Dr. Vanita Rattan has reviewed 93 products for dry skin. She approved 45, gave 9 a mixed take, and passed on 39. That works out to a Guru Score of 48%, which makes her one of the tougher reviewers on this topic. She specialises in skin of color, and she is a cosmetic formulator herself, so she reads ingredient lists with a trained eye.
What does Dr. Vanita Rattan recommend for dry skin?
The ingredient Dr. Rattan comes back to again and again is ceramides. She explains that skin of color naturally has fewer of them, and ceramides are the fats that lock water into the top layer of skin. So she wants to see them in any dry-skin moisturiser. She also looks for glycerin, which draws water in, and panthenol, which calms irritation. She named two standout products: CeraVe Moisturizing Cream and CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser. She also praised BYOMA Phyto-Mucin Hydrate + Plump Glow Serum for its peptides, ceramides, and glycerin. And she was impressed enough by COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence that she bought it herself after looking into it.
In her words
"It's got solvents, then it's got glycerin, which I love, your water magnet. Then it's got peptides, so that is they're like basically like chemical messengers between cells to help rejuvenate skin cells. It's got panthenol, which is anti-inflammatory, plus ceramides. And ceramides are key if you have a damaged skin barrier. So I actually love this product. Bioma, you've done an outstanding job. I love it."
"I like this product. [...] I'm a cosmetic formulator myself, and I know how much love and care has to go into every formula and the thought process, so when I see products that I would purchase myself and I would tell you to go and purchase, I am actually very grateful. [...] The first ingredient is snail secretion filtrate, and the first ingredient means it has the highest percentage. This snail secretion mucus that everyone's raving about, all over Korean skincare, actually comes from the garden snail, Cornu aspersum, and it's [...] the secretion it releases when it's stressed. Snail secretion has got proteoglycans in it, glycoproteins, enzymes, glucosaminoglycans, hyaluronic acid, and copper peptides. This is all fantastic because this is what your skin needs, this is food for your skin. As soon as I finished researching COSRX and doing my in-depth investigation, I went and purchased it myself."
"Looking into The Ordinary Soothing and Barrier Support Serum, [...] this is very expensive for The Ordinary range, they're almost breaking three of the five and ten single actives with this particular product. [...] It is expensive for The Ordinary but it does actually make sense if you do a deep dive into the ingredients. Fifth ingredient here is niacinamide which is good because it means it's in that 2 to 5% range which is what we're looking for. They've got imoan and humant in this, so the soothers in this product are babassu which I love, it's got galactaric glucoside, it's got zingiber root extract too, so three different soothers, plus they've added phospholipids which is a skin identical ingredient, especially if you strip the skin of fats it's good to reload with fats. I like that this product is NPA safe as well, meaning no denatured alcohol which dries the skin, no fragrance which can lead to contact dermatitis and no essential oils which can sensitize the skin."
"CeraVe's got a very good ointment if you need something a bit thicker."
"Ceramides are so important for skin of color because we have less ceramides in our skin anyway, and those are the fats that retain water, so we actually do need ceramides in our moisturizer daily to get the maximum glow and to create the maximum healing environment for the skin. I routinely cycle this, and if I don't use it I could really feel a difference on myself. [...] I really love how it's lightweight. [...] I'm actually got a bit of oily skin too, but this really is beautiful because I also use retinol and prescription strength, so I find that I need something that really keeps me hydrated and gives me the glow at the same time. You can sometimes peel with the retinol, and [...] this is beautiful. It's really lightweight and just so nice."
"The Vanicream is brilliant. It's very hydrating, good for eczema. It doesn't have any other tyrosinase inhibitors to brighten the skin, but it's good if you have very dry skin."
How many products has Dr. Vanita Rattan reviewed for dry skin?
Dr. Vanita Rattan has reviewed 93 products for dry skin, for a Guru Score of 48%. 45 approved, 9 mixed, and 39 skipped.
What has Dr. Vanita Rattan skipped for dry skin?
Dr. Rattan passed on anything with denatured alcohol, fragrance, or essential oils in a leave-on product. She calls these her three red flags. La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream failed on all three. She flagged denatured alcohol as drying, and she pointed out that fragrances are often hidden behind long chemical names that shoppers may not clock as fragrance at all. She passed on Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream for the essential oils. She explained that they can trigger inflammation, and then post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which means dark patches that linger after the skin is irritated. That is a particular concern for skin of color. She was also direct about Plum 1% Retinol Face Serum with Bakuchiol. The label says 1% retinol, but the formula actually uses retinol palmitate, a weaker form that the skin has to convert before it can do anything. She called that misinformation.
"I think initially you're going to love this product when you put it on but actually it's going to be shortlived. Your lips are going to feel really dry and you're just not going to get the benefits. It just sits on the lips, it's not penetrating into the lips. That's what you want: humectants that are going to pull the hydration into the lips, which you're not really getting with this product. This is probably one of the worst products I've tried today."
"The ingredients, the irritants they put into here is your eucalyptus, your lemon, your janol linol hydroxy citronellol and citrol, those are all different types of fragrance. The problem is with these sort of long words that you might not be familiar with, you might not know it's fragrance that you're putting on your skin. You might just think these are good ingredients but actually if you ever see these words in any of your ingredients list, [...] avoid using that product. And to be honest, when you open it, the second you smell it, you'll know that they've put in the irritants into the product. On top of this, they put in denatured alcohol. Why would you do that? Denatured alcohol is drying. It has a low boiling point, that means the second you put it on your skin it evaporates, but what it's also doing is taking away water from the top layer of skin with it. And if you have mature skin, your skin is already drier, it's already duller. The worst thing you want to do now is to make it even drier. [...] Our moisturizer should be safe meaning no denatured alcohol, no fragrance, and no essential oils. It should also have a high ceramide ratio because we have less ceramides in our skin, that's what holds water in the top layer of skin."
"This is the most disappointing formula from this whole video. It's coming with retinol palmitate, not retinol, but they've marketed it as 1% retinol, and that's misinformation. Retinol palmitate is one step removed, it has to be converted to retinol, and it's one of the weakest forms of vitamin A. They add in an apple stem cell extract, but the clinical evidence on actual cosmetic formulas in human skin is thin. They did add in bakuchiol oil, which is a genuine ingredient, but it's after the preservative system in the ingredient list, so it's almost certainly less than 1%. I really don't like this formula. This is a 3.5 out of 10."
"Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream contains essential oils. Now, I know they smell like a five-star spa, but essential oils in leave on products are sneaky triggers for PIH, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. [...] Essential oils are an irritant. They're allergens. And when that happens, inflammation takes place. And when inflammation takes place, hyperpigmentation can take place. Why would you even risk it?"
What should you take from Dr. Vanita Rattan's picks?
For dry skin, Dr. Rattan's record points clearly toward ceramides, glycerin, and panthenol, and away from denatured alcohol, fragrance, and essential oils, especially in anything you leave on. Both of her named winners are CeraVe, which fits her steady message: simple, barrier-focused formulas, free of irritants.
Watch Dr. Vanita Rattan say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- CeraVe Moisturizing CreamNamed a winnerWatch at 9:40
- CeraVe Hydrating Facial CleanserNamed a winnerWatch at 4:26
- Laneige Lip Sleeping MaskSkipped itWatch at 17:31
- La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing CreamSkipped itWatch at 5:45
- Plum 1% Retinol Face Serum with BakuchiolSkipped itWatch at 5:02
- Tatcha Dewy Skin CreamSkipped itWatch at 4:55
- CeraVe SA Cream for Rough and Bumpy SkinSkipped itWatch at 11:22
- CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C SerumSkipped itWatch at 9:48
- Medicube Collagen Jelly CreamSkipped itWatch at 14:20
- Mixsoon Bean CreamSkipped itWatch at 24:50
- Augustinus Bader Rich CreamSkipped itWatch at 13:21
- Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 Night MoisturizerSkipped itWatch at 9:27
- Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing HydratorSkipped itWatch at 21:41
- COSRX Hydrium Watery TonerSkipped itWatch at 13:36
- Charlotte Tilbury Magic CreamSkipped itWatch at 27:07
- Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Moist Sun Serum SPF 50+ PA++++Skipped itWatch at 27:26
- Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with AvocadoSkipped itWatch at 25:47
- Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing CreamSkipped itWatch at 6:11
- Glow Recipe Avocado Ceramide Recovery SerumSkipped itWatch at 11:48
- Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial OilSkipped itWatch at 4:55
- Bioderma Atoderm Shower OilSkipped itWatch at 6:36
- Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night OilSkipped itWatch at 4:55
- Glow Recipe Avocado Ceramide Moisture Barrier CleanserSkipped itWatch at 6:57
- Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Facial OilSkipped itWatch at 15:38
About this expert
See everything Dr. Vanita Rattan has reviewed
Related guides
This guide reflects what Dr. Vanita Rattan said across their videos about 93 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.