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Whether you're battling the unforgiving winter chill, the sun's relentless rays, or simply coping with the natural ups and downs of your skin's hydration levels, the right moisturizer can be your everyday ally.
Join us on a journey through skincare as we look at the best moisturizers for dry skin. From what ingredients you should look out for, to expert advice from dermatologist Dr. Mona Gohara, this guide will help you find the best product to relieve dry skin all year round.
The overall best moisturizer for dry skin
When you’re looking for the best moisturizer for dry skin, make sure it contains at least one of the 3 fundamental types of ingredients:
- Emollients, that smooth and hydrate your skin barrier,
- Humectants, that attract water and hold it in the skin,
- Occlusives, which form a protective layer on the skin to seal in moisture.
Some of the top ingredients that should stand out skincare labels include glycerin, hyaluronic acid, shea or cocoa butter, ceramides and petroleum jelly. Glycerin and hyaluronic acid are humectants that help pull water from the environment and bind it to the skin to keep it hydrated and plump. They work in combination with cocoa and shea butter, both popular emollients. Whereas, ingredients like petrolatum and waxes are common occlusives in many beauty products.
Choose a product like Vaseline® Intensive Care™ Sensitive Skin Relief, which with its glycerin, colloidal oatmeal, and Utra-Hydrating Lipids formula helps your skin to replenish its own ceramides, making it a great overall dry skin moisturizer.
Best face moisturizers for dry skin
Once again, plumping and emollient ingredients are what you should be looking for when you search for the best facial moisturizer for dry skin. Choose formulas with ceramides and hyaluronic acid in combination with fatty acids and oils like squalane. This ingredient acts like the skin’s own protective oil to keep moisture in and promote suppleness, which works brilliantly in preventing and treating dry skin.
For even more moisturization action overnight, try slugging. This involves applying a thin layer of occlusive, like Vaseline® Original Healing Jelly, after all of your other skincare products to lock in moisture. Learn more about it in our article: What is “slugging” and how to add it to your facial skincare routine.
Dry skin on your lips
Cold, dry weather, licking your lips and sun damage are all causes of dry skin on your lips. But you can have smooth, plump lips all year round by choosing the right lip moisturizing treatment. Choose non-irritating lip balms and lipsticks that contain ingredients like ceramides, white petroleum jelly, shea butter and Vitamin E.
Try Vaseline® Lip Therapy® Advanced Healing Tube, which protects and relieves dry lips by locking in moisture and giving them a healthy, supple appearance.
Read next: Learn everything you need to know about treating dry lips here
Best Body Moisturizer for Dry Skin
Caring for dry areas like face and neck may be more obvious as they are on display. However, we know all our body parts needs care. “Make sure to give equal love to all body parts including elbows, knees, and heels” says Dr. Gohara.
If you don’t know what to choose between lotion and cream, seasonality is key. Lotions are perfect for warmer months as they’re lighter on the skin, helping to keep it refreshed and hydrated. Vice versa, body cream for dry skin is preferable in colder months when you need extra thickness to retain moisture.
When choosing a body moisturizer for dry skin, keep looking out for ingredients such as ceramides, hyaluronic acid or cocoa butter. Why not try Vaseline® Intensive Care™ Cocoa Radiant® Lotion, which has a non-greasy formula made Ultra-Hydrating Lipids and cocoa butter that gives dull, dry skin an immediate radiant glow?
Dry skin on your hands
Even hands aren’t immune to changes in the weather and the environment and can become dry. Frequent hand washing, changes in temperature, sun exposure or chemicals including hand sanitizer can dry out the skin on your hands. Luckily, a good dry skin cream can work wonders.
Dermatologists recommend applying hand cream after washing your hands to nourish and lock in moisture, so try a handy bag-sized solution like Vaseline Radiant® X Deep Nourishment Hand Butter to moisturize your skin wherever you go.
If your skin is extremely dry, you can also try an overnight hand slugging treatment. Apply a copious amount of moisturizer on your hands, apply a thin layer of Vaseline® Original Healing Jelly, then wear socks or gloves to help the intense moisture be absorbed while you sleep.
Read next: Caring for your hands: how to tackle dry skin on hands
Expert advice on caring for dry skin
How to tell if your skin is dry or dehydrated
The first thing to keep in mind is that dry skin and dehydrated skin are not the same thing. Dry skin lacks the oils to hold moisture or has dried out due to environmental factors, while dehydrated skin isn’t getting enough hydration from inside the body.
Dry skin is not the same as dehydrated skin. Dry skin can leave your skin feeling itchy and flaky. On the other hand, dehydrated skin usually manifests through skin dryness, dullness, and lack of skin elasticity.
A great way to tell if you have dry or dehydrated skin is the pinch test:
- Pinch a bit of skin from your cheeks, back of your hand or chest and hold for a few seconds
- If your skin snaps back quickly, it’s likely that you are not dehydrated
- The more it takes for your skin to get back to normal, the higher are the chances your skin is dehydrated.
If your skin starts feeling painful to the touch and develops a rough texture, contact a dermatologist for their advice.
Can you rehydrate severely dry skin?
Severely dry skin can manifest through various symptoms, including roughness to the touch, itchiness, cracks in the texture and even bleeding.
Some tips to relieve this condition include applying a moisturizer rich in ceramides or petroleum jelly like our Vaseline® Clinical Care™ Extremely Dry Skin Rescue Lotion.
However, severely dry skin can be a sign of a serious condition, so a visit to a dermatologist who can find the causes and create a treatment plan is recommended.
Should you change your moisturizer for winter?
During the winter months, your skin faces the challenge of cold, dry air outside and heated air inside. All these factors can dry out skin and exacerbate skin conditions. That’s why it’s recommended to switch to a richer body and facial moisturizer for dry skin in winter that can hydrate the skin more effectively.
And don’t forget your SPF (at least 30)! The cold doesn’t mean you can forget about sun protection.
What do dermatologists recommend for extremely dry skin?
There are some simple changes you can make in your daily life to relieve and combat dry skin. Here are some tips from Dr Gohara to implement in your skincare routine:
- Choose the right cleanser: Harsh cleansers can strip the skin of its natural barrier of proteins and lipids. This means water evaporates more easily and irritants can enter the skin, causing itchiness, dryness and in some cases inflammation. Choose hydrating cleansers, bonus points if they feature ceramides or other natural lipids and proteins.
- Lower your shower time: long showers may be good for the soul but they’re not ideal for the skin. Choose warm – not hot – showers that last around 5-8 minutes. And try to moisturize your skin within 5 minutes of getting out of the shower.
- Don’t slack on hydration: this might be the simplest step, but drinking lots of water is essential to keep your skin hydrated.
- Don’t over over-exfoliate: overusing chemicals or mechanical exfoliators is a one-way ticket to “Dryskinville”. Over-exfoliation, in fact, strips the healthy cells of your skin and damages its barrier.
- Use moisturisers and lotions: these products are your allies to keep your skin hydrated. “For optimal moisturization, look for humectants like glycerin and hyaluronic acid, occlusives such as petroleum jelly or squalene and emollients such as shea, or cocoa butter” says Dr. Gohara.
What is the best ingredient for extremely dry skin?
Although there isn’t one magic ingredient that can relieve extremely dry skin, there are a few that you should always look for on the search for the best dry skin moisturizers:
Ceramides: they’re one of the most popular skin care ingredients. Ceramides are lipids that are naturally found in human skin and play a key role in protecting the skin barrier, and when you choose Vaseline’s Ultra Hydrating Lipids, you can help your skin replenish its own ceramides.
Glycerin: it’s a colourless and odourless ingredient that’s been used in beauty products for decades. It’s a powerful humectant that binds with the water in the air to keep your skin hydrated and helps soften it
Shea and Cocoa Butter: are rich in fatty acids and antioxidants, making them effective at softening and nourishing extremely dry skin.
Petroleum Jelly: an excellent ingredient that can soothe irritated skin as well as form a protective barrier, helping to keep moisture locked in.
Many moisturizers for dry skin contain two or more of these ingredients for a super effective formula.
Best moisturizer products and ingredients for specific dry skin complaints
Best moisturizer for sensitive, dry skin
Co-created with dermatologists, Vaseline® Intensive Care™ Sensitive Skin Relief contains colloidal oatmeal and Ultra-Hydrating Lipids that will help soothe sensitive, dry skin from the first use.
Best moisturizer for extremely dry skin
This dermatologically tested body lotion created to revitalise and repair extremely dry skin. Its formula contains Vaseline® Jelly droplets alongside Ultra-Hydrating Lipids, a powerful duo that helps fortifying the skin barrier and replenish it. It’s non-greasy and unscented, perfect for daily use.
Best moisturizer for dry skin and eczema
Eczema is a common skin condition that manifests through dry patches of skin across your body. If you suffer from eczema, try Vaseline ® Healing Jelly. Its hypoallergenic formula is designed to help heal damaged, cracked and dry skin with guaranteed relief.
Read Next: Tips on How to Treat Eczema and Relieve Dry Skin
Best night cream for dry skin
With its lavender-infused formula, Vaseline® Intensive Care™ Calm Healing Lotion is the perfect pre-bed pamper to calm and restore dry skin overnight.
Best Healing Moisturizer for Dry Skin
Heal dry skin from within with Vaseline® Intensive Care™ Nourishing Moisture Lotion. Thanks to its Oat Extract formula, it helps replenish dry skin and provides deep, long-lasting moisture for up to 48h.
As we conclude this guide to finding the best moisturizer for dry skin, remember that your skin is unique and finding the perfect match might require some experimentation. So go ahead and try different formulas and ingredient combination, and don’t hesitate to ask your dermatologist for help.
These articles provide general tips and information about improving skin health. They have been written by health and beauty writers. They have not been written by health care professionals and, as such, don’t constitute medical advice. If you have a serious skin condition, please consult a medical professional.
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