Care Guide
Skin care matched to indoor drying stress
Heated indoor air pulls water from skin. The Dry Skin Index (DSI) measures how hard. Each care level below keeps everything under it and adds one layer, so your routine grows only as much as the air demands.
Lotions help your skin cope with dry air. A humidifier changes the air.
Care ladder
Low Risk
Moisturizing wash
Lotion after bathing, if dry
First Alert
+ Daily moisturizer
After bathing, on damp skin
Special Care
+ Evening moisturizer
If skin still feels dry
Enhanced Care
+ Richer moisturizer and a humidifier
Moist air while you sleep
Each step keeps the ones before it, and the Dry Skin Index tells you when to take the next one. Many homes climb from fall into winter and step back down in spring.
Choosing a moisturizer
The Dry Skin Index tells you when to step up. What to use depends on where your skin is dry, how it feels, and a texture you will keep using.
Low Risk · DSI under 4
Start with a moisturizing wash
Below DSI 4, indoor air alone is not expected to dry out your skin. A moisturizing body wash that leaves petrolatum or plant oils on the skin keeps bathing from leaving it feeling stripped, and a light lotion after you shower or bathe takes care of any spots that already feel dry. If your skin tends to dry easily, a daily light lotion is worth keeping up even in milder weeks.
See Low Risk picks →First Alert · DSI 4 to 5
Add: daily moisturizer
DSI 4 is where dry skin can start to form indoors. Make moisturizing a daily step, soon after bathing while skin is still slightly damp. Look for water-binding ingredients such as glycerin or urea, and choose a texture you will actually use: a lotion spreads easily over arms, legs and torso.
See First Alert picks →Special Care · DSI 5 to 6
Add: evening moisturizer
As indoor air gets drier, skin holds less water. If your skin still feels dry, add a second application in the evening, and consider a richer lotion or cream for shins and other spots that stay dry. Rough, bumpy or scaly patches on unbroken skin can use a smoothing lotion with urea or lactic acid, or a smoothing wash with salicylic acid. Hair and scalp can feel dry too.
See Special Care picks →Enhanced Care · DSI 6 and up
Add: richer moisturizer and a humidifier
At this level, indoor air is very drying, so Dermidia recommends a two-part approach used together. A richer lotion or cream cares for your skin, and a room humidifier makes the air itself less drying. Each does a job the other cannot. Petroleum jelly is for very dry spots, when they need it.
See Enhanced Care picks →Shop by product type
- Moisturizing body washFrom Low Risk
- Light maintenance lotionsFrom Low Risk
- Daily moisturizing lotionFrom First Alert
- Richer lotions and creams for dry shins and spotsFrom Special Care
- Smoothing products for rough patchesFrom Special Care
- Moisturizing shampoo and conditionerFrom Special Care
- Petroleum jelly and heavy creams for very dry spotsFrom Enhanced Care
- Room humidifiersFrom Enhanced Care
Keep up with your care level each week
Free Guide Lite saves your ZIP code, shows today's Dry Skin Index with a seven-day outlook, and can send a short weekly email with one care tip.
Start Guide LiteDermidia offers care recommendations, not medical advice. If you have eczema, diabetes, poor circulation, immune suppression, open cracks, bleeding, signs of infection, or persistent itching, follow your clinician's plan and seek medical advice.
Picks last reviewed November 2026.