The Skin Care Ingredients You Should Look For If You Have Dry Skin

If you deal with dry skin on a daily basis, you might just be wondering what skincare ingredients will boost hydration and give you a glowy complexion. While dry skin can be frustrating and a bit of a nuisance, and can become even more common in the colder months, there are tons of natural ingredients to prevent it. Some skincare go-to products will create a barrier to lock in much-needed moisture, giving you the skin you're dreaming of.

According to Kate Somerville, dry skin is caused by genetics, the environment, or even skin products designed for oilier complexions. Not to worry though — parched skin is easily solved by a round-up of hydration products that bring water to your skin cells. Unlike moisturizers that use a lipid barrier over the skin, hydration products get to the root of the problem on a cellular level (via Wander Beauty). Interested? Here's everything you need to know.

A top contender for being the perfect balance between effective and all-natural, goat milk is a skincare ingredient that brings serious moisture to dry skin. As per Kate Somerville, goat milk's organic fat content is deeply hydrating, and has been used for thousands of years to soothe sensitive skin (via Healthline). Best part? Goat milk contains powerful vitamin A and lactic acid, plus it creates a barrier around the skin to protect it from pollution. According to Healthline, goat milk has the same pH as human skin, so it's perfect for eczema or psoriasis, and is unlikely to produce an inflammatory reaction.

What else besides goat milk do you need in your skincare routine? Next up is lactic acid, another powerhouse ingredient that will moisturize skin while chemically-exfoliating the epidermis (via Kate Somerville). Lactic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid found in many skin care products, and is either found in milk or synthetically-produced (via Verywell Health). Through natural exfoliation, lactic acid can lighten dark spots and scars, improve wrinkles, and moisturize the skin's barrier. This ingredient will hydrate on a cellular level, giving you long-lasting moisture.

Another ingredient that hydrates dry skin is one you might have in your kitchen: the super-soothing aloe vera. If your skin is dry and sensitive, grab products that contain this medicinal plant — it will relieve irritation, soothe dryness, and is great after sun exposure (via Kate Somerville). Aloe vera can treat acne and eczema, using powerful components like vitamins A, C, E, and B12.

If you've heard of hyaluronic acid a lot lately, it's for a reason — this ingredient is actually a molecule already found in your body, and is used for anti-aging, acne, unclogging pores, and yes, seriously moisturizing the skin from within (via Kate Somerville). Binding water to collagen to make skin super-dewy, hyaluronic acid is one of your best bets for moisture (via Allure). Lastly, you could try ceramides which also occur naturally in the skin, and are part of the lipid family (via Healthline). Making up 50% of the epidermis, treating your skin with ceramides will lock it with extra moisture and hydration.