Dry skin is going to get progressively worse if you don’t do something about it and continue to expose your skin to whatever it is that is drying it out. For a lot of people who live well north of the equator this can be attributed to the winter weather that is unavoidable every year, but there are all sorts of other causes of dry skin. Skin is the one organ of the body that’s most on display, so people are going to want to treat dry skin effectively. This has some asking why does dry skin burn when you put lotion on. 

Anyone who’s had extremely dry skin will probably have seen how the skin starts to crack, and those visible breaks in the skin are where we’ll start with explaining why does dry skin burn with lotion. You can and should use a skin moisturizing lotion to remedy dry skin, but if it’s gotten to the point the skin is cracking that is when you’re going to experience some discomfort when you put it on. What’s important to understand is that there can be breaks in the skin long before they appear as the cracks that will appear with very dry skin.  

When the lotion goes in it enters the cracks and meets the nerve endings of the epidermal (outer) skin layer. This isn’t water we’re talking about here, and the reason a dry skin lotion is going to work is because it has some type of medicinal formulation to it. Those active ingredients may sting and burn a little bit when they meet the nerve endings. This is the basics for why does putting lotion on dry skin burn, but the good news is that the unpleasant sensation is only going to last for a moment or two.   

Skin Struggles 

Having better hydrated skin is worth the momentary discomfort, but if we continue to look at why does dry skin burn when you put lotion on there may also be more to it. Some people are going to naturally have more sensitive skin that others, and if the person is experiencing dermatitis for whatever reason the burning sensation may be more pronounced. Another possibility here is that they may have long-term sun damage to the skin, and this is making sensations of any sort experienced in the skin that much stronger.  

Here's another consideration for you connected to why does dry skin burn when you put lotion on; vaping is quite popular these days and seen as the ‘healthy’ alternative to cigarettes. The 90s ended a LONG time ago, but if you absolutely must smoke then it is likely true that vaping is better. But the fact of the matter is vaping is terrible for your skin, and the propylene glycol in vape liquid pulls moisture out of the skin in a big way. If you have chronically dry skin and lotion burns when you put it on it may be an idea to vape less. Better yet, quit entirely.