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 shown in medical studies to have a moisturizing effect? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Why did the brand recall several lots of a similar product? And is Jergens Natural Glow better or worse than popular self-tanners like DRMTLGY Tinted Moisturizer?
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, 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.
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.
How to Self Tan Safely
A dermatologist and popular YouTube creator named “Dr Dray” shares insights on how to self tan safely in a video with over 190,000 views that features Jergens Natural Glow:
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
- Affordable
Cons:
- Contains BHT
- Contains fragrance
- Doesn’t appear clinically tested
- Manufacturer faced recall over bacterial contamination of similar product
