13 Best Face Moisturizers for Dry Skin, According to Testing
From dermatologist favorites to drugstore picks, eliminate dry skin for good with these top-tested face creams.
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If this winter weather is making your skin dry, flaky or itchy and it feels like nothing will help, you're not alone. In addition to using a star hydrator like hyaluronic acid or trying slugging, implementing a face moisturizer for dry skin can help. From face moisturizers with SPF to ones created for sensitive skin, there's a formula for every type of parched skin.
"Face moisturizers are simply creams and lotions that claim to moisturize skin [and are] typically emulsions of oil and water," says Danusia Wnek, a senior chemist at the Good Housekeeping Beauty, Health & Sustainability Lab. Additionally, different ingredients are added to make a product ideal for dry skin; our experts recommend looking for occlusives, humectants and emollients (read on for more details about those).
Our top picks:
After years of testing products at the Good Housekeeping Institute, our Beauty Lab experts believe that a well-formulated moisturizer is made with three types of conditioning ingredients: emollients, occlusives and humectants. To help narrow down the search, our chemists have researched hundreds of moisturizers over the years. In our most recent test, we tested 12 moisturizers with 22 consumer testers per product, collecting data from 240 surveys with questions on qualifications including ease of use, performance and satisfaction. We also measured moisturization in the Lab (nearly 2,000 data points) to see which moisturizers actually hydrate skin over a set period of time.
At the end of this guide, you can learn more about what to look for in a face moisturizer for dry skin as well as our complete testing methodology. For all your dry skin concerns, check out our best hand creams and best lip balms roundups.
![Headshot of Jacqueline Saguin Headshot of Jacqueline Saguin](https://hips.hearstapps.com/rover/profile_photos/b84b74c0-874d-426e-b4c2-9092f20035b8_1675374062.jpg?fill=1:1&resize=120:*)
Jacqueline (she/her) covers all things e-commerce in beauty, lifestyle and beyond for the Good Housekeeping Institute. Before joining GH in 2021, she was a style and beauty reviews fellow at Insider, testing viral trends, reviewing sustainable brands and more. She's a graduate of the University of Florida's School of Journalism, with a specialty in magazines and mass communication.
Catharine (she/her) is the beauty assistant at Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day and Prevention, working closely with the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab to write science-backed beauty content. She was previously an assistant beauty editor at Group Nine Media and returned to Hearst in 2022 after having held editorial internships at Harper’s Bazaar and CR Fashion Book. Catharine received a B.A. in journalism from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Danusia (she/her) is a senior chemist in the Beauty, Health and Sustainability Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute where she evaluates haircare, skincare, cosmetics and beauty tools. She holds a B.S. in chemistry from St. John’s University and a M.S. in pharmaceutical sciences with concentration in cosmetic science from the University of Cincinnati. Danusia has over 10 years of experience in the personal care industry including formulation, product development, claim evaluation and efficacy testing.
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