Skincare Routine for Dry Skin: Steps, Ingredients and Winter Tips

A skincare routine for dry skin comes down to three habits: wash with a creamy, fragrance-free cleanser and lukewarm water, apply a cream or ointment while your skin is still damp, and wear broad-spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen every morning. Choose moisturizers with glycerin, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, dimethicone, shea butter or petrolatum, and cut back on alcohol, fragrance and strong exfoliants.

Below is the full morning and evening routine, a plain-English guide to moisturizer ingredients and what each one does, what to stop using, how to tell ordinary dryness from a flaky rash that needs a doctor, and how to adjust it all for winter.

What does a skincare routine for dry skin look like?

It's a short routine built around putting water into the skin and keeping it there. If your skin feels tight but also gets oily, it may be dehydrated rather than dry; our guide to dry vs dehydrated skin explains the difference.

The order follows the usual thinnest-to-thickest rule, explained in our guide to skincare routine order.

How should you wash dry skin?

Wash gently, briefly and with less product. The AAD's dry-skin advice is to limit baths and showers to five to ten minutes in warm water, pat skin dry with a towel instead of rubbing, and use only enough cleanser to remove dirt and oil, without working up a thick lather.

• Pick creamy textures. For winter, AAD dermatologists suggest liquid, gel or mousse cleansers, "the creamier the better," labeled "gentle" and "moisturizing," and without alcohol.
• Read "fragrance-free" literally. The AAD notes that "unscented" products can contain chemicals that mask other odors, and these can irritate dry, sensitive skin. Look for "fragrance-free" instead.
• Use warm, never hot, water. Hot water can make dry skin worse.

What are the best moisturizer ingredients for dry skin?

The best moisturizers for dry skin combine a humectant that draws water in with an occlusive that stops it from leaving. The AAD lists jojoba oil, dimethicone, glycerin, hyaluronic acid, lactic acid, lanolin, mineral oil, petrolatum and shea butter as ingredients to look for in a cream or ointment.

A review of moisturizers in the Indian Journal of Dermatology explains why combining the two types matters: humectants pull water from deeper skin into the surface, where it is easily lost, so humectants are mostly combined with occlusives that hold it in.

You don't have to spend much. The AAD notes that more expensive skin care products are not necessarily more effective, and that many face moisturizers are made a bit thinner than body creams because facial skin is thinner and more sensitive. A plain, fragrance-free cream with glycerin and petrolatum or dimethicone covers the basics. Knowing these names makes a label much faster to scan. Our guide on how to read skincare ingredient labels walks through it.

Should you use a lotion, cream or ointment for dry skin?

Use a cream or an ointment. The AAD ranks moisturizers by thickness: a gel is lighter than a lotion, a cream is thicker and more hydrating, and an ointment is the most effective for dry skin. One dermatologist quoted there puts it simply: someone with dry skin should start with a cream or ointment and bypass lotions altogether.

• Apply on damp skin. Creams and ointments spread more easily on damp skin and trap water so it can't evaporate.
• Apply more than once a day. The AAD advises moisturizing after washing and whenever your skin feels dry.
• Prefer tubs and tubes to pumps. Formulas you squeeze or scoop typically pack more moisture than ones thin enough to pump.
• Adjust with age. An AAD dermatologist says perimenopausal people and everyone 50 and older should use a cream-based moisturizer, because skin holds less moisture with age.

What should you stop using if you have dry skin?

Stop or cut back on products with alcohol, fragrance and strong exfoliants. The AAD's list of ingredients to stop using with dry skin is alcohol (except hand sanitizer), fragrance including deodorant soaps, and retinoids, and its moisturizer guide adds alpha-hydroxy acids.

Two habits make dryness worse. The first is scrubbing off flakes: an AAD dermatologist says people often make the mistake of exfoliating dry, peeling skin in winter, further stripping it of moisture, when they should be moisturizing. The second is giving up a retinoid entirely when a gentler version would do. If a prescription retinoid is too drying in winter, one AAD dermatologist suggests switching to an over-the-counter retinol until spring, or using it less often.

If your skin also stings or flushes easily, our sensitive skin routine has a stricter product filter.

Why is the skin on my face dry and flaky?

Most dry, flaky facial skin is plain dryness from low humidity, hot water, harsh products or age. Cleveland Clinic explains that as you age, the skin's oil glands produce less, and that cold, windy or desert-like climates dry skin out.

Flaking that comes with redness or a rash may be something else:

• Seborrheic dermatitis causes white-to-yellowish scale and inflammation, and can appear on the ears, eyebrows, beard and the skin around the nostrils. Flare-ups are often worst in winter and early spring, and stress can trigger them.
• Eczema, psoriasis and contact dermatitis can all look like dry skin. The AAD notes that dryness that persists after good home care may be due to an underlying condition such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis or kidney disease.

See a dermatologist if your skin is red, cracking, itching, stinging or has a rash, or if dryness becomes painful or bleeds. You may need a prescription, and a dermatologist can tell these conditions apart.

How should you change your skincare routine in winter?

In winter, switch to heavier creams, cut back on acids and add humidity. AAD dermatologists describe the problem as cold air outside, hot air inside, and dry air everywhere, which can disrupt the skin's barrier.

1. Move up one texture. One AAD dermatologist recommends that you switch to heavier creams when it's cold without changing every product you use.
2. Use acids less often. The same dermatologist suggests cutting back on alpha hydroxy and beta hydroxy acids, which can be irritating in winter even with moisturizing creams.
3. Run a humidifier. The AAD suggests placing a humidifier in your bedroom and running it while you sleep, and cleaning it regularly to prevent mold.
4. Keep the sunscreen. Wear SPF 30+ year-round on exposed skin; for dry skin, a cream sunscreen, or moisturizer with sunscreen on top, works well.
5. Protect your lips and face outdoors. An AAD dermatologist advises keeping as little skin as possible exposed to the elements and wearing lip balm. If a lip balm makes your lips sting or tingle, the AAD suggests switching to one that doesn't.
6. Turn the heat down a notch. Furnaces and fireplaces dry the air indoors, so the same dermatologist suggests warmer clothes and blankets instead of more heat.

When the barrier is badly damaged, with stinging, burning and rough patches, simplify further; our guide to a damaged skin barrier covers the reset.

How can a selfie skin scan help?

Dry skin changes with the weather, so it helps to track it over time. Pori takes a selfie and gives an overall skin score with a Hydration & Moisture breakdown, and its skin diary lets you log sleep, water, stress and diet next to each scan, so you can see whether a new cream or a humidifier made a visible difference. It also builds a personalized morning and evening routine for your skin type.

An app judges appearance from a photo and isn't a diagnosis. Persistent flaking, redness or cracking is a reason to see a dermatologist.