Best face moisturizer for dry skin dermatologist recommended

The 13 Dermatologist-Approved Moisturizers That Your Dry Skin Will Love

LaylaBird / Getty Images

Shopping for the best moisturizer for dry skin can make you feel like Goldilocks browsing through the porridge aisle: There are plenty of options, but very few feel just right. You might think people with dry skin types would have an easy time finding a quality face moisturizer that works for them, considering how important moisturizer is in preventing crucial water loss, and thus keeping skin happy and healthy. In reality, moisturizing is an important step in everyone’s skin-care routine, and selecting a suitable product for dry skin can be just as challenging as finding a decent moisturizer for acne-prone or sensitive skin.

Chief among these challenges is finding the right moisturizer that’s nourishing, hydrating, and soothing—but not greasy. Even the flakiest, thirstiest skin shouldn’t feel like an oil slick after applying a moisturizer. Beyond that, exactly how dry your skin is will also play an important role in which moisturizer ends up feeling good. For example, while people with extremely dry skin may benefit from using a thick cream, those with combination skin (when some parts of the face are dry but other parts are oily or prone to breakouts) would probably prefer something that’s a little more lightweight but still very hydrating. 

Even though shopping for effective skin-care products can be difficult, rest assured it isn’t impossible—especially when you can follow expert advice. Here, we’ve highlighted a range of products that dermatologists and SELF Healthy Beauty Award testers consider to be the best moisturizer for dry skin, including drugstore favorites from Cetaphil and CeraVe as well as higher-end options from Drunk Elephant and SkinCeuticals.

All products featured on SELF are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

• Ulta

  DHC Olive Virgin Oil Essential Cream

  “This is a gloriously thick and creamy moisturizer that skin just slurps up beautifully,” one enthusiastic tester for the 2020 SELF Healthy Beauty Awards wrote about this fragrance-free, oil-based cream. “It leaves a beautiful glow but no goopy feeling and works just as well as a nighttime moisturizer as it does under makeup.”

• Nordstrom

  Guerlain Abeille Royale Night Cream

  For a night cream that’ll leave your skin feeling calm, cool, and downright dewy, consider splurging on this Guerlain face cream, which another 2020 Healthy Beauty Awards tester described as “a nice addition for a treat-yo-self, self-care night.” They added that “a little bit of product goes a long way (which is great for jar longevity), and my skin felt really smooth and glowy the next morning.”

• Amazon

  CeraVe Tinted Sunscreen SPF 30

  Finding a sunscreen that not only protects your skin from sun damage but also contains enough moisturizing ingredients that you don’t necessarily need a second moisturizer is no easy feat. Luckily, derm-approved brand CeraVe provided us with such a product, which won a 2020 SELF Health Beauty Award. This mineral sunscreen contains ceramides and niacinimide to bolster your skin’s moisture barrier, plus humectant hyaluronic acid to provide lightweight moisture. 

• Amazon

  Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream

  With hyaluronic acid as the star ingredient of this Neutrogena gel-cream, you can trust that it glides onto skin smoothly, absorbs quickly, and provides ultra-light, non-greasy (but nevertheless intense) hydration. “It layers well under anything and helps other antiaging products absorb better,” Jessica Krant, M.D., previously told SELF.

• Amazon

  La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer

  Linda C. Chung Honet, M.D., F.A.A.D, previously told SELF that this moisturizer ranks as “one of my favorites for skin when it is very inflamed and irritated,” and said she even recommends it for people with eczema. Dr. Honet pointed to ceramides, niacinamide, glycerin, and selenium as key ingredients for hydrating and protecting the skin’s barrier. Plus, she added, “It is fragrance-free, alcohol-free, paraben-free, and oil-free, making Toleriane especially soothing to the most sensitive, eczematous skin on contact.”

• Dermstore

  SkinCeuticals Renew Overnight Dry

  Dry, flaky, dull skin has met its match in this nighttime cream from SkinCeuticals, which contains a powerful one-two punch of moisturizers and exfoliators. Dendy Engelman, M.D., previously described how this cream’s ingredients work together to smooth, soothe, brighten, and restore skin overnight: “[It exfoliates] with AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids), helps reduce fine lines, and hydrates with ingredients like aloe, chamomile, and rose.”

• Alastin

  Alastin Ultra Nourishing Moisturizer

  “Alastin’s Ultra Nourishing Moisturizer contains fatty acids, phospholipids, triglycerides, dimethicone, various plant extracts like bisabolol, and their proprietary TriHex peptides to boost collagen and elastin synthesis,” Dr. Honet previously told SELF. In so many words, this is one seriously hydrating, restorative facial moisturizer.

• Target

  Weleda Sheer Hydration Daily Crème

  For the 2021 SELF Healthy Beauty Awards, this sheer moisturizer won our testers’ hearts, and it’s little wonder why. It contains dryness-fighting ingredients like shea butter and aloe vera but still feels weightless upon application. As one tester put it, “It goes on lightly, but is nourishing enough that I would use it as a night cream at times, too. It paired well with face oil after it, and was a great base for foundation.”

• Ulta

  Murad Intense Recovery Cream

  If your skin is extremely dry, stressed out, or compromised, and you want relief ASAP, give this rich cream from Murad a try. Not only does it contain ingredients that come recommended by derms for dry skin (including jojoba oil, sunflower seed extract, dimethicone, and glycerin), one 2021 Healthy Beauty Award tester reported improvements after every night they used it: “I put this on at night and the redness in my skin is lifted, and it has totally reduced tired or dry skin spots. This product right here… it’s worth the money.”

• Ulta

  Cetaphil Facial Hydrating Lotion

  Both Temitayo A. Ogunleye, M.D., and Julie Mervak, M.D., previously recommended Cetaphil moisturizers for people with dry skin because they’re fragrance-free and non-comedogenic (meaning they won’t clog pores). This lotion from Cetaphil is great if you’re looking for a lightweight product that will keep your skin hydrated all day long.

• Amazon

  Vanicream Moisturizing Cream

  Dr. Ogunleye and Dr. Mervak also pointed to Vanicream as must-try brand for dry skin. Similar to Cetaphil, its products are gentle and free of most common irritants like dyes and perfumes. This cream in particular will feel wonderful on skin that’s not only dry but prone to irritation: It’s thick enough to feel nourishing without feeling greasy, and its dermatologist-recommended formula helps heal super dry, itchy, or even cracked skin. 

• Sephora

  Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Moisturizer

  Dermatologists recommend using a thicker, more enriching moisturizer at night in order to keep your skin happy while you sleep. “We know that skin hydration levels decline at night, making your nighttime moisturizer an important step,” Joshua Zeichner, M.D., previously explained to SELF. This cream from Drunk Elephant, maker of some of the internet’s favorite skin-care products, is an excellent option for your pre-bedtime routine. It contains firming and strengthening proteins (in addition to reparative moisturizers) that’ll help you wake up with a smoother skin tone and texture. 

• Sephora

  Saie Slip Tint Dewy Tinted Moisturizer SPF 35

  If you’re looking for a tinted moisturizer that’ll actually, you know, moisturize your skin, consider your search over. This 2021 SELF Healthy Beauty Award winner is packed with expert-approved hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin, and one tester went so far as to say it made her “whole face look dewy and even goddess-like.”

Sara Coughlin is a writer living in Brooklyn, NY, interested in skin care, health, and wellness.

SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.