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If your skin is regularly dry, my first recommendation is to look at your water, and filter if necessary. Even if you have softened water, city water can still be drying for our skin, hair and scalp.
In a perfect world, a whole house filter will resolve all your water issues for drinking, cooking, and bathing. I don’t have recommendations for whole house systems, as I recommend testing your water and seeing exactly what needs to be removed and going from there. Reverse Osmosis is a popular choice, but since it removes all minerals, you want to have beneficial ones put back in, and it’s heavy on water usage, so you’ll want to take that into consideration also.
For many, it’s not possible to put in a whole house filter whether it’s because of budget or you’re renting. In this case, I would recommend adding filters to your showers and/or bathtub faucets. There are many options available, I have listed a few options below for your convenience. I have not personally tried any of these, but if needed, I would use them in my home. If you use city water, you can check your water quality here to see what kind of contaminants are in your area.
There are actually quite a few options for shower filters. They vary a little on how much of each contaminant they remove, so that’s why it’s important to know what’s in your water first. Aquasana, Berkey, and ProOne have a variety of options, or here’s a Bathtub one.
Check your body & face cleansers
The type of body & face wash you’re using can also make a big difference on whether your skin is too dry. Many traditional cleansers, especially facial cleansers are too harsh. Others may have irritating ingredients and no nourishing ones.
My top recommendation for body and face wash is Crunchi. For dry or sensitive skin, I recommend the Gentle Facial Bar & Littles 3-in-1 Bar. Don’t let the name fool you, the Littles Bar is loved by adults just as much as kids. For oily or acne prone skin, I recommend the Charcoal Facial and Body Bars. If you have normal skin, either will work great.
I used a body cloth in place of body wash prior to using Crunchi’s Facial & Body Bars and I saw a big difference when I made the switch, especially with my face.
Drink Enough Water
There are many benefits to drinking enough water, and giving your skin moisture is one of them. If you rarely drink water, set your goal for a glass or two and work your way up. If you’re decent with drinking water, make a goal of drinking half your body weight in ounces and then adjust more or less by what your body seems to need.
Lock in Your Moisture
Apply lotion right after coming out of the shower (or bath for littles) with barely damp skin. This locks in the moisture when the pores are still open from the warm water and is far more effective than putting on lotion later.
Lotion Bars: I’ve found these work best if your skin isn’t super dry already and for areas other than hands. My hands seemed to just get a greasy feeling when using lotion bars, but everyone is different. You may need to play with the dampness of your skin after a shower to see what works for you and the bar you picked. I’ve found some lotion bars need mostly dry skin, otherwise it starts balling up, while others work great with slightly damp skin.
Pretty Frank was my favorite option. This one was the perfect consistency to melt when applying to the skin, but still solid enough for the bar to not break or melt away too fast.
No Trace: This one has a lower melting point, so it glided on easier, but felt greasier to me, and I went through it faster.
Ethique: This one was more solid like Pretty Frank, but it had just a little lower melting point, so the bar started to disform when trying to use it. Otherwise I liked it.
Ultra-Moisturizing Creams:
SkinFoodie’s Body Butter: This is my go to for my hands. I apply it each night before bed and if my hands need a little extra moisture throughout the day. I found the unscented version a little greasy, but scents weren’t.
Raw Organic Shea Butter: this leaves behind a little greasy feeling depending on your skin’s dryness level
More traditional lotions that have worked the best for me include:
Attitude’s Body & Hand Creams + $10 Off
Andalou Naturals Hand Creams & Body Lotion