Why is it worse at night?

Several things line up: body temperature rises slightly in the evening and warmth increases itch, there is nothing to distract you from it, and the anti-inflammatory hormones the body makes are at their daily low. Cooling the room and moisturising before bed rather than at bedtime both help.

Is itchy skin always dry skin?

No, and assuming it is keeps people applying cream to something that will not answer. Itch without dryness can be a reaction to a product or fabric, and itch that is severe or all over -- particularly with no rash at all -- occasionally points at something internal. Persistent whole-body itch on skin that looks normal is worth a doctor's opinion rather than another moisturiser.

Does drinking more water help dry skin?

Very little, unless you are genuinely dehydrated. Skin gets its water from the body regardless, and the problem in dry itchy skin is losing it at the surface rather than not having enough underneath. What you put on the surface matters here; what you drink mostly does not.

Can I use an exfoliating body lotion on itchy skin?

Not while it is itching. An acid on a compromised barrier stings and delays the repair. Get the skin comfortable with a plain ceramide cream first, then introduce an exfoliant if roughness is still the complaint once the itch has gone.

The answer

Why is my skin so itchy?

Skin holds a layer of lipid and ceramide at its surface, and when that layer thins the nerve endings underneath are exposed and water leaves faster than it is replaced. That is the itch -- and it is why it is worst in winter, worst on the shins and forearms, and worst about ten minutes after a hot shower, when the skin has finished evaporating. So the routine is short and it is mostly subtractive: lower the water temperature, stop the foaming and the fragrance, and put a ceramide cream on skin that is still damp. Scratching is the part that turns an itch into a cycle, because broken skin itches more than dry skin does.

What answers it

CeraVeMoisturizing Cream, the daily tubThe everyday one, and the one to buy first. Ceramides are the thing the barrier is actually short of, and this is unscented -- which matters more on a whole body than on a face, because fragrance is the commonest cause of the itch people are treating.Buy on Amazon
La Roche-PosayCicaplast Balm B5 barrier repair creamFor the patches that have gone beyond dry: raw, cracked, scratched. Thicker and more occlusive than a body cream, and meant to be used on a small area for a short time rather than everywhere.Buy on Amazon
Elizabeth ArdenEight Hour Cream skin protectantThe occlusive for the worst square inch -- a heel, a knuckle, a patch that splits. It seals rather than moisturises, so it goes on top of a cream and not instead of one.Buy on Amazon

Prices live on Amazon, where they change hourly — so we never quote one. Every product here is a brand we would name out loud.

The shower is doing most of it

Hot water strips surface lipid faster than anything else in a normal day, and a long hot shower on itchy skin feels wonderful for four minutes and makes the next four hours worse. Shorter, cooler, and a non-foaming wash -- foaming agents are what make a wash feel like it is working and what leave the skin squeaky, which is the sound of a stripped barrier.

Three minutes, damp skin

Moisturiser applied to damp skin traps the water that is already there; applied to skin that has fully dried, it has much less to hold. The window is roughly three minutes after a shower. It is a free change and on winter shins it is often the difference between a cream working and a cream seeming useless.

Fragrance is the usual culprit

Perfume in a body wash, a lotion or a laundry product is the most common contact irritant there is, and it is on the largest surface of the body for the longest time. If skin itches without being visibly dry, the fastest test available is to remove every scented product for two weeks -- including the detergent -- and reintroduce them one at a time.

Winter is a humidity problem, not a cold one

Indoor heating drops the air's humidity, and skin loses water to dry air continuously. That is why the same skin behaves in July and cracks in January, and why a humidifier in a bedroom does more for overnight itch than another layer of cream at bedtime.

Questions

Why is it worse at night?: Several things line up: body temperature rises slightly in the evening and warmth increases itch, there is nothing to distract you from it, and the anti-inflammatory hormones the body makes are at their daily low. Cooling the room and moisturising before bed rather than at bedtime both help.
Is itchy skin always dry skin?: No, and assuming it is keeps people applying cream to something that will not answer. Itch without dryness can be a reaction to a product or fabric, and itch that is severe or all over -- particularly with no rash at all -- occasionally points at something internal. Persistent whole-body itch on skin that looks normal is worth a doctor's opinion rather than another moisturiser.
Does drinking more water help dry skin?: Very little, unless you are genuinely dehydrated. Skin gets its water from the body regardless, and the problem in dry itchy skin is losing it at the surface rather than not having enough underneath. What you put on the surface matters here; what you drink mostly does not.
Can I use an exfoliating body lotion on itchy skin?: Not while it is itching. An acid on a compromised barrier stings and delays the repair. Get the skin comfortable with a plain ceramide cream first, then introduce an exfoliant if roughness is still the complaint once the itch has gone.

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