I always see these two words used on products for skin and hair, yet despite looking for a solid answer I can’t seem to understand what the difference is or really what each does.
In: Chemistry
Generally moisturizing elements are fat based and hydrating elements are water-based…
But this is just the general expectation the buyer has when they purchase a product and it’s not an actual hard and fast definition.
Moisturizers tend to coat to the surface of your hair or your skin so your natural hydration is held in.
Hydrating moisturizers or hydrating body washes tends to actually introduce humectants that absorb moisture from the air to bring it next to your skin.
These aren’t definitions though these are just the ways things are generally described.
One difference could be in oils vs water. Most oils don’t mix with water, and “hydrating” means or heavily implies the addition of water or a gel that features water-like properties. Moisturizing could honestly be a word to mean anything. But for conditioners or most soaps, it’s gonna mean it leaves oil behind for positive benefit.
I have my own question.
What’s the difference between cleaning and cleansing?
While the other answers are probably correct, it is also just a marketing term. Things like that are not regulated so the manufacturer can say it is hydrating, moisturizing or whatever thing they think sounds good.
Dermatologist here. It’s the same as the difference between having 6 of one and half a dozen of another. In common use and in marketing, these are basically used as synonyms.
ELI10 below:
The more specific/technical terms that differentiate types of moisturizers are: humectant vs emollient vs occlusive.
– Humectants bring in water (hygroscopic and/or hydrophilic compounds e.g. hyaluronic acid)
– Emollients soften the skin by coating it (these are often fats, e.g. ceramides, oils)
– Occlusives lock in water to prevent transepidermal water loss (very hydrophobic compounds e.g. petroleum jelly)
Hydrating may imply humectant properties, but people and companies will often use hydrating and moisturizing interchangeably regardless.
Note that this is a bit of a simplification and these properties are not mutually exclusive (most emollients have some occlusive properties, for example). Many products perform multiple actions in order to improve skin moisture.
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