Dr. Vanita Rattan has reviewed more than 100 products for dry skin. She approved well over half and passed on about a third, an approval rate of 56%. 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. Her standout picks are 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.
Dr. Vanita Rattan's dry skin picks, 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."
"A better option is a gentle hydrating cleanser. CeraVe hydrating cleanser is around $16 at CVS, and I'd follow it up by a humectant serum before your moisturizer. Try this for two weeks before you reach for anything labeled oil control. It's a safe daily choice for black skin."
"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."
"CeraVe's got a very good ointment if you need something a bit thicker."
"I do like this one from The Ordinary so I like lactic acid and I also like the mandelic acid but in addition to really make it special you want to have 7% humectant in it too that will then give you hydration at the same time as exfoliation."
"NMF plus hyaluronic acid is written as HA. So that's great for eczema prone skin. When you have eczema, you've already got less NMF than the normal population and that's one of the reasons that the skin barrier is compromised. So that's a fantastic product, especially if you have eczema."
How many products has Dr. Vanita Rattan reviewed for dry skin?
Dr. Vanita Rattan has reviewed 98 products for dry skin, for an approval rate of 56%. 55 approved, 5 mixed, and 38 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."
"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?"
"Just any time you see alcohol as a solvent in the top sort of 10 ingredients in a product list, I would run away in the opposite direction. The damage actually continues even after you've worn it, even after you've washed it off. The damage doesn't end when you put alcohol on the skin. It really does damage your skin barrier. So it's a shame. I would avoid it. They could have very easily sidestepped it and used glycol instead."
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
- 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
- BYOMA Melting Balm CleanserSkipped itWatch at 3:15
- Mixsoon Bean CreamSkipped itWatch at 24:50
- Mixsoon Bean Cleansing OilSkipped itWatch at 3:47
- Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with AvocadoSkipped itWatch at 4:35
- Augustinus Bader Rich CreamSkipped itWatch at 13:21
- Medik8 Crystal Retinal 6Skipped itWatch at 8:38
- Skin1004 Probio-Cica Essence TonerSkipped itWatch at 12:54
- Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial OilSkipped itWatch at 4:55
- Glow Recipe Avocado Ceramide Recovery SerumSkipped itWatch at 11:48
- Glow Recipe Avocado Ceramide Moisture Barrier CleanserSkipped itWatch at 6:57
- Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Facial OilSkipped itWatch at 15:38
- Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner (Fragrance-Free)Skipped itWatch at 6:55
- BYOMA Brightening SerumSkipped itWatch at 7:38
- Haruharu Wonder Black Rice 10% High Hyaluronic Acid CreamSkipped itWatch at 14:41
- Numbuzin Collagen 73% PuddingSkipped itWatch at 20:31
- BYOMA Hydrating Recovery OilSkipped itWatch at 8:43
- Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Hyaluronic Botanical 2GF AmpouleSkipped itWatch at 8:31
- Minimalist 10% HA SerumSkipped itWatch at 31:01
About this expert
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This guide reflects what Dr. Vanita Rattan said across her videos about 98 products for dry skin, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products she approved. It is general information, not medical advice.