The $11 Drugstore Lotion a Dermatologist Swears by When Her Skin Is Feeling Dry and Scaly

Every time winter rolls back around, it can be shocking to remember how just dry your skin can get. Even worse? Remembering how irritated and itchy that dry skin can feel. When Ivy Lee, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Pasadena, California, feels her skin is super parched, she turns to CeraVe Healing Ointment ($11).

CeraVe Healing Ointment 5 oz — $11.00

“When I feel like I’m really scaly, I like the CeraVe ointment,” she says. “If my skin is super dry, if there are any little cracks in it or fissures, especially on my hands after doing a lot of dishes or housework, that’s one of my go-to’s.”

This ointment features ceramides, aka the building blocks of your skin cells, to help restore and maintain the skin’s natural barrier, as well as hyaluronic acid to attract hydration to the skin’s surface and help the skin retain moisture. It also has petrolatum, which helps to temporarily protect minor cuts, scrapes, and burns, prevents and relieves chapped or cracked skin and lips, and protects skin from the drying effects of wind and cold weather. It’s free of fragrance, dyes, and lanolin, and also has the Seal of Approval from the National Eczema Association.

Dr. Lee says it’s important to maintain moisture in our skin throughout the year, but it becomes even more essential during the colder months.

“In the winter, we not only have the cold outside, but we also have that compensatory human effect of turning on the heat which then draws out more of the moisture in your atmosphere and drives out your skin even more,” she says. “And couple that with layering and long pants and long sleeves—it makes it really hard for your skin to retain any moisture.”

The best way to compensate for all the above is by moisturizing from head to toe. Shop Dr. Lee’s go-to heavy moisturizer in different sizes below.

CeraVe Healing Ointment Twin Pack — $8.00

This pack of two 0.35 oz ointments is great for moisturizing on the go.

CeraVe Healing Ointment 12 oz — $24.00

Get through the winter with this 12 oz jar of ointment.

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