Jergens Natural Glow is a moisturizer that comes in two different tones depending on skin tone. It’s sold by one of the most popular cosmetics brands, and the brand claims that this product “Delivers fabulous, natural-looking colour that lasts twice as long as the leading sunless tanner lotion.”

But does Jergens Natural Glow contain ingredients proven to moisturize skin? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Why did the brand recall several lots of a similar product? And what was our Product Tester's honest experience trying it for a month?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Jergens Natural Glow to give our take on whether or not it's likely to be effective for tanning and moisturizing the skin, and whether or not it's healthy.

We'll also explain why the brand had to recall several lots of their product, feature our Product Tester's experience purchasing and trying it, and compare Jergens Natural Glow to other popular tinted moisturizer products to pick our winners (and losers).

Key takeaways:

• Jergens contains moisturizing active ingredients
• Jergens contains inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
• We do not currently recommend Jergens Natural Glow

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer are shown below:

There are a number of research-backed ingredients in this formulation.

Coconut oil is one of the most well-studied natural moisturizers. It was shown to cause “significant improvement to skin hydration” in a 2004 clinical trial.

Oat meal has been used for centuries to soothe skin, and a clinical trial published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology found that oat meal extract “resulted in recovery of [skin] barrier damage.”

The researchers concluded that this ingredient “can provide clinically effective benefits for dry and compromised skin.”

Avocado oil is clinically shown to promote collagen synthesis when applied topically, as we documented in our review of Vitality Essential Oils, another cosmetics brand that includes this ingredient.

Camellia sinensis leaf extract was shown in a clinical trial published in the Dermatologic Therapy journal to have “pronounced moisturizing effects” when applied to skin.

Mineral oil was shown to improve skin softness and barrier function better than most cosmetic oils in a 2012 medical review.

While there are clearly a number of effective active ingredients in Jergens Natural Glow, there are also several inactive ingredients in this formulation that may be questionable from a health perspective.

Fragrance is a broad descriptor that fails to document the specific fragrance chemicals used, and a 2016 medical review analyzed safety data on fragranced consumer products and concluded that fragrance can "impose serious risks to human health.”

BHT is a synthetic preservative, and one of the chemical compounds it’s broken down into by the human body was described as a “tumor promoter” in a clinical trial published in the Carcinogenesis journal.

Overall, we consider Jergens Natural Glow likely to be an effective moisturizer, and potentially effective for repairing the skin barrier based on its active ingredients.

However, we don’t currently recommend this product due to its inactive ingredients.

We Tested Jergens Natural Glow

One of our product testers named Jodie Steinberg tried Jergens Natural Glow for a month. 

Here's her experience:

The product was a standard moisturizer in a nice big bottle. It was easy to open, close and to get the product out without much effort.

The scent is amazing. I love it. It smells like expensive perfume but the scent does not overpower, and reduces in intensity pretty quickly.

The product was a very effective moisturizer. It soaked in easily and was not too thick, but also not so thin that it provided no hydration.

I don’t believe it will have a firming effect as claimed, but I experienced a temporary "plumping" that happens just from moisturizing the skin. The product did also provide a subtle tint after only a few days but I noticed it faded quickly if I did not use the product everyday.

Here is an image of my leg before use of this product:

I would say this is a high quality moisturizer that will give a subtle tan look to the skin.

It is not going to cover veins like a true tanner, but it does provide some color, and I am very pale, so any color is appreciated.

Here is an image of my legs after use of this product:

I did not experience any side effects.

Overall, I rate Jergens Natural Glow 10/10. 

Is Jergens Lotion Contaminated?

In 2022, Jergens voluntarily recalled several lots of their Ultra Healing Moisturizer, because it was contaminated with a bacteria called Pluralibacter gergoviae, according to the FDA.

According to a medical review published in the Microbiology Research Announcements journal, this bacterial species is “occasionally associated with human infection.”

It’s important to note that this is a different product than the moisturizing lotion that’s the subject of this review.

While this recall received media attention, we don’t believe that potential customers need to worry.

This issue does not appear to be ongoing at the time of publishing this article, relates to a different product, and the bacterial species involved does not appear particularly concerning.

There are no lawsuits that we could find related to Jergens products, which is a good sign.

Jergens vs. Popular Self-Tanners

Here's how Jergens Natural Glow compares to other popular self-tanning products in terms of potential effectiveness and healthiness, in our opinion:

St. Tropez Self Tan Express

Contains synthetic dyes Yellow 5 and Blue 1, the former of which is clinically shown to have toxicity risks and to cause hypersensitivity reactions.

Jergens wins from a healthiness perspective.

Winner: Jergens Natural Glow

DRMTLGY Tinted Moisturizer

DRMTLGY Tinted Moisturizer contains a "chemical" sunscreen ingredient which is clinically shown to be harmful both to human health and to wildlife.

We consider Jergens to have the healthier formulation.

Winner: Jergens Natural Glow

NARS Tinted Moisturizer

Contains many ingredients (both active and inactive) we consider unhealthy, such as octinoxate, BHT, fragrance and more.

Winner: Jergens Natural Glow

Our Clean Skincare Pick

MindBodyGreen Best Skin+ is our top anti-aging skin supplement.

It contains orange extract which is clinically shown to increase skin moisturization, skin elasticity and skin radiance.

This supplement also contains astaxanthin which is clinically shown to cause "wrinkle formation reduction."

This supplement is free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.

Jergens Natural Glow Pros and Cons

Pros:

• May be safer than tanning beds
• Should be effective moisturizer
• Many research-backed active ingredients
• Healthier than competitors
• Our Product Tester loved scent
• Our Product Tester appreciated tanning effect
• Affordable

Cons:

• Contains BHT
• Contains fragrance
• Doesn’t appear clinically tested
• Manufacturer faced recall over bacterial contamination of similar product

Conclusion

Jergens Natural Glow has an impressive formulation for its price.

The product contains a number of active ingredients shown in clinical trials to moisturize the skin, and its color may provide a safer alternative to tanning outdoors or tanning beds.

We do not currently recommend Jergens Natural Glow because it contains fragrance and BHT; two ingredients we consider to be questionable from a health perspective.

Our Product Tester tried Jergens Natural Glow for a month, and enjoyed both the scent and overall product effects.

The manufacturer of Jergens had to recall a different moisturizer from the market in 2022 due to bacterial contamination, but this process appears to have been resolved since and did not affect the product that’s the subject of this review, so we don't believe consumers need to worry.

This moisturizer does not appear to have been studied in any clinical trials at the time of publishing this article.

While we don't currently recommend Jergens Natural Glow, we consider it to be healthier than tinted moisturizers sold by St. Tropez, DRMTLGY and NARS.