9 Best Body Lotions for Dry Skin in Summer (2024)

Our skin was never intended or designed to be dry. Many people who experience this unhealthy skin condition usually suffer from overbathing, aging, heat, dry or cold weather, harsh soaps, or sun damage. Besides making the skin look rough and lifeless, persistent skin dryness can cause eczema and other skin conditions.

Summer is arguably most people’s preferred season because of the abundance of sunshine and outdoor activities that it affords. Unfortunately, because of the time people spend outside in the sun, in their air-conditioned apartments, and even in pools swimming, summer has also become the month several people experience skin dryness the most. Therefore, as you think of summer beauty tips , you have to consider keeping your largest exposed organ, the skin, hydrated too.

Skin dryness is mostly harmless, but the itchiness, peeling, scaling, cracking, discoloration, and other symptoms are a NO-NO to fashionistas and everyone who loves glowing skin. Excellent enough, this condition responds positively to lifestyle changes, moisturizers, and lotions, although you also have to choose the appropriate ones based on your budget and skin type.

If you are not sure whether you have dry skin, you can check this article to ascertain this. However, this piece focuses on nine tried and tested body lotions to help keep your skin hydrated and supple even as the 2024 summer season approaches. Their selection is based on global users’ ratings, ingredients, appropriateness for skin types, price, and brand reputation.

Below is a table briefly summarizing the nine outstanding lotions for dry skin and their details

1. Overall Best Lotion for Dry Skin: CeraVe Moisturizing Cream

Main Ingredients: Ceramides, hyaluronic acid

Price: $19.49 for 19 oz ($0.94/ounce)

Sitting comfortably and almost unchallenged on this list is this highly-effective, highly-rated, and dermatologists cleared lotion for dry skin. Its almost 120,000 buyers on Amazon have no other refrain than its praises on their lips. CeraVe is a product of research by skin experts, and many dermatologists have no reservations about recommending and prescribing it for people struggling with skin dryness.

This lotion is non-comedogenic , paraben and fragrance-free, and holds the cleared seal of the US National Eczema Association (NEA). Whether used as a treatment for dry, scaly skin or as a regular hand cream, this product rides majestically on the potency of its ceramides and hyaluronic acid contents to keep the body’s innate barriers and maintain a 24-hour velvety, non-grease skin moisturization.

2. Best Lotion for Very Dry Skin: Eau Thermale Avene XeraCalm

Main Ingredients: Vitamin E, Vegetable extracts, and Thermal Water

Price: $36 per 6.7 oz

If your skin dryness has progressed to an advanced stage where you regularly have eczema or atopic dermatitis, dermatologists recommend this product as the best to correct it. For maximum effectiveness and a quick resolution of the symptoms, it’s best to first cleanse the spot with XeraCalm cleansing oil by the same brand. Both lotion and cleansing oil are fragrance-free and contain no preservatives.

Some of the more targeted skin conditions this lotion addresses include itchiness, irritation, and redness. Also, anyone – adults, children, infants – can use it without any side effects. Thanks to its density, this lotion traps moisture, keeping even the driest of skin supple and hydrated the whole day. It is non-greasy and doesn’t peel off the skin.

3. Best Lightweight Lotion for Dry Skin: Curél Ultra Healing Lotion (20 oz.)

Main Ingredients: Eucalyptus , Ceramides

Price: $11.64 ($0.55/oz)

While dermatologists will always recommend creams and lotions of high density for moisturizing dry skin, there are times when things aren’t as serious as to warrant such heavyweight creams. Lightweight lotions last longer spread faster, and also penetrate the skin faster to keep it moistened if applied not too long after bathing. This Curel lightweight lotion beats many intensive ones in restoring and repairing extra-dry skin to a healthy, supple one.

The ceramide complex restores dry skin’s ceramide level to normal, and because it isn’t greasy, it doesn’t clog your pores, causing breakouts. For its size and all-day moisturization, this product is surely worth the price tag. It is best for extra dry and tight skin.

4. Best Lotion for Dry, Sensitive Skin: Vanicream Moisturizing Skin Cream

Main Ingredients: Sorbitol, Cetearyl Alcohol, and Petrolatum

Price: $16.43 ($0.85 fl./oz)

Combining sensitive skin with dryness is a delicate thing, and only specific lotions can be appropriate for such. Besides being non-comedogenic and grease-free, this cream contains no fragrance, dyes, masking fragrance, parabens, lanolin, or formaldehyde releasers that can further irritate already sensitive and dry skin.

As a mark of its professional endorsement for effectiveness, this lotion carries the acceptance seal of the National Eczema Association and is usable on the hand and bodies of adults and young ones alike. There is no use limit to this product as you can apply it as many times as you wish in a day.

5. Best Lotion for Bacne Dry Skin: Paula’s Choice Retinol Skin-Smoothing Body Treatment

Main Ingredients: Vitamins C & E; Evening Primrose oil, shea butter, and Retinol

Price: $32.00 ($7.25 fl./oz)

Here is another multi-purpose lotion that will make an excellent choice for skin prone to breakouts, wrinkles, and acne. Its advanced formula makes your skin look firmer and younger without adding fluffs, parabens, or questionable beauty additives.

Retinol, one of the active ingredients of this lotion, is particularly hailed for its effectiveness on acne and breakouts, while its antioxidants eliminate free radicals that cause the skin to look older than it should. And just like others on this list, this product is also non-greasy and, therefore, does not clog your pores.

6. Best Dry Body Lotion for Summer: Eucerin Advanced Repair Body Lotion

Main Ingredients: Lactic acid, Ceramide-3

Price: $12.99 ($0.65 fl./oz)

Keep your skin fully hydrated this summer with this advanced repair lotion for dry skin by Eucerin. The lotion is both prophylactic and therapeutic, containing no paraben, fragrance, dyes, or even grease. It’s an essential summer beauty package that will keep your skin velvety smooth and fight dryness while you enjoy long sunny days.

Lactic acid , the major active ingredient of this lotion, is an exfoliating agent that helps to soften and smoothen scaly and rough skin. As a member of the alpha hydroxy acids, it is gentle, even on sensitive skin, and keeps it hydrated all day. Despite its wide applicability, it is lightweight, providing 48 hours of hydration to dry skin. The lotion also works as a prophylaxis to prevent dryness, especially during summer.

7. Best Lotion for Dry Skin with Eczema: Aveeno Eczema Therapy Itch Relief Balm

Main Ingredients: Colloidal Oatmeal, Ceramide

Price: $19.97 (11oz.)

Scratching the body indiscriminately is surely not a pleasant experience, but that’s what eczema causes. In its extreme form, it results in cracked and reddish skin that robs its victim of its natural beauty. And unless you act swiftly, an already aggravated skin dryness can only worsen in summer.

Cleared by the US National Eczema Association, this colloidal oatmeal and ceramide package is what everyone with eczema is buying to relieve them of itchiness and other symptoms associated with eczema. It is appropriate for sensitive Skinners and provides short and long-term relief from the condition. The 11-ounce Aveeno masterclass doesn’t have paraben, grease, fragrance, or steroid.

8. Best Affordable Exfoliating Lotion for Dry Skin: Cetaphil Body Moisturizer

Main Ingredients: Glycerin, water, petrolatum, Vitamin E

Price: $15.97 ($0.80 fl./oz)

Since you would probably have to keep using whatever moisturizer you choose this summer for a long time, it is better to settle for the one that will not tear your pocket apart. In this regard, Cetaphil offers the best value for money. Its 20 Ounce style goes for $15.95 on Amazon, with the price constantly witnessing a downward review.

But the price tag alone is not why it earned a place here as the best affordable lotion for dry skin; the many faces it has. It contains exfoliating properties and is suitable for sensitive and non-sensitive skin types. Besides, the ceramides can restore your skin’s natural barriers in just a week. It is non-comedogenic, paraben, grease, and fragrance-free.

9. Best Lotion for Dry, Compromised Skin: La Roche-Posay Lipikar Balm AP+ Intense Repair Body Lotion

Main Ingredients: Ceramide, Shea butter, Niacinamide

Price: $19.99 (13.52 fl oz.)

If you feel your skin might have been compromised because of prolonged exposure to dryness, a specially formulated lotion like this La Roche-Posay is needed to get it to its original healthy stage. Tested and cleared by pediatricians and dermatologists, this triple repair cream uses the combined benefits of ceramides, shea butter, and niacinamide to soothe, restore, and hydrate damaged skin. It’s applicable to every part of the body by adults and children.

The National Eczema Association and over 90,000 dermatologists endorse it as a cream to correct rough and dry skin and keep such hydrated for 48 hours after application.

Conclusion

While there are numerous lotions out there that purport to help fight skin dryness, the nine on our list stand strong and are the most effective of them all. They are clean, with no prohibitory or harmful ingredients, and they produce results within four weeks of application. You can use their rating to determine which is best suited for your situation.