How frequently to apply emollients?

The usual advice for patients with a dry skin condition is to apply a topical emollient at least twice daily. Better advice is to apply emollients to the skin whenever it gets dry, which in reality may be every 2 hours. This is likely to be impractical for most people, so the patient needs to be able to experiment with emollients to find the one that suits them best and hydrates the skin most effectively without too many compromises in terms of impact on quality of life. It is generally thought that greasier emollients are effective for a longer period of time than creams and gels, but this will depend to some extent on the individual.