How to Banish Dry Skin
It's a problem for everyone but can worsen as you get older
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Noticing that your skin is drier and more sensitive than it was years earlier? Decades of sun exposure certainly can play a part, but so do the natural changes of aging. For instance, hormonal shifts mean that your skin produces less oil than it used to. And it becomes more prone to breaking down.
"That means the outer layer of skin can get tiny holes in it that let moisture out and infection-causing microorganisms in," says Shari Lipner, MD, PhD, an associate professor of clinical dermatology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. And that can make you more prone to itchy, scratchy conditions, like eczema, that may need a doctor’s attention.
So you might want to tweak how you clean and care for your skin. "When you were 20, you could take a long, hot shower every day with no ill effects," Lipner says. "But as you get older, that can leave you with dry, irritated skin." These tips can help.
Take Quick Baths and Showers
Whether you shower or prefer a soak in the tub, consider the following skin-soothing strategies.
Pick Your Products Carefully
Look for a fragrance-free cleanser. Experts say that bar soap and liquid cleansers are fine, but you’ll want to avoid potentially problematic ingredients. "Fragrances are the most frequent cause of allergies, inflammation, and irritation," according to Lipner.
Make a bath more soothing. Adding some bath oil (even olive oil) or colloidal oatmeal to the tub can help combat the drying effect of water.
Get the most from moisturizers. Choose one with hyaluronic acid, glycerin, ceramides, or petrolatum, which draw and bind moisture to the skin. And apply a cream instead of a lotion. At night, you might want to use an ointment, which is even thicker. "For older skin, the thicker the moisturizer, the better," Lipner says. After bathing, pat your skin with a towel and apply moisturizer before it’s completely dry.
A Humidifier Can Help
A comfortable indoor humidity level is 30 to 50 percent, but that percentage can drop to below 20 in winter. A cool-mist humidifier, especially when used overnight in bedrooms, can keep skin, eyes, and nasal passages from drying out. The moist air can also help you breathe more easily while you’re asleep and make it more difficult for viral particles to take hold. See our humidifier ratings and buying guide. Here are the top picks in our ratings for travel, small, midsize, and large humidifiers.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article also appeared in the February 2025 issue of Consumer Reports On Health.
