Dry Skin Cream — Reddit Reviews
by Pond's
Updated September 16, 2026
Mineral oil and petrolatum rescue severe dryness; pills and breaks some people out.
What the community says
A thick, old-school occlusive cream for dry, tight skin, with mineral oil, petrolatum, and glycerin doing the heavy lifting. It melts in for users, yet fragrance, pilling, and breakout reports make it a poor match for acne-prone or reactive faces.
What this means for you
Backed by 12 threads from r/SkincareAddiction, r/30PlusSkinCare and 3 more.
Read the threads ↓What people love
Watch out for
- Pills under layered routines
- Breakouts despite soft, glowing skin
- Fragrance can burn reactive skin
Product details
Concerns
Skin Type
Product Traits
Key Ingredients
Where to buy
What the science says
Skin Barrier
Some evidence
Petrolatum: 13 studies tested it directly. See all 22 studies
What the studies found
- Most studies found it helped the skin barrier
- It often lowered water loss and helped skin hold more moisture
- It helped damaged skin recover faster and protected skin from some irritants
- It improved dry, itchy skin in some studies, including in older adults and babies
- A few studies found no clear extra benefit over a control or another moisturizer
Eczema
Some evidence
Petrolatum: 6 studies tested it directly. See all 8 studies
What the studies found
- Most studies found petrolatum helped eczema or related skin changes
- Studies found it could lower how bad eczema was and reduce scaling
- It improved hand eczema symptoms, but was not better than another moisturizer
- It improved how much water the skin held, though another product worked better in some areas
- One study found another moisturizer helped eczema more than petrolatum
Research context, not treatment advice. Studies are about the ingredient, not necessarily this exact product.
Real Reddit threads — 23 mentions across 12 threads
Pond's Dry Skin Cream on Reddit, in one place — 12 threads from r/SkincareAddiction, r/30PlusSkinCare and 3 more, summarized.
“i like to layer cetaphil moisturizer underneath ponds dry skin cream.”
Positive
“i also do this! i like to layer cetaphil moisturizer underneath ponds dry skin cream.”
Positive
“Pond's dry skin cream (blue lid) is my go-to when my skin needs a boost.”
Positive
“A couple nights with pond's does the trick.”
Positive
“Fragranced af”
Positive
“Good old fashioned Ponds Dry Skin Cream . White jar with a blue lid.”
Positive
“It’s the only one I always come back to that hydrates my skin.”
Positive
“Pond’s moisturizing cream”
Positive
“I just got the Pond’s Dry Skin Cream and it’s done wonders for my dry skin and it’s non-irritating.”
Positive
“I know some people don’t love Pond’s but for $8, if it works it works.”
Positive
“Morning - Pond's Dry Skin Face Cream”
Positive
“Night - Pond's Dry Skin Face Cream”
Positive
“photos and current routine posted below.”
Positive
“6. Ponds dry skin cream”
Positive
“Products in your routine that are prone to pilling (that I know of): niacinimide, snail mucin, ponds cream”
Positive
