Are you looking for a good, low-cost body lotion? Discover the ultimate best body lotions under $10 with great ingredients to nourish and moisturize your skin.
Finding a good body lotion for less than ten dollars is a difficult task. Because not only the price is important but also the ingredients.
Are there enough beneficial ingredients in these low-cost lotions to moisturize the skin? Are they really worth the money?
The short answer is yes. To give you an example, I recently bought a Nivea body lotion that contains only glycerin, colloidal oatmeal, and vitamin E as the key ingredients but feels extremely hydrating and nourishing on the skin.
So yes, it is possible to find good body lotions at reasonable prices.
The secret is to look for them, check their ingredients, and buy the ones with the highest density of humectants and occlusives.
After all, this is what hydration is all about. A good combination of humectant and occlusive agents with soothing and hydrating properties.
Now, if you don’t have time to scroll through dozens of ingredient lists to determine which body lotion at this price has the best combination of ingredients, here is a shortcut.
Below are ten of the best body lotions under $10 for all skin types that promise to moisturize and contain ingredients to soothe, nourish and help the skin when needed.
How Did I Select The Products?
By reviewing dozens of ingredient lists (and products) and selecting only the most cost-effective products. For me, a good product is one that is effectively formulated, has a reasonable price for the ingredients it contains, and is manufactured by a trusted brand.
In short, I’m always looking for high-quality products that are worth the money, and I stay away from gimmicky products, fake claims and fear-mongers. Despite the claims, I always, but always check the list of ingredients and the science behind everything (and link to it whenever possible so you can check and decide through your own understanding filters).
Lastly, I always look for proven beneficial ingredients (either chemical or natural) in any product I recommend or use myself. Because skincare has to work more than anything else.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through my links, I may receive an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you.
Best Body Lotions Under $10 Shortcut
- Best For Dry-Cracked Skin: Gold Bond Ultimate Skin Therapy Lotion Healing Aloe
- Best Lightweight: Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion
- Best For Summer: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream Fragrance-Free
- Best Body Oil: Neutrogena Body Oil Light Sesame Formula Fragrance-Free
- Best For Extremely Dry Skin: Eucerin Intensive Repair Lotion
- Best Natural: Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Hydrating Body Lotion for Dry Skin
- Best For Sensitive Skin: Curel Fragrance-Free Comforting Lotion For Dry Sensitive Skin
- Best For Glowing Skin: Jergens Enriching Shea Butter 24H Moisturizer
- Best For Normal Skin: Nivea Skin Firming Hydrating Body Lotion
- Best Value: Lubriderm Daily Moisture Body Lotion
- My Favorite Now: Nivea Naturally Good With Colloidal Oatmeal
- What To Expect From A Body Lotion Under $10
Disclaimer At Beauty Notifier, I strive to feature products that I personally test or have received positive feedback and reviews; however, I'm not a licensed professional and do not guarantee specific results or the prevention/ cure of any condition/ disease. The information provided on www (dot) beautynotifier (dot) com is solely for informational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical or skincare advice. Additionally, prices, availability, and product formulations may change over time, so I recommend verifying product details and conducting your own research before making any purchasing decisions.
1. Best For Dry-Cracked Skin: Gold Bond Ultimate Skin Therapy Lotion Healing Aloe
Key ingredients: glycerin, dimethicone, petrolatum, aloe, chamomile extract, vitamin E, retinyl palmitate.
If you’re looking for a rich body lotion to hydrate your dry, cracked skin, Gold Bond healing aloe has everything you need to help you achieve that.
Glycerin, dimethicone, petrolatum, aloe, chamomile extract, and vitamin E are all known for their calming and ultra-hydrating properties, while retinyl palmitate in the cream can help reduce the appearance of dry – flaky skin, boosting the effectiveness of the first ingredients even further.
All in all, this is a rich but non-greasy body lotion with a light scent and an excellent blend of humectants and occlusives to help your skin become healthier and less dry with each application.
I can’t think of anything better for under $10 with these ingredients.
2. Best Lightweight: Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion
Key ingredients: 1.2% dimethicone, glycerin, petrolatum, oat flour.
If you prefer lightweight, non-greasy body lotions that are also moisturizing, Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion is one of them.
Dimethicone, glycerin, and petrolatum (in combination) are all known to attract and seal in moisture, as well as to soothe dry, itchy skin, while remaining lightweight on the skin.
This trio, in combination with oat flour, can help hydrate and calm your skin, leaving it soft and silky with no greasy residues.
If you are looking for a fragrance-free, non-comedogenic body lotion, Aveeno is suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin.
3. Best For Summer: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream Fragrance-Free
Key ingredients: glycerin, petrolatum, dimethicone, sodium hyaluronate.
Neutrogena hydro boost gel cream fragrance-free is also on my list of the best body lotions for summer, and it’s one of the few gel body lotions with this combination of ingredients at this price.
The lotion contains a combination of humectants (glycerin and sodium hyaluronate) and occlusives (petrolatum and dimethicone), all of which can help attract and seal in moisture, allowing the skin to remain smooth and healthy-looking.
If you are looking for a lightweight, fragrance-free and non-comedogenic body lotion to use this summer, Neutrogena is suitable for all skin types, has a light, silky texture that absorbs quickly and is non-greasy.
4. Best Body Oil: Neutrogena Body Oil Light Sesame Formula Fragrance-Free
Key ingredients: sesame seed oil.
If body oil is something you prefer to hydrate your skin, Neutrogena sesame body oil is one of the lightest and most affordable options.
This is essentially sesame oil that has been formulated to have a light, non-greasy, absorbable texture.
As a bonus, this oil also works well as a makeup cleanser as it lathers up nicely when it comes into contact with water. Win-win.
5. Best For Extremely Dry Skin: Eucerin Intensive Repair Lotion
Key ingredients: mineral oil, urea, glycerin, castor oil, dimethicone, lactic acid.
If you have extremely dry skin, Eucerin intensive repair body lotion may be what you are looking for.
The lotion contains mineral oil, urea, glycerin and castor oil, all of which are known to deeply moisturize the skin on a deeper level.
It is a rich and very dewy body lotion, so it’s best to consider it only if you have extremely dry skin, as the finish may be overwhelming otherwise.
6. Best Natural: Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Hydrating Body Lotion for Dry Skin
Key ingredients: shea butter, sunflower oil, glycerin, cocoa seed butter, coconut oil, castor oil, mango seed butter, jojoba oil, aloe, allantoin, argan oil, vitamin E.
If you are looking for a natural, semi-thick body lotion to moisturize your skin, Shea Moisture is all about butters.
Formulated with raw shea butter and other natural ingredients, it’s a rich, creamy buttery smooth lotion that melts into the skin to nourish and moisturize.
For under $10, again, I can’t think of anything better. This lotion contains everything you need to naturally moisturize your skin.
7. Best For Sensitive Skin: Curel Fragrance-Free Comforting Lotion For Dry Sensitive Skin
Key ingredients: glycerin, petrolatum, pseudo-ceramide, eucalyptus extract.
If you have sensitive skin and a limited budget, the Curel fragrance-free body lotion is well worth considering.
The lotion contains pseudo-ceramide, a type of ceramide, and eucalyptus extract, which have both been shown to improve the decreased stratum corneum function of facial and body skin patients with atopic dermatitis. Furthermore, eucalyptus extract has been shown to be effective in increasing ceramide levels in the epidermis.(Source)
It also contains glycerin and petrolatum to further soothe and hydrate the skin, and it’s non-greasy and hypoallergenic.
8. Best For Glowing Skin: Jergens Enriching Shea Butter 24H Moisturizer
Key ingredients: shea butter, glycerin, petrolatum, dimethicone, mineral oil, mango seed butter, cocoa seed butter, vitamin E.
If glowing skin is all you want but don’t want to spend more than $10 on a body lotion, Jergens shea butter moisturizer is all about affordable radiant skin.
Thanks to its super moisturizing ingredients like butters and petrolatum, this lotion can soothe and hydrate your skin while leaving it radiant and nice looking.
It’s best to consider it only if you want dewy skin, as the finish may be overwhelming otherwise.
9. Best For Normal Skin: Nivea Skin Firming Hydrating Body Lotion
Key ingredients: glycerin, shea butter, ubiquinone.
If you enjoy Nivea lotions in general, as well as their specific scent, and you have normal skin, Nivea skin firming may be the lotion for you.
It contains shea butter, glycerin, and Q10 to visibly firm and improve skin elasticity while leaving it soft, smooth, and hydrated.
10. Best Value: Lubriderm Daily Moisture Body Lotion
Key ingredients: glycerin, mineral oil, panthenol.
For the price, this 24 fl. oz/ 709 ml body lotion from Lubriderm is unbeatable.
It contains glycerin, mineral oil, and panthenol to soothe and moisturize your skin and is also fragrance-free and non-greasy.
What more could we want from a gigantic body lotion that costs less than ten dollars?
My Favorite Now: Nivea Naturally Good With Colloidal Oatmeal
Key ingredients: glycerin, colloidal oatmeal, vitamin E.
If you like Nivea body lotions but dislike the brand scent (I personally find it overwhelming), this inspired by nature body lotion with colloidal oatmeal does not smell like Nivea at all – but more like fresh cocoa butter.
The lotion has a silky finish and absorbs relatively fast. It feels hydrating but not greasy on the skin. And it works better on toweled, dry skin than on wet skin, I discovered.
Also, it contains colloidal oatmeal that has been shown in studies to improve skin rashes, erythema, burns, itch, and eczema, and in one particular study has been proven to have direct antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
The only bad news is that this lotion is currently only available in a few European countries. They have a variety of options, including this one with colloidal oatmeal, as well as aloe, avocado, and lavender.
However, if you are traveling and have the chance to buy one, the Naturally Good line from Nivea is worth trying.
Update: I recently discovered some lotions from the Nivea Naturally Good line on the Nivea US website, so if you want to check them out, you can do it here.
I also forgot to mention that the packaging contains 50% less plastic. The bottle is thinner and lighter than standard Nivea bottles.
What To Expect From A Body Lotion Under $10
Although many people believe that low-cost body lotions do not worth the money and effort, the truth is on the package, where the ingredients are listed.
Not all body lotions are created equally, nor do they contain the same ingredients.
Here are some things to expect when shopping for under $10 skincare.
Expect the ingredients to greatly vary
The ingredients in low-cost body lotions vary greatly. For a satisfying level of hydration, aim for as many humectant and occlusive ingredients as possible and buy the lotions with the highest density.
Look for ingredients like:
- petrolatum
- dimethicone
- glycerin
- urea
- hyaluronic acid
- shea butter
- cocoa butter
- aloe
- allantoin
- vitamin E
- argan oil
- coconut oil
- mineral oil
- panthenol
- plant oils
- plant extracts
- fatty alcohols
The more of these, the more hydrating the lotion.
Expect fragrances
Less expensive lotions are usually full of fragrances, but not all of them.
If you see the word fragrance/ perfume on the label, together with words like linalool, geraniol, eugenol, farnesol, hexyl cinnamal, limonene, or hydroxycitronellal, expect fragrance instead of skincare.
Personally, when I see fragrance/ perfume listed alongside linalool, geraniol, eugenol, farnesol, hexyl cinnamal, limonene on a product with a short list of ingredients, I know it’s just fragrance there and nothing else.
That’s why I didn’t even consider these lotions on the list of today. They are, indeed, cheaper. But what do you put on your skin? Water and fragrance?
Expect not to like it and be ok with
This can happen with any beauty product you buy, not just with the cheap ones. And guess what? It’s perfectly normal.
Not all creams are created equally, nor do they contain the same ingredients.
Generally speaking, when you don’t like a body lotion or a cream, you don’t like it for one of three reasons or all of them:
- The scent is overpowering
- The texture is also not what you are looking for; it’s either stiky, oily or does not absorb; we all have something to don’t like at this point
- The formula is not appropriate for your skin type
For me, it is always the scent. If I can tolerate the stickiness and oiliness of some creams or lotions, I can’t stand the strong scents. The only scent I find tolerable and willing to pay for is vanilla or something similar.
As for the other two, it is really difficult to predict how a product will feel and absorb into the skin based solely on its ingredients.
That’s why it is best to experiment to see what works for you, then check the ingredients in the creams or lotions you like and repeat with other products.
Related: The Ultimate List Of Moisturizers Without Hyaluronic Acid
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a body lotion used for?
It is a topical preparation that is applied to the skin with bare hands to moisturize and treat various skin conditions. Most body lotions are lighter in texture and are designed to keep skin soft, healthy and hydrated, but they can also have anti-aging properties.
How often should I use a body lotion?
Generally accepted, most experts advise the use of body lotions twice daily–every morning and every night. It is the most commonly accepted practice to ensure a proper level of hydration throughout a complete 24-hour period.
Can I apply body lotion on my face?
To lock in moisture, most body lotions contain moisturizing ingredients such as oils and butters. However, body lotions are tested mostly for the use on body and are not recommended for the face because they can exacerbate some skin concerns like acne or eczema. To protect your skin, avoid applying body lotion to your face, using a face cream instead.