These 10 Hydrating Face Washes Are Great for Dry Skin (2025)

DRY SKIN can be a real pain. Most guys with dry skin experience feelings of itchiness, tightness, flaking, inflammation, or even cracking. Even more bad news: dry skin is more common in the winter when the air is drier and harsh winds can strip your skin of its natural barrier that keeps moisture in. The symptoms of dry skin tend to be at their worst when you're washing your face, which makes finding the best face wash for dry skin a difficult task.

You want something that cleanses without drying out your skin even more. Ideally, you want a cleanser that adds moisture back into your skin while also removing dirt and debris from your pores to prevent acne from forming. The best face wash for dry skin contains gentle, moisturizing ingredients such as glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides. Added fragrance, alcohol, or anything resembling a face scrub is too harsh to use for arid mugs. For most people, dry skin is a temporary condition; once you heal your skin barrier, that dry, tight feeling that occurs after washing your face should go away, leaving behind a polished, healthy-looking complexion.

From creamy formulas to foaming options, we've narrowed down our picks for the best face washes for dry skin that provides the long-lasting hydration your skin craves.

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Dry skin doesn't like overcomplicated skincare products, and this cleanser from La Roche-Posay is simple in the best sense of the word. With its gentle, soap-free formula, it effectively removes dirt and oil without leaving your skin feeling tight or dry. The inclusion of thermal spring water and glycerin work together to hydrate and soothe dry skin, leaving it feeling refreshed and revitalized.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser is a classic gentle cleanser perfect for those who want a deep, yet gentle cleanse. The creamy, non-greasy formula thoroughly cleanses the skin while maintaining its natural moisture balance with ingredients like glycerin, avocado oil, and squalane. It's suitable for just about any skin type, including dry skin.

This multi-tasking face wash is unlike any other product on this list. Its unique formula is designed to cleanse, exfoliate, tone, and hydrate dry skin. While the formula is advanced, the actual experience of using this cleanser is very gentle and calming—especially for dry, sensitive skin.

This drugstore cleanser helps restore the protective barrier of dry skin with three essential ceramides. The gentle, non-foaming formula won't clog pores or cause breakouts, and leaves skin feeling every bit as hydrated as before you washed your face. If you suffer from super dry skin on your body, try using this as your body wash instead of your regular soap.

This cleanser helps transform extra dry skin into balanced, healthy-looking skin in no time. The lotion's texture softens skin, prevents moisture loss, and easily removes the grime that builds up throughout the course of your day without leaving a residue.

Those with super dry skin may want to consider cleansing with an oil-based face wash. Contrary to popular belief, oil doesn't always clog your pores. It can be used to cleanse and hydrate the skin, as does with this cleanser from Costa Brazil. The blend of plant-based oils and antioxidants including coconut oil, mango seed butter, and aloe vera helps to moisturize the skin while squalene allows for deeper absorption of active ingredients.

Not all gel cleansers are great for dry skin, but this one has a ton of hydrating ingredients including aloe and willow herb extract that help to cleanse and hydrate without over-stripping the skin. If you're bald, it's even more beneficial because it can help keep your scalp hydrated and healthy-looking.

If you have sensitive skin that reacts to every new product you try on your skin, do yourself a favor and get some Vanicream. The non-comedogenic (read: pore-clogging) formula is free of common irritants such as fragrances, dyes, parabens, and sulfates, making it an excellent choice for those with extreme skin sensitivities. Moisturizing ingredients like glycerin and propylene glycol helps to hydrate and soothe dry skin.

You can bet that this cleanser won't dry out your skin, thanks to its special blend of potent herbal actives, rich plant oils, and ethically sourced honey. It provides a luxuriously moisturizing yet effective cleanse, washing away dirt, impurities, and excess oil from your pores.

The microbiome is a new frontier of scientific research, including the field of skin care. This cleanser from BeautyStat is designed to promote a healthy skin microbiome, treat inflammation as a result of extremely dry skin, and help defend the skin against pathogens and environmental hazards. Unlike other face washes for dry skin, this one foams up nicely without stripping the skin of its delicate moisture barrier.

For the past three years, we consulted with Men's Health's Grooming editors and writers on the best face washes for dry skin. Experts, including our Grooming Editor Garrett Munce, put a number of face washes to the test and evaluated their effectiveness, texture, ingredients, and price. We also considered top-reviewed face washes that had over 100 five-star ratings on e-commerce websites we trust.