Dr. Somji Skin has reviewed a lot of dry-skin products, and his record is one of the more generous ones out there. He approved 25 of the 30 he looked at, gave two mixed takes, and skipped three. Even so, he is not someone who hands out praise for a nice texture. The products he rated highest earn it on ingredients, not feel.
What does Dr. Somji Skin recommend for dry skin?
What he keeps coming back to is barrier support. He praised CeraVe Moisturizing Cream and CeraVe Healing Ointment for their ceramide-led formulas. Ceramides help skin hold onto moisture and repair itself. He was just as positive about La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5, pointing to clinical study results showing 55% less dryness and a 98% drop in tightness over four weeks. He called it especially useful for sensitive or compromised skin. He also approved of lactic acid for dry and sensitive skin, naming The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + Hyaluronic Acid as a good pick. Two products stood out enough to earn his top pick: The Ordinary Squalane and Eucerin Aquaphor healing balm.
In his words
"CeraVe are also fantastic just to help with the barrier. Set of ones in particular quite nice because they got nice ingredients which helps with a barrier. [...] For example the CeraVe, so what would you use as a base layer if you're going to be doing this, a good base layer would be something like squalene, squalene maybe a squalene hyaluronic acid mix. The one from the ordinary is pretty cool. You can use a squalane cleanser which I think is really nice, you can make the cleanser maybe a little bit more gentle so you can use like this cream one from CeraVe."
"The CeraVe hydrating cleanser is quite nice. It's a creamy cleanser that just moisturizes even whilst cleansing."
"The CeraVe Healing Ointment is like an inclusive dressing that you can apply to the skin when you want that little bit of repair. It can be put on dry, cracked areas, so if you've got dry, cracked skin, especially if you're someone like me that washes your hands like 50, 60 times a day, it's really really useful for those rough kind of areas. It's formulated with petrolatum, which is basically very similar to petroleum jelly or Vaseline. There's also the addition of hyaluronic acid as well as ceramides, so a true CeraVe formulation. There's nothing in the ingredient list that I can see that is comedogenic, so it's good for all skin types. It's fragrance free and lanolin free, so it's not going to irritate anyone. If you've got minor cuts or grazes, all those sort of things, you can actually use this quite nicely on there."
"I'm going to apply the Rhode Barrier Restore Cream, [...] a great moisturizer that is absolutely key for me. This pairs really well and [...] seals in the moisture and locks everything in beautifully. It would be good because [...] if she was using things like retinol and dry skin, then she could lay this on afterwards."
"The Hyaluronic Acid Serum from The Inkey List does exactly what it says in the tin. It's made of hyaluronic acid and is designed to have a thin layer. It should rapidly absorb because it's not a thick cream, it's a serum. Once you've got hyaluronic acid within the skin, that's going to help with moisture. If you have an impaired skin barrier, your skin is maybe a little bit sensitive and it can be a little bit dry and fluctuates between oily and dry, this is where hyaluronic acid is normally paired with another serum called niacinamide, and niacinamide is vitamin B3 which really helps the protective layer on the skin, the skin barrier, that lipid barrier that prevents moisture from releasing."
"Eyes clinical um hydrating serum high um is very very good um and I would use that too as well"
How many products has Dr. Somji Skin reviewed for dry skin?
Dr. Somji Skin has reviewed 36 products for dry skin, for a Guru Score of 83%. 30 approved, 3 mixed, and 3 skipped.
What has Dr. Somji Skin skipped for dry skin?
The three products he skipped each had a reason behind it. He passed on Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream, saying it felt pleasant but the ingredients were unlikely to actually change the skin, and that the price was hard to justify. Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum got the same verdict: too thin, with the added B5 so low on the ingredient list that he did not think it would make a real difference, and better hyaluronic acid serums available elsewhere. La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum was his third skip. The sticking point was the format: he called it a hybrid fail, explaining that he does not rate products that try to be both a serum and a cream at once. He also noted the retinol concentration was low.
"It's nothing special. Doesn't leave any residue, quickly absorbed within the skin, but I think that's because you got a good formulator here. It feels nice as a product but there's nothing in these ingredients that are going to do anything for your skin. The ingredients are probably not going to change your skin. It's all about the price you're paying. If you're going to be paying like kind of High Street prices, these are great formulations but these are the same prices as some of the things that I stock in my clinics and my patients would kill me because they'd say look, my skin hasn't done anything."
"Low concentration of retinol, not many other peptides in there, which is quite disappointing. I don't like hybrid stuff, you're either a serum or you're a cream, can't be doing a hybrid thing. The ingredients are definitely a step up from the retinol cream and I do like what they've included, including vitamin B3. But it loses a lot of points on the hybrid. It's a hybrid fail."
"It's super thin so it's easily absorbed, there's no doubt about that, but it's thin. It really needed that thickener. There are better other hyaluronic acids on the market that we've talked about in previous videos. Yes, there's some additional B5, but it's so low down the list that it's not really going to make a difference. I personally don't think that this product's worth it. I think there's other things on the market that can do probably much the same job if not better."
What should you take from Dr. Somji Skin's picks?
Dr. Somji Skin's dry-skin record is one of the warmest around, but what he really rewards is a formula built around barrier ingredients and honest pricing. If ceramides, petrolatum, or squalane are on the label, he tends to be on board. Where he pushes back is on products with a fine texture but thin ingredient lists, or formats he thinks are trying to be two things at once. His two top picks, The Ordinary Squalane and Eucerin Aquaphor healing balm, are both straightforward, barrier-focused options. That tells you most of what you need to know about where he stands.
Watch Dr. Somji Skin say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- The Ordinary SqualaneNamed a winnerWatch at 6:18
- Eucerin Aquaphor Healing BalmNamed a winnerWatch at 19:03
- Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream Rescue & Recovery MoisturizerSkipped itWatch at 17:34
- La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 SerumSkipped itWatch at 17:06
- Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration SerumSkipped itWatch at 10:15
- CeraVe Moisturizing CreamRated itWatch at 6:57
- CeraVe Hydrating Facial CleanserRated itWatch at 1:47
- CeraVe Healing OintmentRated itWatch at 8:28
- Rhode Barrier Restore CreamRated itWatch at 7:33
- The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid SerumRated itWatch at 1:53
- SkinCeuticals H.A. Intensifier with Arbutin and Azelaic AcidRated itWatch at 4:33
- Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Acid Cream MoisturizerRated itWatch at 13:08
- Eucerin UreaRepair Plus 10% Urea LotionRated itWatch at 23:07
- Drunk Elephant Lippe BalmRated itWatch at 22:21
- La Roche-Posay Toleriane Sensitive CreamRated itWatch at 11:03
- CeraVe SA Lotion for Rough and Bumpy SkinRated itWatch at 3:19
- Bio-Essence Squalane OilRated itWatch at 3:53
- The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HARated itWatch at 2:26
- Aquaphor Healing Ointment Advanced TherapyRated itWatch at 13:28
- Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing HydratorRated itWatch at 10:02
- The Ordinary Virgin Marula OilRated itWatch at 14:04
- The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed OilRated itWatch at 5:12
- Cetaphil Hydrating Foaming Cream CleanserRated itWatch at 5:48
- The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5Rated itWatch at 1:45
About this expert
See everything Dr. Somji Skin has reviewed
Related guides
This guide reflects what Dr. Somji Skin said across their videos about 36 products for dry skin, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The Guru Score is our read on how warmly they talk about them. It is general information, not medical advice.