Products for Dry Skin: Two Lists, and Where They Contradict Your Other Advice

Nothing here is hands-on tested. The American Academy of Dermatology publishes two short lists for dry skin, one of ingredients to look for and one of things to stop using, and between them they settle most of what products for dry skin need to be. They also disagree, in two specific places, with advice this site and others give elsewhere. Those two disagreements are the useful part of this page.

Start with the list you can take to a shelf.

What ingredients are good for dry skin

The AAD's instruction is to choose by form first, then check for any of nine ingredients. On form: Ointments and creams add more moisture to skin and are more effective than lotions. Then Look for a cream or ointment that contains one or more of the following ingredients:

• Jojoba oil
• Dimethicone
• Glycerin
• Hyaluronic acid
• Lactic acid
• Lanolin
• Mineral oil
• Petrolatum
• Shea butter

One or more, not all nine. That is a lower bar than the category implies, and it is why the AAD can say plainly that The truth is you may already have the product(s) you need at home.

Does petroleum jelly help dry skin? It is on the list twice over, since petrolatum is petroleum jelly, and the AAD names the product itself for one job specifically: To keep dry lips hydrated, apply lip balm or petroleum jelly. It is also the cheapest thing on the list by a wide margin. If color is part of the daily routine too, how to choose a lipstick covers which finishes make chapped lips worse and which ones do not.

The nine split into three jobs rather than nine choices. Glycerin, hyaluronic acid and lactic acid attract and hold water. Petrolatum, mineral oil, dimethicone and lanolin slow its escape. Jojoba oil and shea butter soften. Skincare ingredient types covers how those classes divide and why a product usually needs more than one of them.

If the dryness is severe enough that skin is splitting rather than tight, this is the wrong page and products for very dry skin is the right one, since the form decision changes at that end.

And if only part of your face is dry while the center stays shiny, the answer is placement rather than product: products for combination skin covers which form belongs on which zone.

The stop list

Three categories, and the AAD does not hedge on any of them. Its instruction is to Stop using skin care products that contain any of the following:

• Alcohol, with hand sanitizer excepted
• Fragrance, including deodorant soaps
• Retinoids

On the second, the AAD is specific about which products people miss: Some skin care products, such as deodorant soaps, are too harsh for dry, sensitive skin. The labeling trap that follows, where "unscented" and "fragrance-free" mean different things, is covered in products for sensitive skin.

The third one is the one people argue with, and it gets its own section below.

There is a fourth thing to be careful with, and it is the one bought in desperation. On anti-itch creams, the AAD's advice is to ask a dermatologist first, because Many of these products contain ingredients that can irritate your overly dry skin, making the dryness and itch worse.

The ten minutes around a shower

More of this is decided by what happens in the bathroom than by what is in the jar, and the AAD's numbers are specific.

Length and temperature. Limit baths and showers to five to ten minutes, using warm water. How long should a shower be for dry skin has an actual published answer, and warm rather than hot is doing as much work as the clock.

The door. A detail that costs nothing: Close your bathroom door while showering to help hydrate your skin more.

How much cleanser, and where. The AAD asks for restraint on both: Apply enough cleanser to remove dirt and oil but avoid using so much that you see a thick lather, and Use the cleanser only where you need it, such as your armpits or groin area.

Shaving order. Shave at the end of your shower or bath. The water makes your skin and hair softer and less likely to get irritated by shaving.

Drying. Patting rather than rubbing: To dry off after bathing, gently pat your skin with a clean, dry towel.

Then the timing that matters most. When you finish your shower or bath, gently pat your skin dry and immediately apply your fragrance-free moisturizer, and more generally Be sure to apply your moisturizer when your skin is still damp after taking a shower or bath, after washing your hands, and when your skin feels dry.

Damp skin, not dry skin. It is the single instruction most often skipped, and it is free.

Two things outside the bathroom belong here. A humidifier for dry skin comes with placement instructions and a maintenance warning: If you use a portable humidifier, place it in your bedroom and run it while you sleep. Clean your humidifier regularly to prevent mold. And clothing counts: Tight clothes, such as leggings and body-hugging jeans, rub against your skin, which can worsen dry skin, with wool and polyester worn against the skin named as irritating too.

Why hands go first

They are the part of this most people notice first and treat last. The AAD says so directly: Our hands are often the first place we notice dry skin.

Dry hands from washing, dishwashing and outdoor work are the same problem repeating: If you wash dishes, garden, or immerse your hands in water throughout the day, you can worsen your already dry skin. The AAD's answer is gloves, both against water and against cold dry air in winter. The feet are the other end of the same problem and the one place the AAD's dry-skin advice comes with a urea range and a bedtime step; that routine, and the point at which a cracked heel stops being a cream question, is in cracked heels.

For the washing you cannot avoid, the instruction is logistical rather than pharmacological: To relieve dry hands, carry a non-greasy hand cream with you and apply it after each hand washing. Carrying it is the hard part, which is presumably why the AAD says to carry it rather than to buy a better one.

FAQ

What ingredients are good for dry skin? The AAD names nine to look for in a cream or ointment: jojoba oil, dimethicone, glycerin, hyaluronic acid, lactic acid, lanolin, mineral oil, petrolatum and shea butter. One or more of them is the stated bar, not all of them.

Does petroleum jelly help dry skin? Yes, and it appears on the AAD's list as petrolatum. The AAD also names petroleum jelly specifically for keeping dry lips hydrated.

How long should a shower be for dry skin? Five to ten minutes, in warm rather than hot water, with the bathroom door closed.

Is lotion enough? Often not. The AAD's position is that ointments and creams add more moisture and are more effective than lotions, so lotion is the weakest of the three for skin that is genuinely dry.

What should I stop using? Products containing alcohol, apart from hand sanitizer; fragrance, including deodorant soaps; and retinoids.

Should I buy an anti-itch cream? Ask first. The AAD notes that many contain ingredients that irritate overly dry skin and can make both the dryness and the itch worse.

Does a humidifier help dry skin? The AAD includes one in its tips, with two conditions: put a portable one in the bedroom and run it overnight, and clean it regularly so it does not grow mold.

Choosing products for dry skin without buying anything new

Read the two lists together and the shopping list gets short. A cream or ointment carrying one of the nine. A gentle cleanser used sparingly and only where needed. Petroleum jelly for lips. A non-greasy hand cream that lives in a bag rather than in a bathroom.

Everything else on the AAD's list is a change of behavior with no purchase attached: a shorter shower, a closed door, a towel patted rather than dragged, moisturizer applied while skin is still damp, gloves for the sink, looser clothing, a humidifier you already own if you own one.

That is the honest shape of this category. The products are cheap and the instructions are free, and the reason dry skin persists is rarely that someone bought the wrong jar.

When to see a dermatologist

If the tips do not work. The AAD's own threshold, and it names why: Your overly dry skin may be due to an underlying medical condition, listing atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and kidney disease.

If moisturizer hurts. The AAD asks patients to report this specifically: Does anything you apply to your skin (including moisturizer) cause burning, stinging, or irritation? Tell your dermatologist.

If the skin is cracked or bleeding, which is past this page. When to see a dermatologist sets out the thresholds.

Where products for dry skin advice contradicts itself

Two entries on those lists sit against advice you will find elsewhere, including on this site. Neither source is wrong; they are answering different questions, and knowing which question you are in decides which to follow.

Lactic acid appears on both a to-look-for list and an irritant list. The AAD names it among the nine ingredients to seek in a moisturizer. DermNet, describing the sensory irritation that gets called sensitive skin, names it among the common causes, as covered in products for sensitive skin. Both are accurate. Lactic acid is a humectant that holds water and a keratolytic that lifts scale, and it stings a subset of people. If your skin is dry and comfortable, it is a reasonable ingredient. If your skin is dry and stings on things, it is the first of the nine to skip.

Retinoids are on the stop list, and elsewhere they are the most evidenced thing in the aisle. The AAD's instruction here is aimed at skin that is currently overly dry, not at retinoids in general. Retinol covers what they do and how tolerance is built, and the two positions reconcile in the obvious order: repair the dryness first, reintroduce afterward, more slowly than before.

The general rule underneath both is that ingredient advice is conditional on the state your skin is in, which is why a list of good ingredients is less useful than it looks. Products for dry skin are chosen for skin that is dry right now, and that is a state you can expect to leave.