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If you have dry skin, you know the agony of finding a new moisturizer, only for it to do nothing for your dehydrated skin. The key here is ultrahydrating ingredients like glycerin and hyaluronic acid along with a thick texture that helps to lock everything in.
I’ve become a dry-skin hydration expert thanks to years of hands-on testing since I also experience seasonal dryness. I’ve also spoken to nearly a dozen dermatologists to discover their recommendations. I’ll get into what exactly you should look for in a moisturizer, like ingredients and texture, below. And after that, there are the 12 very best dry-skin moisturizers I could find — you’ll definitely see some Strategist classics in the list. Or, if you’re already clear on what you’re looking for, use the table of contents to jump to a specific section. (Note that I’m primarily referring to the skin on your face in this guide; if you have dry skin on your body, consult our guide to body lotions.)
Updated on December 6, 2024: Updated prices and checked stock for all other products.
What we’re looking for
Texture
“Goopy and greasy creams and ointments are your best friend if you have dry skin, because they are oil-based, have a thicker consistency, and provide more hydration than lotions,” says Noelani Gonzalez, the director of cosmetic dermatology at Mount Sinai West. You may be able to get away with using a lighter lotion in the summer, especially if it does have powerful hydrating ingredients, but typically for those who have year-round dryness or a condition like eczema, a thick moisturizer or ointment needs to be a staple in your routine.
Base
If you have dry skin, that typically means your skin lacks the ability to create enough oil to hydrate itself. An easy solution? An oil-based moisturizer, which will add back in that oil your skin needs. It’ll be easy to spot that in the ingredient list since you’ll quite literally see the word oil. But there are other options, too; one is using a moisturizer with a petroleum-jelly base, which you probably know best as the gooey stuff that makes up Vaseline. Petroleum jelly seals in moisture and protects the skin from future environmental stressors, and it’s especially beneficial for people who suffer from eczema because the thick, protective layer helps to relieve itchiness and inflammation that occurs. Water is another common base for moisturizer, if you want something that’s oil- or petroleum-free — but if you’re using one of those, you want to keep a close eye on the added ingredients, since those will make the formula hydrating, rather than the base itself.
Active ingredients
Ideally, your moisturizer should also have a mixture of emollients, like ceramides, to repair the skin barrier, and humectants, like glycerin and hyaluronic acid, to draw and seal moisture into the skin. They’re not necessarily required in order to have a high-functioning moisturizer — especially if you’re starting with an oil or petroleum base — but they sure do help and are easy to find in lots of formulas.
Best moisturizer for dry skin overall
Texture: Rich cream | Base: Water-based | Active ingredients: Glycerin, hyaluronic acid, ceramides
My top pick for dry skin is also my overall pick for body lotion (and personal go-to). My skin is sensitive to fragrance, and I struggle with seasonal eczema due to dryness. The texture is thick but not super-rich, and the creamy texture feels luxe given the price point. At $18 a tub, it’s affordable enough that you don’t have to be precious about how much you slather on. I also like the ingredients. Ceramides are key for a healthy skin barrier and when applied topically, it helps to boost moisture levels and repair skin. It also contains glycerin and hyaluronic acid, staples in moisturizers formulated for dry skin. Glycerin is a humectant that pulls water into the skin and hyaluronic increases skin’s flexibility and elasticity while also boosting hydration. Because of its fairly simple ingredient list and mass availability (you can find it at most drugstores), it’s a good option for just about anyone needing a dependable option.
Best splurge-worthy moisturizer for dry skin
Texture: Cream | Base: Water-based | Active ingredients: Glycerin, urea, amino acids, ceramides, plant-derived lipid complex
If you have a bit more money in the budget for a moisturizer, I’d recommend splurging on Instant Angel from Dieux. It’s my desert island moisturizer, striking the hard-to-achieve balance of being rich but not greasy and imparting a telltale glow to my skin. It has kept me moisturized longer than some of my heavier creams and carried me through the coldest days of winter and warm summery days, too. I also like the cocktail of ingredients: Instant Angel contains a blend of ceramides, glycerin, fatty acids, urea, squalene, and peptides, all of which work together to support a healthy skin barrier. The convenient squeeze tube crinkles attractively the more you use it, and it comes with a little metal tool to help you get out every last drop of product.
Best lightweight moisturizers for dry skin
Texture: Light cream | Base: Water-based | Active ingredients: Glycerin, shea butter, açai, peptides, niacinamide
I like to rotate my moisturizers seasonally, opting for thicker textures in the winter and lighter formulas in the summer. That brings me to the Rhode Barrier Restore cream, which manages to be both moisturizing and rich without feeling too heavy. After using it for a few weeks in conjunction with the brand’s glazing fluid, I noticed that my skin felt soft and moisturized and didn’t look dry as quickly. Its thickness falls somewhere between La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair — my top pick for dry, acne-prone skin, below, which has an almost lotion-y feel — and my beloved Instant Angel, a thicker cream. It’s filled with nourishing ingredients like shea butter and squalene, a lightweight oil that mimics the naturally occurring lipid in your skin. There’s also peptides, which support the skin’s structure, and brightening niacinamide along with açai, an antioxidant that helps to protect skin from free radicals.
Texture: Light cream | Base: Water-based | Active ingredients: Glycerin, triple lipid complex, peptides
I’ve also been loving the Futurewise moisturizer, which I picked up in the middle of summer and haven’t put back down. I’ve been recommending the brand’s balm for a while (it’s an noncomedogenic occlusive that’s great for locking in moisture), and I’d previously paired the two, but recently I’ve been using the moisturizer on its own and I’ve been thrilled with the results. It’s a little lighter than the Rhode formula but no less moisturizing. Its main ingredients are plant-derived triple lipid complex and peptides — two ingredients I love in an everyday moisturizer. It doesn’t have butters and oils like the Rhode formula, so while that one hasn’t given me any issues and claims to be comedogenic, this might bode better for acne-prone skin. I also like the packaging. It’s rare to find a moisturizer with a pump, and this one has a nice juicy one that deposits enough product for the face and neck. You won’t get that ultrarich finish like the Dieux Instant Angel, but if you’re looking for a lightweight moisturizer, the thinner feel is part of the point.
Best moisturizer for extremely dry skin
Texture: Ointment | Base: Petroleum-based | Active ingredient: Glycerin
There are those with skin that tends to get parched and flaky, particularly in the winter months, and then there are those whose skin is so dry it can actually look scaly and, as a result, is exceptionally hard to nourish. If you’re in the latter category, I recommend Aquaphor, which has carried me through many winter eczema flares. It’s the go-to for occlusives, slightly edging out the similarly formulated Vaseline because it also contains glycerin, which can help repair a damaged skin barrier. Aquaphor is also frequently recommended by dermatologists, who have suggested it for everything from Accutane–induced dryness to eczema. Dr. Susan Binder and Dr. Katelyn Woolridge of Westlake Dermatology are both fans. “Ointments are the best at fortifying the skin barrier and locking in moisture,” says Woolridge, and Aquaphor does just that. Binder warns that “it can be a bit greasy” but thinks it’s “great when used immediately after the shower or bath to lock in moisture and help heal dry, cracked skin.” It’s also fragrance-free, making it a good option for those with sensitive skin as well.
Best “clean” moisturizer for extremely dry skin
Lots of products designed for ultradry skin contain petroleum jelly because it’s super occlusive and very effective. If you’re hoping to avoid the ingredient, I recommend this Slug Balm from Futurewise, which has become a staple in my nighttime routine. It uses plant-derived oils to create that thick barrier, and despite being an occlusive, it isn’t extremely goopy and greasy. It also contains a lipid complex, which helps to fortify the skin’s barrier. After using it almost nightly for a few months, my skin feels like I locked in an added layer of moisture, and I wake up feeling like that moisture stayed put overnight. I pair it with the brand’s barrier cream (also good for dry skin) and have found that my skin looks plump and healthy.
Best moisturizer for sensitive dry skin
Texture: Cream | Base: Petroleum-based | Active ingredients: Ceramides
For the ultrasensitive, I often recommend Vanicream, which formulates without anything sensitizing without sacrificing moisture. The main active in the skin cream is ceramides, which help to fortify the barrier and lock in moisture. Dr. Ife Rodney, founding director of Eternal Dermatology + Aesthetics, calls this Vanicream moisturizer “ideal” because it’s formulated specifically for sensitive skin, so it’s “free of lanolin, formaldehyde, parabens, and fragrances that commonly irritate dry, sensitive skin.” Even though I’ve recommended Vanicream as a solution for extremely dry skin before, it’s just as effective and gentle for your face. My fellow Strategist writer Lauren Ro has this to say: “I was immediately impressed with how luxurious and rich the cream felt on my skin — and surprised by how easily it spread.”
Best moisturizer for dry acne-prone skin
Texture: Cream | Base: Water-based | Active ingredients: Glycerin, hyaluronic acid, ceramides
French drugstore brand La Roche-Posay has a strong following (I am an acolyte), and every product is formulated with selenium-rich spring water, known for helping with skin damage and inflammation. As a sensitive-skin type, I’ve known about its Toleriane line for years. It’s great for dry skin, and the double-repair moisturizer is a classic for a reason. It’s a bit lighter than Cerave’s moisturizing cream and less rich than Dieux Skin’s Instant Angel, but this is actually a good thing if you have acne-prone skin, which can be triggered by too-heavy products. Dr. Hope Mitchell, a board-certified dermatologist in Perrysburg, Ohio, also likes Double Repair for acne-prone skin, especially if you’re treating your acne with drying ingredients like benzoyl peroxide. “With dimethicone, soothing niacinamide, water-attracting glycerin, and hydrating ceramides,” it’s “perfect for hydrating dry skin associated with redness,” she says. It’s also a nice option for those with combination skin. Another bonus, it contains SPF 30 to help protect skin from environmental damage and UV rays.
Best gel-cream moisturizer for dry skin
Texture: Gel-Cream | Base: Water-based | Active ingredients: Glycerin, hyaluronic acid
The Hydro Boost moisturizer is a house classic here at the Strategist. I’ve written about it in posts for oily skin, Accutane users, and now dry skin. (Our readers love it too: It has been on best-sellers lists over ten times.) This product is good for everyone because it has universally beneficial star ingredients: hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Gel textures are typically targeted toward those with normal or oily skin, but this cream is actually perfect for dry skin, and it works pretty quickly according to dermatologists. I’ve been told it delivers hydrated skin after about a week of use. The gel texture also means that it smoothly disappears into the skin, so it can be worn alone or under makeup. We’ve also recommended this product for mature skin, sunburned skin, and even for pregnant women, because it’s so hydrating and gentle.
Best clean moisturizer for dry skin
Texture: Cream | Base: Oil-based | Active ingredients: None
For those looking to keep their skin-care routine as “clean” as possible with actually effective products, Weleda Skin Food, which contains all natural ingredients, was recommended to me by everyone from makeup artists to former Strategist writers to author Stephanie Danler. “My skin was flawless, luminous even, and not at all greasy,” Danler told us after trying it for the first time. Weleda brands the balmlike cream as a natural remedy for excessively dry skin (though it does offer a light version for the summer or those who need less help). Although it doesn’t feature ingredients like hyaluronic acid and ceramides that I’ve called out before, it is chock-full of fatty acids and vitamin E, which naturally moisturize and soften the skin. On top of that, pansy soothes irritation while the calendula flower extract helps to repair the damaged skin.
Best night cream for dry skin
Texture: Cream | Base: Water-based | Active ingredients: Glycerin, hyaluronic acid, ceramides
This moisturizing lotion is full of the ingredients needed to soothe dry, irritated skin, such as ceramides and hyaluronic acid. It has a thinner consistency than the cream, and it has the added benefit of a pump format. I like that it’s nourishing without being pore clogging: I recently added it into my rotation after a dermaplane session gone wrong and was pleasantly surprised. Most of my other go-tos stinged a bit, but this soothed my angry skin. A peek at the ingredients list explained it: “These ingredients hold cells together and strengthen the skin’s barrier, protecting it from water loss and influx of irritants as well as offer continuous 24-hour maximum hydration while soothing the skin,” says Mitchell. It also includes niacinamide, which acts as an anti-inflammatory to calm down any redness and tenderness in the dry areas of skin. On top of healing the skin, it’s also “lightweight, noncomedogenic, so it won’t clog pores, and oil-free,” which Mitchell calls “a triple bang for your buck.” And though it’s labeled as a nighttime moisturizer, you don’t necessarily have to just use it at night, but that’s when you’ll probably see the most results.
Best anti-aging moisturizer for dry skin
Texture: Cream | Base: Oil-based | Active ingredients: Glycerin, ceramides
This SkinCeuticals moisturizer has an ultrathick, rich feel, which felt a bit heavy on my skin but was perfect for my mom, who deals with increased dryness as she ages. She loves this stuff and has told me her skin feels supple, healthy, and smooth. It makes sense, given that it’s specifically designed to target signs of aging. It’s infused with specific lipids — like natural cholesterol, pure ceramides, and fatty acids — that are naturally depleted in the skin over time. Adding these lipids back in can “help reinforce the skin’s barrier and help the skin retain moisture,” says Dr. Deanne Mraz Robinson, a partner at Modern Dermatology and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Yale New Haven Hospital.
Best moisturizer for eczema
Texture: Cream | Base: Oil-based | Active ingredients: Glycerin, colloidal oatmeal, ceramides
I’ve found that the key difference between products for simply dry skin, and those designed for eczema is that the latter typically include calming and anti-inflammatory ingredients, which makes sense given that a core characteristic of eczema is skin inflammation. The hero ingredient of this Aveeno cream is colloidal oatmeal, which is naturally anti-inflammatory and will help soothe any flare-ups. It also contains ceramides, which Dr. Nazarian told me improves the quality of skin with continued use. Aveeno’s eczema-therapy line has been recommended to me by multiple dermatologists for body lotions and eczema-specific treatments, especially this itch-relief balm. I used this balm for a few nights on some itchy areas of my face and body and was pleasantly surprised at how soothing it was. It also has an interesting consistency, somewhere between a lotion and a balm, and feels like a thin ointment once it dries down.
Best moisturizer for hyperpigmentation
Texture: Cream | Base: Water-based | Active ingredients: Glycerin, niacinamide, peptides, ceramides
Fading hyperpigmentation can be difficult, which is why I always recommend a multipronged approach — a mix of brightening and exfoliating actives that encourages cell turnover and lighten dark marks. I’ve gone through a tub of this niacinamide-infused moisturizer from Eadem, which helped to lighten some post-acne scarring around my chin. It also contains ceramides (great for supporting the skin’s barrier) and peptides, which help to fortify the skin and combat everything from wrinkles to inflammation.
Some more skin-care products for dry skin we’ve written about
Our experts
• Dr. Susan Binder, founder of Binder Dermatology
• Noelani Gonzalez, the director of cosmetic dermatology at Mount Sinai West
• Dr. Hadley King, clinical instructor of dermatology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University
• Dr. Rita Linkner, founder of RVL Skincare
• Dr. Hope Mitchell, a board-certified dermatologist in Perrysburg, Ohio
• Dr. Rachel Nazarian, assistant clinical professor at Mount Sinai Hospital
• Dr. Deanne Mraz Robinson, a partner at Modern Dermatology and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Yale New Haven Hospital
• Dr. Ife Rodney, founding director of Eternal Dermatology + Aesthetics
• Dr. Katelyn Woolridge of Westlake Dermatology
• Kim Zimmerman, of Rescue Spa in Philadelphia
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