This is getting to be more and more of an issue for me. I limit my bathing in the sense of lounging in hot water (which makes my joints happier) to but once a week. If that much. I use cleansers for Super Sensitive Allergic to Everything Skin. I hydrate and now carry a water bottle around with me at work and drink sufficient liquids that half the time I’m up in the middle of the night to pee because I have to, not because I enjoy waking up in the middle of the night. And yes, it’s from drinking fluids because I can easily stop myself from the middle-of-the-night piss by simply not drinking anything between dinner and bedtime, but I’m trying to stay hydrated here. Adding water from the inside is no longer solving the problem.
The good news is that my skin is not cracking or itching. Yay me. But it IS flaking. A lot. Like mild-sunburn-skin shedding. (No, it’s not a sunburn - my legs haven’t seen daylight since August). When I take off my socks at night >poof!< a shower of skin dust. When I take off my shirt the same. Or pants. I’d like to stop this before my bathroom is overtaken my drifts of the stuff.
I’m thinking exfoliation is called for. Any suggestions? I know there are exfoliating scrubs out there but they seem mainly intended for the face and come in teeny-tiny jars that cost mucho dinero - I’d need a packing crate of 'em to do my arms and legs, which seem to be the biggest culprits at the moment. I have a couple exfoliating washcloths I use for my face, but they don’t seen as effective for my limbs. It’s getting to the point I’m considering some 320 grit sandpaper to get the teeny flakes off my arms, in particular, so I’m not shedding dust everywhere I go. Would those plastic shower poofs I see for sale help? I’ve always avoided those because I can’t see anyway to clean them thoroughly and I’m manic about avoiding skininfectionsthesedays (The last link is, I’m told, a “classic”). Anyhow, it’s like I need something to lightly abrade away the loose flakes on top or something.
I’m assuming I’m not the only person to ever have this problem, so… stories? Suggestions? Commiseration and sympathy?
Your shower pouf instincts are spot on. They’re breeding grounds for bacteria, and should not be used (this includes loofahs).
You could try exfoliating shower gloves, but I’d buy several pairs so you can use them once and wash them in hot water, just like washcloths.
The other option is a body scrub, but be sure the scrubby bits are natural, and not micro beads. There are lots of recipes online for homemade salt and sugar scrubs. The benefit of a scrub is that it’s oil-based, so leaves your skin moisturized after use.
And the most important bit, which you probably know, is to seal moisture in immediately after a shower or bath, by using a thick moisturizer on your damp skin. You still might need to reapply lotion to the easily reached parts, like arms and legs, throughput the day. And, of course, if none of that helps, you probably want to see your doctor.
Any suggestions for recopies? Links? Homemade appeals to me because I can control what’s in it (I’ve been making my own hair rinse for decades now).
In winter I’m past lotions for my arms and legs. It’s oil post-washing. I have to sort of sit around in the buff while it soaks in, but I use the time for mani-pedi maintenance so it’s all good.
Tried dry brushing? It is usually recommended for the Spring part of the year in Ayurveda(Indian Life Science),but if you get a brush that’s not so harsh and use before a shower or bath, it will definitely exfoliate. I’m not so big on bath scrubs because my tub is messy enough. : ) I know this is an incomplete picture of a “treatment protocol”, if you want to look at it that way, but I do think that it helps. Here’s an article example:
Have you tried straight up Vaseline? Not pleasant, but effective. My son had eczema, and during bad flares that did the trick.
I don’t have recipes for scrubs, because I’m too lazy to make them, but it can be as simple as coarse salt or sugar in some oil. Note: please be careful when using them, because they can make your tub floor a skating rink. I’ve found keeping a small bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid in the shower works great. Drizzle a little on the floor and carefully swish it around with your feet. It cuts through the oil and, as a bonus, keeps your tub sparkling.
Oh, certainly not ruled one of them out - I’ve had eczema since I was an infant. Still do, because it’s not really curable. I can usually keep it under control, but it never entirely goes away. Absolutely I think that’s contributing to the problem, and makes getting skin care products even more fun than they would be otherwise. Hence my interest in home made where I have complete control over the ingredients.
And yeah, I eat plenty stuff with B vitamins and A vitamins. Deficiencies are not the problem. An overactive immune system is part of the problem, the other part is advancing age, which tends to lead to drier skin.
My experience is that AHA is extremely irritating to my skin. I might use it to exfoliate my feet, but doing it anywhere else is very much asking for trouble. But perhaps someone else will be able to make use of the suggestion.
I do use that sometimes (especially on my face if I’m going to be out in sub-zero cold) but yeah, not the most pleasant thing.
I’ve had dry skin my whole life. I do recommend cheap olive oil but not every time I get out of the shower, only once every couple of weeks. I also put jojoba oil on my scalp for a few hours before a shower every couple of weeks in winter.
My dermatologist said no shower puffs, but use a cheap washcloth. Always start with your face before moving down your body. She was right. Not only is my face better, but so are my arms and legs. I have psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and more so I don’t fool around with scented anything because that can irritate the skin. I use Aveeno Skin Relief on the body and CereVe cleanser on my face. When not oiling my skin, I find that CereVe moisturizing cream works well. In summer, when my skin isn’t quite such a problem, I switch to the cheaper Aveeno moisturizer.
I don’t usually need anything on my skin, but even when I was a child, lotion never did anything for me. What did (and does) work was Neutrogena. It’s FAR, FAR more concentrated than any regular lotion can ever be. An amount the size of your small fingernail is usually enough for your entire palm. It was designed for Norwegian fisherman who mended their nets in the winter and were out in the cold, oceanfront environment all day long.
Sounds great, except for the some of the fragrance oil and the limonene which would not play well with my skin.
See, that’s the problem - pretty much anything that is described as “smells wonderful” is going to play merry hell with my skin. Pretty much everything I use has to be fragrance free. Again, the main reason why making my own is so darn attractive to me.
I have seen dermatologists in the past, which is how I got my current skin-care regime which is working pretty well (haven’t posted any gruesome skin infection threads in years). Also cautioned by said docs that my skin getting drier as I got older was likely
The problem is coming up with a good exfoliant when so many of the commercial products are off limits to me because of additives that, for instance, make them smell nice or feel less like slathering gobs of sand-and-grit filled tallow all over yourself.
Another problem is that I have problem skin and tons of allergies and there’s no actual fix for that, just work-arounds and ways to keep things (hopefully) under control for long periods of time.
I’ll keep that suggestion in mind. It being the Retail Holiday Hell time of year means taking time off work is off the table unless it’s an actual illness/injury, but come the New Year when I reschedule all my preventive screenings and stuff I might wedge in a trip to a derm, too.
I have a correction for that. It’s Vitamin E oil that I put on my scalp. It used to be jojoba, but the vitamin E oil from Trader Joe’s works a treat and is cheaper.
But yes, no fragrance is important. For me, no sunscreen is a must too. My morning moisturizer for my face is a dermatologist-brand night cream, because most day-creams have sunscreen.
Dry skin can be the cause of hormone problem, even kidney problem not balancing things in your body. Skin damage from the sun is another reason. Also, as you age, your cell renewal lessens, thus leading to drier skin.
