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Dry body skin is very common, and while it’s frustrating dealing with scaly skin, cracked elbows or all-over tightness when you step out of the shower, there are plenty of products that can help.

As a beauty journalist, I’m constantly testing products, so I’ve made my way through my fair share of empties, spanning super expensive body oils that cost upwards of £50, to thrifty high-street finds that are a little over a fiver. 

That said, it’s easier said than done to add moisturising every day to your to-do list – often it can be that one step you just can’t be bothered with, especially if you’re rushing out the door in the morning in a hurry.

I get it. That’s why in this roundup, you’ll find a mix of rich, lavish body butters when you have all the time in the world to indulge, alongside convenient and practical spray moisturisers that barely need to be rubbed in.  

My top picks also include a hand cream my eczema-prone skin can’t be without when it’s cold, and the underrated shower gel that keeps any irritation at bay from the moment I step into the shower. 

The best body products for dry skin

E45 Daily Hydrating Lotion Spray Moisturiser

I get it, sometimes you just can’t be bothered to moisturise every day, on top of washing your hair, getting enough sleep and keeping up with your skincare routine.

That’s exactly why I love a functional spray moisturiser, and this no frills option from E45 ticks every box.

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Just liberally spritz all over your skin, lightly rub in, and you’re good to go.

It’s particularly ideal if you don’t love heavier textures like an oil or body butter, while also being safe for eczema-prone skin.

It’s fragrance-free, suitable for babies, kids, and adults, and is a bargain.

What’s not to love?

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Buy Now for £7.29

Vaseline Gluta-Hya Overnight Radiance Serum Burst Lotion

Vaseline’s Gluta-Hya Overnight Radiance Serum Burst Lotion is a standout favourite for keeping my skin soft and supple before bed.

It’s a weightless jelly texture that bursts into water droplets when you rub it in to leave behind dewy, soft skin with not a hint of dryness.

You don’t need to spend ages applying it either, it sinks into the skin within seconds and outperforms many luxurious body butters and oils I’ve tried in the past.

Buy Now for £12.99

Naturium The Glow Getter Multi-Oil Body Butter

This is a glorious body butter that I love so much, I’m onto my fifth tub.

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It smells incredible, thanks to the subtle vanilla and coconut scent, but the rich, creamy texture is what keeps me coming back.

When I’m feeling lazy, I often apply it straight to damp skin as soon as I step out of the shower, and it rubs in twice as fast.

It improves texture, dryness on my knees, ankles and elbows and is packed with a cocktail of ingredients including shea butter, squalane, peptide and glycerine that hydrate and moisturise long-term.

Buy Now for £22

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Soothing Hand Cream

Don’t forget about your hands, which can be particularly prone to dryness in between handwashing, cold weather and central heating.

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Worse still, if you’re anything like me, this time of year can exacerbate eczema or dermatitis, leading to sore, cracked skin.

This is the hand cream I reach for when my skin is struggling.

It’s not fancy, with no luxurious fragrances or delicate packaging, but it does the job at a reasonable price.

It cleverly creates an invisible film that protects hands from harsh, drying soaps, frequent handwashing, and exposure to cold.

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It’s not oily, sticky or greasy and makes an instant improvement.

Buy Now for £9

Aveeno Skin Relief Body Oil Spray

Body oils feel super luxurious, but can be messy.

If you have dry skin year-round, this Aveeno spray is a great compromise.

It’s more affordable than most, has lasted almost four months, and can be used as often as you like.

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As it’s a dry oil, it absorbs quickly without any residue, so it never drips down a pyjama sleeve and leaves sticky marks.

Buy Now for £10.49

Nivea Soft Moisturiser for Face Hand & Body

You cannot go wrong with Nivea Soft.

I always keep a tub close by, not just because I can’t get enough of the fresh scent, but because it’s a reliable favourite when I want something that rubs in quickly, improves dry skin in a couple of days and doesn’t break the bank.

It never irritates the eczema that shows up around my ankles and all over my knuckles when the weather is cold, and it doesn’t leave me feeling sticky.

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Buy Now for £13.75

Bioderma Atoderm Shower Gel

If you have sensitive skin, it’s no use applying lotions and creams post-shower if it’s your shower gel to blame for irritation.

Bioderma’s Atoderm Shower Gel comes in a giant 1-litre bottle and gently cleanses without leaving your skin feeling tight or uncomfortable.

When you apply it to wet skin, it transforms into a creamy foam that leaves you feeling clean and soothed.

Buy Now for £18

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A central London church where Martin Luther King Jr preached has said they are overwhelmed by the number of homeless people needing help.

Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church said rough sleeping in the capital is ‘out of control’ and ‘beyond anything the church can solve’.

Other churches and charities joined their call for more action and investment from City Hall to address the crisis.

Bloomsbury Central has teamed up with street artist Endless to erect a 7ft statue to highlight the scale of the problem.

A record 210,000 Londoners are homeless and living in temporary accommodation, including an estimated 102,000 homeless children.

There are also record numbers of rough sleepers in the capital, at more than 13,000 as of July last year, according to Trust for London.

That represents a 400% increase compared to 2008/2009, despite City Hall’s budget for rough sleeping having gone up fivefold under Sadiq Khan.

Dr Simon Woodman, the minister at Minster of Bloomsbury, said there has been a ‘huge rise in people sleeping on the streets’ since Covid.

He told Metro: ‘I frequently find someone sleeping on the doorstep of the church.

‘We have people sleeping out the back of the church. It is constant in this area and is definitely getting worse.

‘This situation is getting out of control. It is too big.’

The church has a long history of helping homeless people and let around 15 people sleep in their basement every night as part of Camden’s night shelter scheme, run by C4WS charity.

Revd Woodman said churches like Bloomsbury Central, where Martin Luther King Jr held his first sermon on British soil in 1961, are being overly relied upon by politicians to tackle rough sleeping.

He said: ‘Churches are the safety net. We are not the solution.

‘We need more action at a political level and wider systemic change in the way homelessness is addressed in London.’

In an effort to put pressure on those in power to act, he agreed to let street artist Endless to put up a new artwork on the church.

The artist’s installation features a life-size mural of a person experiencing homelessness and the large number ‘210,000’ representing the number of homeless in the capital.

Endless, whose work has been included in the permanent collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, told Metro: ‘As a Londoner doing street art for 10 years, I have seen the increase in the homeless population.

‘We need more people to notice the problem and the communicate about it.

‘Because the Church is in such a central position in London, we hope it will attract more eyes on the issues.’

Other charities and churches joined in calls for more to be done to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in London.

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields, which runs out of the iconic St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square, said more investment was needed into key resources to support rough sleepers.

The charity’s CEO Pam Orchard told Metro: ‘We are sadly seeing increasing stories of hardship every single day at St Martin-in-the-Fields, here in the heart of the capital.

‘Until we see a substantial increase in investment in affordable and suitable social housing as well as mental health and addiction services, services like ours will continue to be used by the most vulnerable in our society.’

In December 2025, Mayor Khan launched a new  London Ending Homelessness Accelerator Programme, backed with £3.5m worth of investment.

The Robes Project, which supports people experiencing homelessness in Lambeth and Southwark, said the sector was also facing a 10% drop in donations.

‘We believe it takes a village to support someone out of homelessness, and that everyone has a part they can play,’ CEO Lisa Moodie added.

The Conservatives joined in the criticisms of how Sadiq Khan has handled homelessness and housebuilding in London.

Sir James Cleverly, the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said Labour’s record in the capital had been one of ‘failure’.

He added: ‘Things are especially bad in Labour-run London, where housebuilding has totally collapsed and Sadiq Khan is plumbing depths of failure not seen the Second World War.

‘This just means more competition for fewer homes.’

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London touted Mr Khan’s success at helping 20,000 people off London’s streets in his bid to eradicate rough sleeping by 2030.

The statement said: ‘The Mayor is clear that no one should have to sleep rough on our streets and every Londoner deserves a safe and secure home.

‘Sadiq is continuing to lead from the front in London and has supported nearly 20,000 people off the capital’s streets since he became Mayor in 2016.

‘This winter, the Mayor has funded new prevention programmes to help those in greatest need, building on the £10m investment he made last year – more than any Mayor – establishing a network of ending homelessness hubs covering the whole of the capital.

‘The Mayor remains committed to ending rough sleeping in London by 2030 but clearly there is still more to do and Sadiq will continue working closely with partners, the Government, councils, and experts to build a safer, fairer London for everyone.’

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The Senegal national football side has just been stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The decision, following misconduct in the tournament final, is controversial but far from unique. It is only the latest example in a string of titles or results being removed in sport.

Ben Johnson 1988

Canada’s Ben Johnson shocked the world with a record-breaking time of 9.79secs in the final of the 100m sprint to secure the gold medal at the Olympics in 1988.

His performance was the talk of the Games – but just three days later, his reputation was in tatters.

The International Olympic Committee said a sample from the athlete had tested positive for steroids and he had been stripped of his title and disqualified from the Games.

American sprinter Carl Lewis was instead awarded the title for his new American record of 9.92secs in what was one of the most controversial chapters in top-level sport.

Gold medal overturned 18 months on

This week has also seen another result overturned – 18 months after it was recorded.

Adaejah Hodge, a sprinter from the British Virgin Islands, picked up gold in the 200m of the 2024 junior world athletics championships in Peru.

Samples taken from the runner found banned substances – GW501516 sulfone and GW501516 sulfoxide.

The Athletics Integrity Unit agreed she had not taken them intentionally. But she was handed a two-year ban, with seven months suspended.

It meant she lost her 200m title from August 2024. It was awarded instead to Australia’s Torrie Lewis.

Arsenal-Sheffield United FA Cup controversy

The Gunners beat Sheffield United 2-1 in an FA Cup fifth round tie at Highbury in 1999 – but in controversial circumstances.

The Blades kicked the ball out of play to allow a player to receive treatment. But after the resulting throw-in, Arsenal didn’t return possession and instead broke up field for Marc Overmars to score the winning goal.

The furore over the incident gripped the sporting headlines, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger ended up offering United the chance to wipe the result and replay the tie.

Ten days later the match was played again at Highbury. It ended with the same result – a 2-1 victory for Arsenal.

Bundesliga result changed

In December 2024, Bochum and Union Berlin drew 1-1 in the German Bundesliga.

But after a bad tempered game, Bochum protested about the result due to their goalkeeper Patrick Drewes needing lengthy treatment when he was hit by a lighter thrown from the crowd.

Drewes did not play on. That left Bochum putting striker Philipp Hoffman in goal as they had already used their substitutes.

Both teams failed to launch any meaningful attacks and the game ended in a draw. But the German Football Association later awarded the game to Bochum, recording a 2-0 victory.

A court later upheld the move despite an appeal from Berlin.

Tour de France cyclist loses titles

Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life, the US Anti-Doping Agency announced in 2012.

It came after the American cyclist said he was dropping his fight against the agency’s charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the most prestigious event in the sport from 1999 to 2005.

The USADA claimed the cyclist used banned substances including the blood-booster EPO and steroids, as well as blood transfusions.

Armstrong had insisted he was innocent and sued in a federal court to block the charges, but lost.

Detective Inspector Mark Braithwaite, from the Met’s serious collision investigation unit, said last week: “We are interested in speaking to anyone who saw the incident, but has not yet spoken to police, and would ask them to come forward as soon as possible. We are also particularly interested in dash cam footage or CCTV.”

Firefighters found the moped alight when they arrived

A moped was deliberately set on fire in a Cambridgeshire suburb. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue were called to the fire in Jury Road, Hampton Vale, Peterborough at around 2am today (Wednesday, March 18).

Firefighters found a moped alight on arrival. A fire spokesperson said: “We were called at 2.11am this morning to reports of a fire in the open on Jury Road in Peterborough.

“A crew from Stanground attended and found a moped on fire. They extinguished the fire and returned to their station by 2.50am.”

The fire was determined to have been started deliberate. Cambridgeshire Police has been contacted for more information.

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It cannot be ruled out that Noah Donohoe may have had drugs in his system at the time of his death, toxicologists have told the inquest into his death.

The forensic analysts said there was no evidence that the schoolboy was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but the presence of some substances including so-called “designer drugs” cannot be excluded because of the limits of testing.

Noah, a pupil at St Malachy’s College, was 14 when his naked body was found in a storm drain tunnel in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after he left home on his bike to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of Belfast.

Forensic scientist Amy Eleanor Quinn, who carried out a toxicological analysis on samples from Noah’s body in July 2020, gave evidence to the inquest at Belfast Coroners Court on Wednesday, alongside Dr Simon Elliott, consultant forensic toxicologist, who carried out a review and further testing of samples in November 2024.

In a joint statement they agreed that Ms Quinn had found evidence of a small amount of alcohol in Noah’s blood but that this was consistent with having been generated by the body after death and there was no reason to believe he had consumed alcohol in the hours before he died.

They further agreed “there is no toxicological evidence that the deceased was under the influence of drugs at the time of his death within the range of screening performed”.

They also agreed that “it is not possible to exclude that drugs not included in the scope of analysis may have been present at the time of his death”.

Reiterating there is no toxicological evidence that Noah was under the influence of drugs at the time of his death, they added “this cannot be stated with absolute certainty” as “many drugs exist outside the scope of testing performed in this case and the instability of drugs” must be considered.

Ms Quinn read a statement in which she confirmed she had tested Noah’s blood sample for a range of drugs including methamphetamine, ecstasy, benzodiazepines, cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, opiates and fentanyl, as well as pharmaceuticals like antidepressants and paracetamol, none of which produced a positive result.

She confirmed that some hallucinogens like LSD or magic mushrooms were not included in these tests.

Dr Elliott said in a statement that the “range of screening is such that the testing can only exclude the drugs covered” and “it is not realistically possible to cover the thousands of drugs/substances that could be involved”.

He also added that the “limit of detection is fundamental” and that only if that drug was present at a certain concentration “would it be detected and reported as positive”.

The toxicologist said that “specifically due to their chemical structure” many synthetic cannabinoids such as that commonly referred to as “spice” are unstable and “may not be detected in post-mortem samples”.

Overall he concluded that based on the range of screening by Ms Quinn and the possibility of drugs breaking down prior to analysis, “negative findings do not entirely exclude that Noah had been administered a psychotropic substance prior to death”.

Nick Scott, counsel to the coroner, asked the experts to elaborate on two issues of post-mortem toxicological analysis – what was the scope of testing (what substances are tested for), and the limits of testing (if substances can break down to become undetectable).

The toxicologists agreed that it is “not possible” to screen for all types of synthetic cannabinoids, as there are such a large variety of different types, and Ms Quinn added that if you don’t have access to the specific drug to reference it in testing “then you’re limited in knowing that your theoretical screening will pick that up”.

She added: “Not finding it does not mean that it was not there.”

They further agreed that it “cannot be completely excluded” that drugs may have been present at the time of death that subsequently were broken down.

Dr Elliott said “that does happen and is known to happen particularly in relation to synthetic cannabinoids, there is a possibility the drug may have been taken prior to death that has become undetectable as a result of degradation”.

In questions asked of Ms Quinn before Wednesday, she listed some of the possible side effects of spice, which include paranoia, psychosis, hallucination and depersonalisation, as well as physical impacts including a lack of balance or co-ordination.

Noah had been captured on CCTV the night he went missing cycling naked, and, asked if any of Noah’s behaviour was consistent with having taken spice, Ms Quinn said it was not her area of expertise on which to comment.

Dr Elliott agreed that some of Noah’s observed “unusual behaviour” would be “best addressed by someone who is aware of what someone behaving in a psychotic or mind-altering way would be”.

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