If your skin is always dry, then it requires a specific kind of moisturizer. Obviously, any added moisture is beneficial, but your skin needs more than a light layer. It’s fragile by comparison, since it lacks the hydration needed to keep skin soft and youthful. Your sebum production and outermost skin layer are both compromised; in properly hydrated skin, these things generate and preserve moisture, and they defend the skin from age-progressing toxins and infectious germs.
So if you have dry skin, you need more than a standard-fare hydrating agent. You want something that minds your sensitivity, but that also boosts the elasticity and defensive properties of the skin. And if a dense moisturizer is too heavy for you to wear by day, then in the very least it should be applied before bed. If you do this, then stick with a lighter moisturizer by day, and layer some complexion-smoothing serum underneath.
Here are some of the hydrators that are specifically engineered for dry, sensitive skin. Whether you’re drier in specific seasons or are perennially parched, these are some of the best solutions.
Dr. Dennis Gross C + Collagen Deep Cream
Collagen-boosting amino acids soak into your face to brighten, moisturize, and smooth the skin. Dr. Dennis Gross’ formula is effective day and night, but is so precious that you ought just wear it at bedtime. (This is when it can do the most healing, calming, and smoothing.) The brand formulated its own Vitamin C complex (added to this cream) to prevent signs of aging, like dark spots and wrinkles, ideal if your skin is too sensitive for anti-aging prescriptions like retinol. Lastly, it uses a mix of oils like sunflower, rice bran, and japonica camellia to restore your skin’s defensive moisture barrier, bringing dry skin back to life.
