What is dry skin?

What is dry skin?

Dry skin is skin that doesn’t have enough moisture in it to keep it feeling soft. The medical term for dry skin is xeroderma (pronounced “ze-ROW-derm-ah”). Xerosis (pronounced “ze-ROW-sis”) is severely dry skin. Dry skin feels like rough patches of your skin that can flake or look scaly. If your skin is dry, it may or may not be itchy (pruritis). Severe dry skin may crack and bleed.