The Dewy Skin Cream is a moisturizing cream sold by popular cosmetics brand Tatcha. The brand claims their product provides a “dewy, healthy glow” and that after two weeks of use, 100% of participants in a trial experienced improved skin hydration.

But does Dewy Skin Cream contain ingredients proven to increase skin hydration? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? And is Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream better or worse than popular moisturizers like Bubble Moisturizer?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream to give our take on whether or not the product is likely to be effective as a facial skin moisturizer, and whether or not it's healthy.

We'll also compare Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream to other popular moisturizers to pick our winners (and losers).

Key takeaways:

• Contains many active ingredients with research backing as moisturizers
• Contains several inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
• We do not currently recommend Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream are shown below: 

Some of the active ingredients have research backing for skin hydration and skin quality improvements.

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.

Rice ferments and rice extract may have an anti-aging effect on skin according to a 2021 clinical trial, but this was an in vitro (test tube) trial which makes the results weaker.

Sodium hyaluronate is one of the most effective anti-aging ingredients. As we referenced in our Brazilian Bum Bum Cream review article, this ingredient is clinically shown to reduce wrinkle depth.

Chondrus crispus extract, more commonly referred to as Irish moss extract, is a type of seaweed. A medical review published in the Marine Drugs journal found that seaweed may have an anti-photoaging effect when applied topically, meaning it can help protect skin from UV damage.

Panax ginseng extract, also referred to as red ginseng extract, was shown in a 2017 medical review to have a potent anti-aging effect.

The study authors described the effects of ginseng on visible signs of aging like wrinkles: “...remarkably improved with red ginseng administration. ginsenoside Rb1 reduced the increase in skin wrinkling.”

There are some inactive ingredients in this formulation that we consider unhealthy.

Violet 2 is an artificial dye, and we consider it questionable that the brand references “purple rice” in their marketing when it appears that a synthetic dye is primarily responsible for the product’s color.

A 2015 medical review documents how artificial dyes can be absorbed through the skin, and how these compounds may have toxic effects in the body.

Fragrance is included, and as we documented in our review of another skincare brand using this ingredient called Monat, fragrance is clinically shown to have toxic effects in humans and to the environment.

Citral, limonene and linalool are additional fragrance ingredients. These are known potential skin allergens.

Phenoxyethanol and sodium benzoate are preservatives, the first of which was shown in a 2020 clinical trial to be toxic to human cells.

Overall, we consider Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream likely to be effective for moisturizing skin and for reducing wrinkles, but we don’t currently recommend the product due to the inactive ingredients highlighted above.

Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream vs. Popular Moisturizers

Here's how Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream compares to other popular moisturizers in terms of potential effectiveness and healthiness, in our opinion:

Bubble Moisturizer

Contains avocado oil, which is clinically shown to moisturize and heal damaged skin.

Both products should be equivalently effective, so we give Bubble Moisturizer the edge, because it only has one inactive ingredient we consider unhealthy.

Winner: Bubble Moisturizer

itk Skincare Prebiotic Gel Moisturizer

Contains aloe vera leaf juice which is clinically shown to moisturize skin, as we documented in our itk Skincare review article.

Contains three synthetic preservatives, but is fragrance-and-dye-free, so we give itk the edge from a healthiness perspective.

Winner: itk Skincare Prebiotic Gel Moisturizer

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream

Highly potent formulation which is free from synthetic dyes and fragrance.

Winner: CeraVe Moisturizing Cream

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.

Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Many effective active ingredients
• Should moisturize facial skin
• Should reduce wrinkles
• Very positive online customer reviews
• Contains unique active ingredients not found in many other formulations

Cons:

• Contains fragrance
• Contains artificial dye
• Contains synthetic preservatives
• Expensive

Conclusion

Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream is likely to be an effective moisturizer. It contains many research-backed active ingredients not only for moisturization but also for anti-aging.

From an efficacy perspective, we consider this to be an above-average formulation.

We do not currently recommend Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream due to the inclusion of inactive ingredients we deem questionable from a health perspective, such as fragrance and artificial dye. 

We also consider it to be questionable from a marketing standpoint that Tatcha suggests that purple rice gives their cream its color, while their formulation contains a synthetic purple dye.

We consider Bubble Moisturizer, itk Skincare Prebiotic Gel Moisturizer and CeraVe Moisturizing Cream to be healthier choices than Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream.