Best Moisturizer for Men Over 40

CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30 at $16.99 does the most work of anything on this list, because at 40 the highest-return thing a moisturizer can do is carry your sunscreen. Add CeraVe PM at $14.92 at night. If you're still oily — and plenty of men are at 40 — Neutrogena Hydro Boost is the lighter option.

Most do, though not all yet — and that's what makes this decade the one to start. Forty is roughly where sebum output begins its decline, so many men still feel fine without one while the underlying conditions are already changing. Starting before you notice a problem is what separates this from the over-50 version of the question, where the answer is unambiguously yes.

In the morning, yes — it's the single best use of the step. Combining removes a stage from the routine, and a removed stage is one you can't skip. Keep the SPF to daytime only; at night use a formula without filters, since they do nothing on a pillow and take up room a barrier ingredient could use.

Not chemically, no. Men's skin is somewhat thicker and stays oilier for longer, which is why men often prefer lighter textures — but there's no ingredient reserved for one sex. Half the best options on this page aren't marketed at men at all, and the packaging is the only thing that changes.

When the one you have stops feeling like enough by mid-afternoon, or when your skin starts feeling tight after washing. That's usually somewhere in the late forties or fifties, and it's a gradual shift rather than a birthday. Don't pre-empt it — a too-rich cream on skin that's still producing oil causes congestion.