If You Have Dry, Irritated Skin, Try These 5 Research-Backed Ingredients

If you've ever gone through a period in which your skin was particularly dry and dehydrated, you know just how uncomfortable it can be. Dry skin is never just dry skin: It comes with flakes, ashiness, itchiness, blotchiness, irritation, sensitivities, and tightness. It can even lead to more severe inflammatory skin conditions, such as eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis. Not ideal, to say the least.

So when dry skin creeps up on you, take it seriously: Grab yourself a soothing, deeply hydrating lotion that helps restore the skin barrier, limit transepidermal water loss, and provide comforting production. 

Oat extracts—and more specifically colloidal oat—are the gold standard ingredient for dry, sensitive skin. Oats are anti-inflammatory in their own right, as they contain antioxidants, lipids, and avenanthramides.

When boiled down, it makes colloidal gel extract, which is rich in antioxidants and has a 30% concentration of lipids. This substance has been shown to bolster the skin barrier1, provide protective qualities2 against external stress, and act as an emollient. The FDA has even approved colloidal oatmeal as an over-the-counter drug, specifically as a skin protectant. 

Aloe vera is a major skin thirst quencher. Not only does it have high water content naturally, but it also acts as a humectant. Humectants attract water, pulling it into the epidermis. When applied topically, aloe vera has been shown to increase the water content4.

This botanical butter is one of the most popular ingredients in creams and lotions for good reason. Its moisturizing and emollient qualities are tied to the high fatty-acid content, namely linoleic acid and oleic acid. These fatty acids sink into the skin and help restore the barrier7. One study even suggests it has similar topical effects to ceramides8. 

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a fat-soluble antioxidant that's found in all your cells. Furthermore, it's the only fat-soluble antioxidant10 naturally made by the human body. And this antioxidant is special. 

Squalene is a natural lipid produced by your skin, and it plays several functions in the skin—including barrier protection, limiting transepidermal water loss, and more. We have a more abundant supply when we're young, but we lose it with age. Dry skin, increased sensitivities, irritation, and premature aging can all be traced back to its loss.