Sephora

Anonymous · ‎01-04-2021

Happy new year to all!! Let’s start off the new year with strong healthy mindsets and skin. My challenge is what are the best moisturizers for super dry skin. I travel a lot and my skin is always super dry. It’s also winter wich never helps. Let me know. Type away!!

WinglessOne · ‎01-05-2021

Happy new year, @Anonymous ! Whichever moisturizer you choose, always apply it while your skin's damp. Give your moisturizer some hydration to seal into your skin.

On my finicky mostly-dry combo skin, I mostly use Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer day and night. It hits all items on my skin's moisturization wish list:

Spoiler

Occlusive (hydration-sealing) ingredient: squalane
Emollient ingredients: squalane, hydrogenated lecithin (which can also prevent hydration loss)
Ceramides
Humectants: hyaluronic acid and glycerin
Cholesterol: phytosterols
Antioxidant: carnosine
Lightweight feel, but not thin/watery
Doesn't swamp my oily zone
Very effective on all my dry zones

Occlusive (hydration-sealing) ingredient: squalane Emollient ingredients: squalane, hydrogenated lecithin (which can also prevent hydration loss) Ceramides Humectants: hyaluronic acid and glycerin Cholesterol: phytosterols Antioxidant: carnosine Lightweight feel, but not thin/watery Doesn't swamp my oily zone Very effective on all my dry zones

If I'm going out into very frigid Chicago winter weather, I top that moisturizer with a thick petrolatum-based balm to protect parts of my face from subzero windchill and boost occlusivity. My favorite balms for this are Aquaphor Ointment and CeraVe Healing Ointment. I also use one of those balms whenever I have dry flaky patches of skin irritation, or whenever my moisture barrier is broken.

If the weather's below freezing but not subzero, I use a lighter weight petrolatum-based body lotion as my facial moisturizer. My current favorites are Aveeno Eczema Therapy Daily Moisturizing Cream and Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion. I also use the latter as my daily body lotion. (I used to use the non-baby version of that lotion on my body, but I recently discovered the baby version has the same ingredients plus allantoin, a skin soothing ingredient.)

Other moisturizers to consider:

Spoiler

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream
CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion
Vanicream Moisturizing Cream
Youth To The People Adaptogen Deep Moisture Cream with Ashwagandha + Reishi 2 oz/ 60 mL (my skin's not fond of this one, but it works well for some folks)
Drunk Elephant Lala Retro™ Nourishing Whipped Refillable Moisturizer 1.69 oz/ 50 mL (one of the only 2 DE products my skin tolerates)
Youth To The People Superfood Air-Whip Lightweight Face Moisturizer with Hyaluronic Acid 2 oz / 59 mL (my former favorite I can no longer use—but if your skin's not sensitive to fragrance and fragrance components, this is a good option)

You can also layer a facial oil under or over a moisturizer. Not all oils are occlusive, though. Squalane, sunflower, safflower, marula, and argan oils are good options.

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion Vanicream Moisturizing Cream (my skin's not fond of this one, but it works well for some folks) (one of the only 2 DE products my skin tolerates) (my former favorite I can no longer use—but if your skin's not sensitive to fragrance and fragrance components, this is a good option) You can also layer a facial oil under or over a moisturizer. Not all oils are occlusive, though. Squalane, sunflower, safflower, marula, and argan oils are good options.