The 15 Best Body Moisturizers for Your Parched Winter Skin

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

Sure, you've got your facial skin care routine down to a science, but when was the last time you paid special attention to the skin below your décolletage? Especially as we enter the cold, dark days of winter, it's important to ensure your arms, legs, and everywhere in between are moisturized and protected. "The best body moisturizers provide the necessary hydration to allow the skin the ability to repair and protect its function to lock in moisture," says Dr. Nava Greenfield, a New York City-based board-certified dermatologist. Not only that, but they can become part of a greater self-care practice in your day-to-day life, something that's especially important during these gloomy months.

When shopping for a moisturizer, keep your skin type in mind. Do you have sensitive skin? Do you feel tight and flaky? Ask yourself before you start your search. "A good moisturizer will have a balanced and thoughtful composition of powerful yet gentle ingredients that provide hydration without compromising on safety and tolerability," says Dr. Greenfield. "Combining hydrating ingredients while maintaining an optimal pH without harsh chemicals is important." Moreover, you want to look at the specific emollients each product is formulated with. "Using oils will lock in long lasting skin moisture, and can also provide second benefits such as anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties to aid in skin health," she says.

Once you've found your perfect match, Dr. Greenfield recommends lubing up right after bathing, while your skin is still damp. And if you have very dry skin, you might want to moisturize in the morning and before bed. "We typically focus on the face in skin care but it would be a mistake to ignore the health and moisture of the body," she says. "Take the extra few minutes a day and moisture—your skin will benefit both in the short term and long term."

Ahead, find all of the moisturizers we're lusting over this season, from tubs of rich creams to lightweight gel hydrators. You'll find a range of price points and picks from brands familiar and new, like Necessaire, SIDIA, Kate McLeod, La Roche-Posay, and more. With these, you might even look forward to carving out a few minutes for body care each day.

Grounding Stone

This solid moisturizer is a self-care treat for the senses. Warm up the stone in your hands and glide it along your skin. The nourishing cocoa butter and coconut oil soften your skin, while the earthy notes of vetiver and bergamot soothe. Nicely, despite its rich texture, it doesn't leave behind a greasy, sticky feeling on very dry skin.

Hero ingredients: Cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, vetiver oil

One shopper says: "This skin bar is luscious and very moisturizing. I use it every day and swear by its ability to keep my skin feeling wonderful. The scent is light and gentle, slightly tantalizing. The quality of this product and the purity of the ingredients make it well worth it."

Best for: All skin types, especially dry

Total Package Replenishing Body Lotion Mineral SPF 30

For people to tend to forget body sun protection, this moisturizer will be a godsend. It packs 30 SPF (thanks to mineral-based zinc oxide) into an easy-to-apply, silky lotion that's gentle on all skin types.

Hero ingredients: Cupuacu butter, grapeseed oil, sodium PCA

One shopper says: "This sunscreen body lotion is really nice. It comes out white when you first apply it, but once you rub it in it is clear. It doesn’t have a sunscreen smell to it at all which I really like. It made my skin feel really soft after using it, and it doesn’t have any kind of scent to it."

Best for: All skin types

Evercalm Barrier Support Body Balm

This rich body balm comes with endorsements from the pros. "I enjoy and recommend REN's Evercalm Barrier Support Body Balm because it has a unique combination of naturally sourced oils which deeply hydrate the skin," says Dr. Greenfield. "It is designed for sensitive skin, so it's unlikely to cause irritation of allergic reactions, and it's microbiome friendly and has an optimized pH."

Hero ingredients: Camellia japonica seed oil, sunflower seed oil, ceramides

One shopper says: "The Evercalm Balm worked wonders for my skin. It goes on smooth and feels very hydrating. It is a little greasy at first but then goes away after soaking in. I'll definitely be adding this into my everyday routine."

Best for: Dry, sensitive skin

Carea Cream

Buzzy body care brand Soft Services makes a slew of hero products, but the Carea Cream has to be our favorite. Its lightweight texture is surprisingly moisturizing, and the combination of exfoliating urea, brightening squalane, and soothing colloidal oatmeal calm and tone irritated, bumpy skin.

Hero ingredients: Urea, squalane, colloidal oatmeal, shea butter

One shopper says: "The Carea Cream is truly a holy grail product for me. This is the only moisturizer I've found that reduces my KP without drying out or leaving a heavy film on my skin. This cream has been a game changer for managing my severe KP in a high humidity environment."

Best for: Anyone with eczema or keratosis pilaris

Creme de Corps Body Moisturizer

A cult-favorite for many reasons, Kiehl's Creme de Corps deserves a spot on your top shelf. It's bolstered with rich butters and oils to smooth crepey, flaky skin for days.

Hero ingredients: Cocoa butter, shea butter, squalane

One shopper says: "This may be the best body lotion I have ever used. It feels more like a cream, but don't be deterred—it sinks in really well and keeps skin moisturized all day. I have mature, dry, crepey skin that looks a whole lot better after applying this lotion."

Best for: Mature skin

The Body Serum

New in the body care space, Sidia aims to make post-shower rehydration so easy you won't be able to come up with an excuse to not use it. This body serum in particular comes in a handy (but still chic) spray bottle to spritz the lightweight formula right onto your skin. Fortified with ingredients like hyaluronic acid and prickly pear oil and finished with a complex, decadent fragrance, anyone with normal or oilyish skin won't be able to get enough of it.

Hero ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, avocado butter, prickly pear oil

One shopper says: "This body serum is such a pleasure to use. It smells like the kind of body care you'd get at a luxury hotel: elegant, naturalistic, a juicy citrus meets an uplifting white tea with just a hint of mintiness. As a scent person, I can't get enough of it. I also love the texture, which is lightweight and silky and absorbs without a trace."

Best for: Normal skin types, light dehydration

Moisturizing Cream

If you're not sure where to start when it comes to caring for the skin on your body, might we suggest this tub of CeraVe's classic, affordable, and crowd-pleasing formula? It's packed with skin-loving ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and ceramides to protect and support your skin barrier, and it's rich without feeling heavy.

Hero ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, ceramides, glycerin

One shopper says: "This product is a lifesaver. Since using it, I no longer have dry, flaky, and cracked skin. It's not at all greasy (my fave thing about it), feels thick while going on light and smooth, and actually moisturizes. It truly leaves me with a deep moisture that puts my dry, inflamed skin to rest. it is the only product I swear by using for moisturizing my body."

Best for: All skin types

Splash Salve

If the idea of buttering yourself up after a relaxing shower when all you want to do is rot in your rob is enough to deter you from moisturizing entirely, this salve tin from Hanni exists for you. Scoop out a bit of the formula (which includes serious hydrators like shea butter and jojoba) while you're still in the shower, smooth it over your body, then towel off as usual. The moisture will stay, but you won't feel residual greasiness.

Hero ingredients: Jojoba, coconut oil, shea butter

One shopper says: "There is a bit of a learning curve with this product; it took me a few times to figure out exactly how much to use. But now it's something I honestly can't imagine going without. I love that I don't need to put moisturizer on my legs after the shower and my legs never look ashy anymore."

Best for: Dry skin

Organic Fractionated Coconut Oil

Dr. Greenfield recommends good 'ole coconut oil for moisturizing mature skin. "Aging skin is not likely to break out from applying an oil and it needs the extra potent moisturizing effect a pure oil can provide," she says. This one comes in a big bottle and doesn't have any fragrances, dyes, or additional ingredients added into the bottle.

Hero ingredients: Coconut oil

One shopper says: "This organic coconut oil feels great on my skin. In the winter, I combine it with shea butter and it's excellent for very dry skin. I highly recommend this product and am glad I purchased from this brand."

Best for: Mature skin

Supermatcha Body Lotion+

Fortified with 16 (yes, 16) vitamin- and mineral-packed superfoods like matcha, ginseng, rambutan, and snow mushroom, Iota's plant-based retinol body moisturizer is a treat for the senses—and the skin. It has a lightweight texture and won't leave your skin feeling sticky.

Hero ingredients: Green tea leaf extract, bakuchiol. jojoba oil, niacinamide, ginseng, pre- and probiotics

One shopper says: "This moisturizer is an absolute DREAM. It absorbs so well into the skin, smells amazing, and is so soothing. I have to avoid retinol while I'm breastfeeding and I am so glad I found this as an alternative."

Best for: Dark spots, pregnant and breastfeeding people, uneven texture, mature skin, body acne

Lipikar Balm AP+ Intense Repair Body Lotion

Anyone with sensitive skin should stash a bottle (or several) of La Roche-Posay's lipid-restoring body cream in their cabinet. It's accepted by the National Eczema Association and formulated with pre- and postbiotics to restore your skin's microbiome to not only soothe flare-ups, but prevent them from cropping up in the first place. And the best part? It's suitable for your face, too.

Hero ingredients: Pre- and postbiotics, shea butter, niacinamide

One shopper says: "I tried about 15 different lotions before I found La Roche-Posay. This lotion is incredible for my sensitive, extremely dry skin. My skin has gone from leathery to vibrant. The lotion is very thick but absorbs quickly and there is no fragrance.This is totally worth the price for anyone with dry, sensitive skin."

Best for: Very dry skin, sensitive skin, eczema, rosacea, mature skin

Body Lotion

We've written about Public Spirit's delightful body lotion before, noting its luxurious, genderless scent (Aesop without the price tag, folks) and philanthropic mission. It really is that good, and the lightweight hydration is the perfect middle-of-the-road formula for those with normal skin types.

One shopper says: "I am picky about my lotion consistency, and this lotion exceeds my expectations with a perfect weight to it that soaks into my dry skin with a great scent to start my day."

Best for: Normal skin

Shea + Cocoa Butter Body Lotion

This buttery, intensely-moisturizing lotion proves that Jergens can do a lot more than give you a faux summer glow. It's also bolstered with brightening ingredients that work to fade dark spots over time.

Hero ingredients: Shea butter, cocoa butter, vitamin E, vitamin B3

One shopper says: "I have extremely dry skin and this not only gave my skin a healthy look, it smelled great and I had a few people ask my what fragrance I was wearing (it was the lotion)."

Best for: Very dry skin

The Body Cream

This is one body cream you'll never forget to use because it'll look so good sitting on your countertop. Necessaire's body cream has a whipped, rich texture and feels luxurious and silky as you apply it. Niacinamide works to brighten skin, while ceramides and peptides protect, and colloidal oatmeal soothes.

Hero ingredients: Ceramides, niacinamide, linoleic acid, colloidal oatmeal

One shopper says: "Why is no one talking about this?! It's hands down the best body cream I’ve ever tried. I have very dehydrated skin postpartum. The hydration from this is not sticky and lasts allllll day."

Best for: Very dry skin, postpartum, sensitive skin

Speed Soak

For skin that's generally congested or slightly prone to pimples, Soft Services' Speed Soak delivers light-as-air hydration that settles into skin almost instantly. It's excellent for folks who can't stand the greasy, sticky, oily feeling of rich moisturizers but still need a dose of hydration.

Hero ingredients: Glycerin, aquaxyl, panthenol, squalane

One shopper says: "This is a perfectly light body lotion. It's what I wish my skin’s baseline moisture level was, and it really requires no downtime between application and getting dressed."

Best for: Normal skin, reactive and sensitive skin, body acne

You Might Also Like

• 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion

• 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game