How we choose care picks
The Dry Skin Index tells you when indoor air is getting drier. Our picks, and our guide to choosing a moisturizer, help with what to use.
The Dry Skin Index sets the timing
Dry Skin Index levels describe how drying the air in your home is likely to be. We use them to suggest when to step up your routine: moisturize daily, add an evening application, then move to a richer moisturizer and run a humidifier, with petroleum jelly on very dry spots when needed. The index was not tested as a way to choose a specific product, so you choose the product by where your skin is dry, how it feels, and a texture you will keep using.
Products are grouped by what they do
Each care step lists products by job: moisturizing body washes, everyday moisturizers that bind water (glycerin, urea), richer creams for shins and dry spots, smoothing products for rough patches (kept separate because higher-strength urea, lactic acid and salicylic acid can sting), and petroleum jelly or petrolatum creams for night. Commission never decides where a product appears. It may only break a tie between equally suitable picks.
Research informs the picks, by ingredient
Our picks follow a review of body moisturizer research that Dermidia compiled in November 2026. We share that research by ingredient rather than by product, because research on an ingredient does not guarantee how a particular product performs, and percentages from different studies cannot be compared to rank products. Tap an ingredient on any product card to read what we compiled about it.
Few picks, kept current
We list two or three picks per product type so the choice stays simple. Each pick has a one-line reason it fits, and the catalog shows the date it was last reviewed. We check the exact product and package before linking to it.
How affiliate links work
Product links go to Amazon, and Dermidia may earn a commission if you buy. The price you pay is the same. We do not show prices on Dermidia because they change often; the retailer shows the current price.
What we will and will not say
Dermidia gives care recommendations, not medical advice. We describe products as moisturizing, hydrating, softening or smoothing, and we explain how they help skin hold moisture. We do not say a product treats, heals, cures or prevents any condition.
Your privacy
Retailer links and our click counts carry only the product, its care level and the page you clicked from. They never include your location, email address or account. The approximate area shown on the homepage comes from your internet connection, is used only to show that reading, and is not saved.
As an Amazon Associate, Dermalapps LLC earns from qualifying purchases. Picks last reviewed November 2026.
Dermidia 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.