyaluronic acid is 15th of 20 ingredients and silicone is second.
Last Updated: September 8, 2026
Neutrogena Hydro Boost
Key Facts What It Is What It Treats Not the Best For Texture A Dermatologist’s ConcernsMore
How to Use It Where It Fits in Your Routine What It Does Number of Ingredients Full Ingredient List Price per Ounce The Rest of the Line Similar Products FAQ
Dermatologist's Verdict

Neutrogena Hydro Boost is a pleasant, lightweight gel for oily and combination skin, but not the hyaluronic acid product its name promises. Hyaluronic acid sits fifteenth of twenty; the silicone doing the work sits second. Buy the fragrance-free version. If your skin is dry, this gel is too light.

Strongly recommendedRecommendedMixedNot recommendedAvoid

The cheat sheetKey Facts

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Key activeDimethicone (hyaluronic acid is present at trace levels)
TextureWater gel
Best forOily and combination skin wanting a light, non-greasy gel
Approximate price$18–25
FragranceNone
Essential oilsNone
Drying alcoholNone
LanolinNone

The short versionWhat It Is

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Neutrogena Hydro Boost is a light water gel moisturizer in a jar, about $18 to $25 at drugstores. It is a plain moisturizer built for oily and combination skin, and it is not really the hyaluronic acid product the name sells.

Hyaluronic acid is present at trace levels, while dimethicone, a silicone, sits near the top of the list. The hydration comes from glycerin and a long run of small water-binding ingredients — sodium PCA, urea, trehalose and amino acids — held at the surface by that silicone film. Buy the fragrance-free version, because the standard one adds fragrance and Blue 1 dye.

Where it earns its keepWhat It Treats

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Acne
Acne
Barely works
Benzoyl peroxide and retinoids dry the skin out, and that is why people quit them. A light, non-greasy moisturizer alongside them prevents that. This one adds no oils, though the fragranced version is worth avoiding on irritated skin.
Oily Skin
Oily Skin
Good fit
Oily skin still loses water through the surface, and skipping moisturizer does not reduce oil. What it needs is water pulled in without a heavy seal on top. This gel is light enough that oily skin will wear it every day, and it disappears under sunscreen and makeup.
Normal Skin
Normal Skin
Good fit
Enough moisture for skin with no particular complaint. If your skin is genuinely dry, this gel is too light on its own.

Don't expect miraclesNot the Best For

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Eczema
Eczema
Doesn't work
No barrier repair, and the gel base can sting cracked skin. Use an ointment or a ceramide cream in a flare.
Dry Skin (Xerosis)
Dry Skin (Xerosis)
Use with care
Hyaluronic acid is sold as the fix for dry skin, and this is the gel most people start with. It holds water at the surface but has little to seal it in, so dry skin needs a cream with lipids over it.

How it feelsTexture

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It is a water gel: light, cooling, absorbed in seconds with nothing left on the surface.

Some find it slightly tacky as it settles, and some report stinging. It sits well under sunscreen and makeup, and pilling is not a common complaint.

It comes in a screw-top jar, so you dip fingers into it. The standard version contains fragrance and a blue dye; the fragrance-free version is the one to buy.

ointment texture
‹ HeavierLighter ›
Ointment
Almost all oil, no water. Sits on top and seals.
Good for very dry, cracked or raw skin. Easiest to use at night. Too greasy for most faces during the day.
balm texture
‹ HeavierLighter ›
Balm
Waxy and solid until it warms in your hands.
Good for dry patches, lips and hands. Useful in cold, windy weather. Heavy on the face.
cream texture
‹ HeavierLighter ›
Cream
Thick blend of oil and water.
Good for normal to dry skin. Good in winter. May be too thick for summer.
oil texture
‹ HeavierLighter ›
Oil
All oil, but spreads far thinner than an ointment.
Good layered over a moisturizer on dry skin. Sinks in faster than an ointment. Some oils clog pores on acne-prone skin.
lotion texture
‹ HeavierLighter ›
Lotion
Mostly water. Pours and sinks in fast.
Good for normal skin and for large areas like arms and legs. Comfortable in summer. Often not enough for very dry skin.
gel texture
‹ HeavierLighter ›
Gel · this one
Water based, no oil. Cool and slippery.
Good for oily and acne-prone skin. Good in heat and humidity. The alcohol in some gels stings broken skin.
serum texture
‹ HeavierLighter ›
Serum
Thin and watery. Absorbs in seconds.
Usually carries active ingredients rather than moisture. Layers under a moisturizer. Rarely enough on its own for dry skin.
spray texture
‹ HeavierLighter ›
Spray
A fine mist. Barely there.
Good for the back and other spots that are hard to reach. Easy in summer. Does little for very dry skin.

The house rulesHow to Use Neutrogena Hydro Boost

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How much: A pea-sized amount for the face. It spreads a long way for a gel.
Tip: The light finish is the main reason to own it. It sits under sunscreen and makeup without rolling up.
What to expect: Skin feels hydrated immediately and stays that way as long as you keep applying. If your skin feels tight again a few hours later, this gel is too light for you.

Where It Fits in Your Routine

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Neutrogena Hydro Boost goes on after cleansing and after any serums or treatment products, morning and night. In the morning, sunscreen goes over it. On dry skin, use a richer cream over it at night rather than instead of it.

This product is good for

What's insideNeutrogena Hydro Boost: What It Does in the Skin

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A moisturizer has three moves: pull water into the outer layer, replace the fats that glue those cells together, or seal the surface. Neutrogena Hydro Boost does the first and the third and skips the second, because there are no ceramides in it.

The pulling is done by glycerin and a long list of small humectants — sodium PCA, urea, trehalose and amino acids — several of which skin makes for itself. The sealing is done by dimethicone, a silicone that lays a breathable, non-greasy film across the surface.

That film is why the gel feels so good, and it is also where the name misleads. Hyaluronic acid is a trace ingredient, not the active. The formula works well for oily and combination skin, but you are buying a silicone and glycerin gel rather than the hyaluronic acid on the jar.

Tap an ingredient to see where it works

In the skin barrier

PULLS WATER INFILLS THE GAPSSEALS WATER INPULLS WATER INPULLS WATER INPULLS WATER IN

Small enough to sink into the bricks, where it swells them with water and holds it there for days.

Smooths and fills the gaps between cells.

A silicone that spreads into a thin film over the bricks. A lighter seal than petrolatum, and what makes a cream feel silky rather than greasy.

pulls water into the skin

pulls water into the skin

pulls water into the skin

The outermost layer, and the one every moisturizer is aiming at. It is dead — flattened cells stacked like bricks, with a mix of fats as the glue between them. That glue is what holds water in and keeps irritants out.

The outer layer, and the only one anything in a jar reaches. It renews itself constantly: a cell made at the bottom takes about a month to reach the surface and flake off. Most of what a skincare product does, it does here.

The living layer underneath, holding the blood vessels, the nerves and the collagen. It is where lasting change happens and it is hard to reach: most of what is sold for the skin never gets this far.

Short list or longNumber of Ingredients

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This is how many ingredients are on the label. The more a product contains, the more chances one of them bothers you. That matters most if you have sensitive skin, eczema, or a known allergy. If your skin tolerates most things, a long list is not a problem by itself.

This product has
34 ingredients
159

37 moisturizers reviewed, from Vaseline (Petroleum Jelly) (1) to Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream (59). Tap a dot to see which.

Full Ingredient List

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Water, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Serine, Glycine, Alanine, Threonine, Arginine, Proline, Lysine Hcl, Glutamic Acid, Sodium PCA, PCA, Sodium Lactate, Urea, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, Betaine, Allantoin, Fructose, Maltose, Trehalose, Glucose, Pentylene Glycol, Synthetic Beeswax, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethiconol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide

The fine printA Dermatologist’s Concerns

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The hyaluronic acid sits near the bottom: the product is named for hyaluronic acid, and hyaluronic acid is the 15th ingredient out of 20 — below the carbomer, below the preservative. Dimethicone is second, ahead of glycerin.

The silicone does most of the work: what you feel is a silicone film and glycerin. That film is genuinely pleasant and genuinely hydrating, but you are not buying what the name is selling.

The main version has fragrance and dye: it contains fragrance and Blue 1 dye. For a product marketed on skin health, a dye is purely cosmetic with a real, if small, allergy cost. Buy the fragrance-free version.

The lineup has been reshuffled: it has not been reformulated — the ingredient list is unchanged since 2017. But the SKUs have been reshuffled, and the fragrance-free "Gel Cream" is now positioned for dry skin, so you may repurchase and get a richer product than you remember.

May feel tacky or sting: reviewers report tackiness and stinging more consistently than pilling.

What it runsPrice per Ounce

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Neutrogena Hydro Boost costs $12 per ounce. That is cheaper than 15 of the other 36 moisturizers priced on Dermapedia, which run from $0.42 to $97 per ounce.

Price per ounce is a fair way to compare value, but not the whole story — a thicker product goes further per application, and an expensive active costs what it costs.

This product costs
$12 per ounce
$0.42 per oz
$1.25 per oz
$1.75–$1.78 per oz
Aquaphor $1.78
$3.19 per oz
$12 per oz
Neutrogena Hydro Boost · this one $12
$97 per oz
SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 $97
$0.42$97

37 moisturizers priced, from Vaseline (Petroleum Jelly) ($0.42) to SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 ($97). Priced on the 1.7 oz size at $19.97. The scale is logarithmic. Tap a dot to see which. Prices current as of September 2026.

Its siblingsThe Rest of the Line

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Hydro Boost is a family, not one product, and the versions are easy to mix up. Two things separate them: how rich they are, and whether there is fragrance in them.

Heaviest & most sealingLightest
Water Gel
Water Gel
The lightest. The standard version contains fragrance and a blue dye.
You are here
Water Gel Fragrance-Free
Water Gel Fragrance-Free
The same gel without the scent or the dye. This is the one to buy.
You are here
Gel-Cream for Extra-Dry Skin
Gel-Cream for Extra-Dry Skin
Richer, and sold for dry skin. Repurchase without reading the tub and this is what you may end up with.
You are here
Hydro Boost with SPF
Hydro Boost with SPF
A daytime version with sunscreen filters. Check the SPF number before relying on it.
You are here

Shop aroundSimilar Products

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These are the options if you want the fragrance-free version, or something richer.

CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion
CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion
Fragrance-free and dye-free, light enough for oily skin, with niacinamide fourth and ceramides. It pills, so apply thinly.
We recommend more
The Inkey List Omega Water Cream
The Inkey List Omega Water Cream
A fragrance-free, oil-free gel-cream at $15, with niacinamide at 5%, the dose the studies used. Too light for dry skin.
We recommend more
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizer
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizer
Fragrance-free, light under makeup, with ceramide-3 and niacinamide. Acne-prone skin should treat it as try-and-see.
About the same

Questions Patients Ask

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Is hyaluronic acid the main ingredient in Neutrogena Hydro Boost?

No. It is fifteenth of twenty. Silicone and glycerin do most of the work.

Is there a fragrance-free version of Neutrogena Hydro Boost?

Yes. The main version has fragrance and Blue 1 dye; the fragrance-free one skips both.

Was Neutrogena Hydro Boost part of the benzene recall?

No. That recall covered aerosol sunscreen sprays.

Is Neutrogena Hydro Boost good for oily skin?

Yes. The light water gel suits oily and combination skin.

Does Neutrogena Hydro Boost pill?

Some report tackiness or stinging more than pilling. Apply a thin layer.

References

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  1. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. Issues Voluntary Recall of Specific NEUTROGENA® and AVEENO® Aerosol Sunscreen Products Due to the Presence of BenzeneConfirms the July 2021 benzene recall covered only five aerosol sunscreen SPRAY products (four Neutrogena and one Aveeno) and states only aerosol products were impacted, so the Hydro Boost moisturizer was never in scope.
  2. Valisure Detects Benzene in SunscreenDocuments the independent lab testing that flagged benzene in some sunscreen batches and publishes a companion list (Attachment A) of tested products where benzene was NOT detected, backing the claim that independent testing existed and maintained a safe list.
  3. Active agents in common skin care productsPeer-reviewed review confirming that dimethicone is a common occlusive moisturizing agent used to build and maintain the skin barrier, supporting dimethicone's role as the page's key active.
  4. Moisturizers: reality and the skin benefitsPeer-reviewed review confirming that moisturizer ingredients including dimethicone reduce transepidermal water loss and restore stratum corneum integrity, supporting the product's moisturizing mechanism.
  5. Efficacy Evaluation of a Topical Hyaluronic Acid Serum in Facial PhotoagingClinical study confirming hyaluronic acid acts as a humectant that retains water and measurably increases skin hydration, supporting the science behind the hyaluronic acid component named on the page.