While face moisturizer tends to dominate the conversation, finding the best body lotion for men is just as important. After all, taking care of your skin isn’t just about looking good—it’s about maintaining your skin’s health and protecting it from dryness, irritation, and other environmental stressors. When your skin stays hydrated, smooth, and resilient, you’ll feel more comfortable both in and out of your clothes.
Having dealt with on-and-off dry skin since I was a kid, I’ve shopped through dermatologists and tried dozens of different products over the years, including ones geared towards staying preventatively moisturized and those meant to help repair damaged or cracked skin. Ready to upgrade your home bodycare ritual? Here are our tried-and-tested picks of the best body lotions for men—and what each one is best for.
The Best Body Lotions, According to GQ
Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturizing Lotion
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In This Guide
The Best Body Lotion for Men Overall: Soft Services Carea Cream
Ian Burke
Ideal for men with combination skin, this lightweight lotion is my daily go-to. It tops our list for going beyond basic hydration to address a range of skin concerns, from bumpy texture to persistent dryness. The key ingredient is urea, which hydrates while also gently exfoliating—smoothing rough patches and reducing the build-up of dead skin. Urea also acts as a humectant, which draws water into skin and forms a protective barrier, preventing moisture loss and keeping skin nourished throughout the day. For the sake of convenience and sustainability, we also love that the brand sells refills and provides a reusable plastic pump.
The Best Body Butter for Winter: Fur All Body Butter
Body-hair-forward brand Fur has you covered—literally—from your legs to your pubic region, all while giving you the smooth shave of your dreams. Its All Body Butter is perfect if you’re craving something thicker and richer than those watery, lightweight lotions that vanish faster than your 11 a.m. office snack. It’s loaded with ultra-moisturizing plant butters—kokum, mango, and shea—so rough patches don’t stand a chance. It’s got hyaluronic acid to lock in moisture and sunflower seed wax to help repair cracks. If your heels crack in the winter, slather some on, throw on a pair of socks, and wake up with feet that no longer feel like concrete slabs.
The Best Affordable Body Lotion: Aveeno Skin Relief Fragrance-Free Moisturizing Lotion
One of my go-to brands is also one of the most accessible. The Oat-GOAT itself: Aveeno. My parents used to slather it on me as a kid, and now I’m carrying on the tradition with my son’s sensitive skin. Its fragrance-free body lotion has a creamy, no-nonsense texture that tackles dryness, smoothing out flakes and rough patches before they even know what hit them. Packed with the brand’s signature Triple Oat Complex (oat flour, oat extract, oat oil), it calms irritation and alleviates itchiness. Add in shea butter, glycerin, and a promise of up to 72 hours of hydration, and you’ve got a lotion that locks in moisture.
The Best Fragrance-Free Body Lotion: Nécessaire The Body Lotion
I wish more high-end skincare brands would borrow a page from Nécessaire’s playbook and give us fragrance-free options that actually feel luxurious. Once I’ve finished bathing in its sensitive body wash, I follow it up with this lotion. It’s lightweight, fast-absorbing, and somehow keeps you hydrated for nearly two days. The formula packs niacinamide to calm irritation, marula and shea butter for serious softness, and vitamins C and E for an antioxidant boost. Best of all? It’s a big, unapologetic green light for sensitive skin.
The Best Scented Body Butter: Ursa Major Golden Hour Body Butter
I’ve always trusted Vermont-based brand Ursa Major with their skincare, but their latest Golden Hour collection has officially turned me into a hydrated disciple. Its body butter is rich and lush—quick-absorbing without leaving you looking like you just wrestled a tub of Vaseline. Inside, you’ll find vegan squalane to keep your skin supple, shea butter to nourish, calendula to calm, and sea buckthorn—their signature hero ingredient—to replenish your skin. If you have super dry skin, this feels like a life raft in a jar. And the scent? Muy bien. It’s an herbaceous cocktail of neroli, rose, and sandalwood, all-natural and free from synthetics, parabens, or any fake, chemical-y nonsense.
The Best Drugstore Body Lotion: Cetaphil Face & Body Moisturizer
Cetaphil
Face & Body Moisturizer
From one of the most reliable drugstore skin care brands to helping you build a simple, no-nonsense routine, Cetaphil is here to handle it all. Recommended by dermatologists, it’s also one of the safest options for both your face and body—if you absolutely must. Packed with skin-friendly powerhouses like glycerin, niacinamide, vitamin E, and panthenol (to name just a few), it helps improve skin texture, shields against air pollution, and keeps your skin soft without turning you into a grease ball. The texture is silky-smooth, never overwhelmingly oily, yet leaves your skin properly hydrated. There’s no scent, it’s always in stock, and it’s gentle enough to rub everywhere.
The Best Body Lotion for Sensitive Skin: Sansceuticals Barrier Rx Body + Hand Butter
You should be incorporating a body scrub at least once a week to slough off those dead skin cells because your back shouldn’t resemble a flaky croissant. After that, follow up with an ultra-hydrating body lotion to keep your skin smooth and happy. Sansceuticals, a New Zealand label whose business model is built on clean products without unnecessary extras. Its body moisturizer lives up to that promise: it’s an unscented, non-steroidal cream designed to soothe, repair, and hydrate even the most sensitive skin—yes, that includes folks battling eczema and dermatitis. Packed with skin-loving ingredients, it features manuka honey to calm inflammation, Kawakawa extract (a native New Zealand botanical) to soothe irritation, and oats to improve your skin’s microbiome.
The Best Body Lotion for Brightening Skin: Youth to The People Superberry Hydrate + Glow Dream Body Butter
If you haven’t caught on yet, body butters are as, if not more, moisturizing—the one that moisturizes harder and shines brighter. This one from Youth To The People isn’t playing around. It leaves your skin looking healthier and more radiant. The lineup? Niacinamide to even out your complexion, berry extracts to fight dullness, jojoba oil and shea butter for that luxurious slather effect, and hyaluronic acid to lock in serious hydration. Apply this while your skin’s still a little damp from the shower, and you’ll trap in all that goodness. You’ll also smell faint notes of yuzu, green tea, and blonde woods floating around you like a botanical aura.
The Best Body Lotion for Traveling: AKT The Body Conditioning Balm
If I had to crown a single label as my go-to for travel grooming essentials, it’d be U.K.-based AKT. Their deodorants, body washes, and conditioning balms all come in the magical 3.4 fl-oz sweet spot—TSA-approved, suitcase-friendly, and efficient. The body balms? Creamier than lotion and perfect for those high-maintenance zones (knees, elbows, thighs). With notes of amber, tonka bean, and violet leaf, this isn’t just skincare; it’s the kind of fragrance that makes you think twice about spritzing your usual cologne. Why layer when the balm already smells this good? Ingredient-wise, it’s stacked: olive squalane to moisturize, apricot kernel oil to soften, and lactic acid to gently exfoliate, so your skin looks like it drinks more water than you actually do. It’s a no-brainer carry-on companion—and one less excuse for looking jet-lagged at the arrivals gate.
The Best Splurge Body Lotion: Le Prunier Pumbody Body Cremé
Including fruit extracts in skincare isn’t exactly groundbreaking—brands have been tossing berries, cucumbers, and the occasional avocado into jars for years. But building an entire brand off your family’s plum farm? Now that’s innovative. That’s what the Taylor sisters pulled off with Le Prunier, a line that harnesses the Power of Plum. Their patented plum-based ingredients—like the Plum Superfruit Complex and Midnight Muir—tap into one of nature’s most nutrient-dense fruits. The result? A velvety body cream that’s as indulgent as dessert but way better for your skin. It calms irritation, quells dryness, and skips the nasties (synthetic scents and parabens). Oh, and it’s got the NEA (National Eczema Association) seal of approval, which means it’s safe for sensitive skin and eczema-prone folks.
The Best Scented Body Lotion: Sidia Soaked The Creme
Sidia already has one of our go-to body washes, and this is the perfect out-of-shower sidekick to match. This luxurious, plant-based body cream doesn’t just hydrate—it pampers. The fast-absorbing formula packs hyaluronic acid to plump your skin, shea butter to condition it, avocado oil to strengthen it, and botanical extracts to calm any irritation. With scent notes of juniper, olibanum, musk, and amber, this is the cream you’ll actually want to bring to your next massage appointment—to keep it a stack—nothing else in the room is going to smell this good.
The Best Body Lotion for Eczema-Prone Skin: Typology C91 Lipid-Replenishing Balm
Instead of reaching for something “over the counter” or slathering on a steroid cream, Typology’s lipid-replenishing balm comes to the rescue for anyone dealing with itchy, irritated skin. Gentle, safe, and boasting 99% naturally-derived ingredients, it’s vegan, fragrance-free, and made in France. Its soothing formula is perfect for sensitive skin, thanks to a 3% postbiotic complex that supports your skin’s microbiome and ceramide NP to lock in moisture. The texture glides over your skin, leaving it soft, smooth, and hydrated without the sticky aftermath.
The Best Body Lotion for Skin Repair: Aestura ATOBARRIER365 Moisturizing Body Lotion
Korean skincare label Aestura is all about building a robust skin barrier and keeping hydration on lock. Its moisturizing body lotion has a lightweight texture that skips the greasy aftermath but still delivers the goods—thanks to ceramides and glucosamine. It’s fragrance-free, dermatologist-tested, and gentle enough for sensitive skin. In other words, it’s the kind of lotion you can confidently use from head to toe.
More Body Lotions We Love
What to Look for in a Body Lotion
Indeed, body lotions can vary greatly across key ingredients, functions, and fragrances—but as a general rule of thumb, look for ingredients like shea butter, ceramides, or hyaluronic acid, which are meant to lock in moisture. If you have sensitive skin, avoid harsh chemicals and fragrances that can irritate it. Depending on where you live, you might also want to consider trying different body lotions based on the season. For a year-round lotion, maybe try products that balance hydration with fast absorption and lightweight feel. Meanwhile, for colder winter weather, consider a thicker, creamier formula that will sit on top of the skin’s natural barrier and prevent excess drying. Once you’ve chosen a body lotion, remember it needs to be applied at least once a day, ideally after a shower or bath when your skin is still damp.
At the end of the day, the best lotions and skin moisturizers for your body will depend on your individual skin needs, but a few additional things to think about when picking a bottle to add to your skin care routine are whether you’re looking for natural ingredients, paraben-free formulas, and the addition of sunscreen—and if it’s the proper SPF. There are a ton of other ingredients out there that can help keep your skin soft and smelling great, too, from vitamin E and dimethicone to aloe vera, argan oil, and more, so don’t be afraid to branch out and find what works best for your skin.