If seriously dry skin on your body is the bane of your existence, we completely understand your struggle. Rather than just picking out whatever body lotion you happen to find at the store, we’ve taken the guesswork out by curating a list of our best moisturizers for dry skin on the body.

Paula’s Choice is among the brands leading the way with state-of-the-art body moisturizers that go above and beyond, and we’ll go over the key ingredients that make them so great. This is must-know info you can use when shopping for any body moisturizer!

The Best Body Lotions for Dry Skin

For VERY dry skin, body butters with richly emollient ingredients like shea, mango, and jojoba are incredibly helpful.

Try our CLINICAL Ultra-Rich Soothing Body Butter, which is even suitable for eczema-prone skin. You get rich, lasting hydration (12 hours!) without a slippery, greasy feel.

For all-over smoothing, our fast-absorbing Daily Replenishing Body Cream features ceramides, a peptide, and antioxidants for all-day dry skin relief. This is a great option for moisturizing from the neck down, and you can apply the Body Butter over it on extra-dry areas.

If you’re looking for the best body lotion to smooth skin, the secret is to opt for one with a built-in, leave-on exfoliant. Multi-tasking skincare doesn’t get much better than this, and Paula’s Choice offers two brilliant options.

To soften and smooth dry, rough patches or thickened skin (think knees, elbows, feet), go with an AHA body cream, like our RESIST Skin Revealing Body Lotion with 10% AHA.

Use the RESIST Weightless Body Treatment with 2% BHA if bumpy, “chicken skin” is your main concern. Bonus: This also helps banish other types of clogged pores from the neck down, and leaves skin feeling extra silky.

Learn more about why you should use a moisturizing exfoliant with AHA or BHA for your body here.

What about a body lotion with antioxidants?

Opt for one with the antioxidant anti-aging powerhouse retinol to help diminish advanced signs of aging, including those on the neck and chest. Our RESIST Retinol Skin-Smoothing Body Treatment was formulated just for such concerns and, of course, it also moisturizes. Learn more about how retinol dramatically improves skin here.

Other Body Moisturizer Ingredients for Dry Skin

Body creams for dry skin often contain the following ingredients, some are good and some are bad, and we want you to avoid the bad ones so your skin won’t suffer. Click through each ingredient to learn more, and keep them in mind when shopping for your ideal body lotion for dry skin.

Good Ingredients:

Argan Oil

Cocoa Butter

Coconut Oil

Ceramides

Evening Primrose

Glycerin

Niacinamide

Petrolatum

Bad Ingredients:

Fragrance

Essential Oils

References for this information:
Clinical, Cosmetic, and Investigational Dermatology, August 2015, pages 455–461
Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America, February 2013, pages 55–60
British Journal of Dermatology, September 2014, pages 19–28
Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, June 2011, pages 45–55
Journal of Oleo Science, 2010, pages 169–176