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best face cream for dry skinShutterstock/Business Insider

The Insider Pick:

  • If you’re one of those people whose face feels flaky whether it’s December or August, finding the right face cream can be difficult. But if full-on hydration and protection are what you’re after, Dr. Jart+ Ceramindin Cream is your best bet.

 

While dry skin tends to plague most people in the chillier months, for some, their daily skin care regimen is a near-constant fight against the flake. If you’re one of these folks, you know that all moisturizers are not created equal. Whether your dry skin is caused by some kind of condition, like eczema, or if your protective barrier just doesn’t work as well as others might, there are certain ingredients to look out for to soothe your chapped face.

Ceramides are molecules that mimic your skin’s natural lipid layer, for example. Hyaluronic acid is another ingredient to keep an eye out for. It has the ability to attract and trap moisture like none other. In fact, it can hold 1,000 times its weight in water, making it one of the wunderkinds of the skin care industry.

But the important thing to do before you go shopping for your new favorite moisturizer is talk to your dermatologist. He or she can identify whether your dry skin is just the result of cold air, or if it’s because of an underlying condition. Issues like eczema and psoriasis may need a prescription for proper treatment.

If your symptoms are unconnected to an underlying issue, there are a few things to keep in mind to try to mitigate your skincare woes. Dry skin actually needs exfoliation just as much, if not more, as those who don’t suffer from regular flaking. Why? Because those dried patches of skin can actually block pores, which can keep your moisturizer from penetrating deeply. So make sure to exfoliate regularly to keep your skin smooth.

Creams also penetrate damp skin better than dry skin. So make sure to apply your moisturizer before your skin completely dries. If you need to, mist down your face with a hydrating toner before applying, just to make sure everything is supple.

Ready to find your moisturizing soul mate? We’ve picked out the best face creams for dry skin.

Read on in the slides below to learn why the Dr. Jart+ Ceramindin Cream is our top pick and why you should also consider the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel, the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, the Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream, and the Youth To The People Age Prevention Superfood Cream. The best face cream for dry skin Why you’ll love it: The Dr. Jart+ Ceramindin Cream is made with ceramides, which are molecules that mimic your skin’s natural barrier to hydrate and heal chapped skin.

Hydration may seem like the most important quality in a moisturizer for dry skin, but if you’re suffering from serious dry skin woes, you’re going to want something that heals as much as it hydrates. Enter: Dr. Jart+ Ceramindin Cream. This jar is such a winner because it’s more of a skin mimicker than a skin cream.

Let me explain. The star ingredients in Dr. Jart+’s cream are ceramides, which are naturally-occurring in your skin. They’re lipids that help to bind skin cells together, forming the protective barrier that keeps good stuff in and bad stuff out. People who suffer from seriously dry skin tend to have a leaky barrier, which causes moisture to eek out. These lipids can also break down over time, which is why folks tend to have flakier skin as they age. Thanks, science.

Ceramides in skin care, on the other hand, are either synthetic or derived from plants. But they do they same exact thing as the ceramides your skin naturally produces. So Dr. Jart+ Ceramindin Cream contains ceramides that are used to replenish the skin’s natural lipid layer. That means that it helps your epidermis to hydrate itself by working to fix its leaky barrier layer.