Another in a distinguished line of disturbing Title/Username combinations.
Good stuff, Brandon. I don’t use a multivitamin since they all seem to make me nauseous, but I can understand the concern since a lot of people do.
Putting lotion on damp skin, putting baby oil on damp skin, takin fish oil every day…not much relief yet. Some, not a lot.
Can’t bring myself to try the oatmeal yet.
While we’re here, can anyone suggest a lotion that might be what I’m looking for? In descending order of importance: Hypoallergenic (no dyes, absolutely no trace of any added scents), not terribly greasy, not ridiculously expensive?
Lotions that the derms I work for recommend:
Basic- Cetaphil
Very Dry Skin- Cerave
Extremely Dry Skin- AmLactin or LacHydrin (OTC but you might have to ask the pharmacist for it) Smelly and/or sting-y, but works wonders
As mentioned before, application to wet skin (within 3 minutes of getting out of the shower) is key. Humidifiers help, too. My house is so dry in the winter that I get nosebleeds, so I need one of those.
Alba Botanica also makes an unscented lotion in their “Very Emollient” line. It’s quick-absorbing and I would say a medium level moisturizer.
Got a lot of stuff that says non-greasy that is greasy as all gitout.
Here in the East Bay I have a problem with my cheeks, nose and forehead like seeming to chap up-
turns out it is some sort of overproduction of a natural skin yeast that is *fed *by a lot of the oils in lotion.
I was hating life on and off for a year, but the stuff I have was never as bad as these pictures- just itchy and red. Take look at the chart about halfway down the page. http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000501/2703.html
Guess what takes care of it overnight…
Lotrimin, like the stuff you would use for athelete’s foot.
It flares up from time to time, do a smear after work and a smear at bedtime, and done!
I like St Ives hand and body lotion - I think the particular version I’m using is the skin firming one. It doesn’t do much for actual firming (although I don’t use it on anything like a daily basis so I couldn’t swear to it), but it’s very moisture rich, absorbs quickly, and is supposed to be hypo-allergenic. According the website, at least. It’s got no fragrance, I know that for sure. Cost me about 7 dollars for a medium-sized bottle.
I didn’t have much luck the first couple times I tried it, because it fell off before it dried. Running the oatmeal through a food processor to coarsely chop it first worked, though 
I have a question for those who recommend the help stuff by the Body Shop: if a guy already has chapped hands because he’s got to wash them a lot at work and his skin is sensitive to start with, would I be better off buying him the hemp hand protector, or the hemp body butter? He’s not going to sit around wearing cotton gloves like I do, I’m sure.
My friend who is a large animal vet swears by Corn-Husker’s Lotion.
Gold Bond lotions are fabulous!
I use a combo of lotion and vaseline right out of the shower and my skin stays moisturized all day.
If you don’t like vaseline, coconut oil has good emoilient properties too. And it smells nice.
My dad has always used Corn Huskers- he is a painting contractor and has his hands in paint thinner almost every day. They would crack badly and deeply, but Corn Huskers Lotion really did the trick.
In aged care in Australia it is common to use Sorbolene lotion instead of soap for washing the elderly to protect their dry skin. It is just as effective as soap. It is cheap and it is a moisturizer.