Persistent dry flaky skin

I (31F) have been battling persistent dry flaky skin ever since spring rolled around this year. I've lived in Denver, CO for 3 years now and it's definitely been a dry skin struggle but it's suddenly reached another level. It's like nothing makes it better.

I was using tretinoin before we moved here but we lived in Austin where it was humid and I did just fine. However, I started using it again over this past winter and eased into it very slowly and eventually did okay applying a few times a week. But then it's like my skin couldn't handle it right around the time spring rolled around. I stopped using it and it didn't really get better. I'm not red or rashy - just very flaky on my cheeks, forehead, above my eyelids, and especially between my cheeks and chin (corners of mouth) area.

I pretty quickly stopped using actives in my routine and haven't been using them for probably 2 months now.

I switch between BeautyCounter oil and Aveeno Calm + Restore cleansers at night and in the morning if I slugged the night before. Otherwise, rinse with cool water in the morning only.

I've tried multiple creams from Cerave, Eucerin, LRP - some of the heaviest they have - with no luck. I was really liking Naturium products so have been using their Barrier Bounce and Plant Cermide cream but, again, it doesn't seem to matter what I use. The result is pretty much the same. I made sure to give all of them plenty of time to work and let my skin adjust. Slugging at night and/or on top of my makeup during the day seems to help some but even then I often still wake up with dry patches or am flaky by the end of the day. I often remoisturize before the end of the work day.

I'm being careful to only exfoliate 1x per week, usually a gentle scrub with a washcloth. When I exfoliated this week it only made it worse.

I'm honestly wondering if it's allergy related which is why I mentioned the season change above. I'm also not good about running a humidifier so am planning to get better at keeping one going especially in the bedroom at night. I'm at a loss and just curious if anyone else has had a similar struggle and if you found a remedy. I have an appointment with my dermatologist but not for another month.