Please help me with my dry skin

In My Humble Opinion
1

It’s that time of year again, when the air is super dry and everyone has their heat on. And my skin is horribly dry and itchy ALL THE TIME. The frustration is just impossible.

I put lotion on constantly. I know you’re supposed to let your skin adjust naturally but that’s bullshit because it never does. I have a humidifier running at home - should I get a miniature one for the office? Any other brilliant ideas? I do my best not to scratch but sometimes I do in my sleep and sometimes I scratch until my skin bleeds AND IT STILL BURNS LIKE FIRE. :frowning: Help. Help.

Oh, and I’ve been to the dermatologist who didn’t have many recommendations. She said it’s partly due to my allergy medicine, which is kind of dumb, because I take that year-round, and to just try different lotions until I find what works. Dead Sea lotion works, as well as Aveeno, but Eucerin just annoys it more.

2

Are you putting the lotion on while your skin is still wet? No lotion adds moisture- it only traps it in. Put it on within 3 minutes of getting out of the shower or bath.

3

Yes. :frowning:

4

Maybe not shower or bathe every day, if you can. Use mild bar soap (gel contains alcohol, which dries skin) like Dove, Aveeno, or Cetaphil. Eat lots of omega-3s. Use a very thick, rich lotion, up to and including Vaseline. Baby oil just out of the shower? I tried that once but was allergic to it. Try to find a humidifier that doesn’t promote bacteria. Trap your shower water or leave your bath water in the tub for a while and let some of it evaporate into the house.

Don’t: use scrubbies in the shower- they breed bacteria and harsh scrubbing exacerbates dry skin. Drink lots of water thinking it will help- you can’t hydrate from the inside. Take hot showers… you probably already know that hot water dries skin.

That’s all I got.

ETA: Oh yeah, almost forgot- get some lotion with lactic acid, like AmLactin. Some of them are by prescription but some are otc. That really helps, although it may burn a little until your dry skin heals some.

5

Once a year I get eaten up by mosquitoes and I itch like crazy and then bleed from scratching. I find that taking a bath in luke-warm water, oatmeal and powdered milk does a nice job of calming everything down long enough for me to sleep.

Actually since I work from home I’ll take 2 or 3 such baths in a day when the bites are at their worst, and it does help get through the day. Perhaps you could take a soak before work, after work and before bed.

6

Ok I will try some of your remedies. The ones I already do:

I don’t shower every day, but I do shower every day I have to work, so I shower at least five times a week. And I know I use water that’s too hot. I keep trying to curb that habit, at least in the winter. But I do take very quick showers.
I use very mild soap; it’s called Tom’s. It actually helped a lot. I never use gel.
I don’t use scrubbies or even facecloths; all of that doesn’t help, I know.

I tried the baby oil trick but it just made me itch more. See, it works wonders when you first put it on, but after an hour or so it itches horribly. Maybe I am allergic to it, I don’t know. I figured I’d see a reaction immediately if I was.

I’ll try the lactic acid lotion. I don’t take baths. Ever. Who has time for three baths a day? :slight_smile: Water dries my skin out, anyway.

7

I use oil instead of lotion. Something like Neutrogena’s Body Oil as soon as my shower is over (before I towel off). I found this was a cheaper option than lotion as well, because it takes less.

And for my face, I only wash the greasy parts with my regular soap-style cleanser (nose and chin). For my cheeks and forehead, which get incredibly dry and flaky, I wash them with a cleansing oil. (You can get a good one from the DHC catalog, but I like Laura Mercier’s Purifying Cleansing Oil.) Then I put on a generous amount of moisturizer right after the shower.

Aveda also has a nice line of oils as well.

Just because baby oil doesn’t work, doesn’t mean you can’t find other oils that work well.

8

Your itchiness sounds like me when I forget to take my Zyrtec. Horrifyingly itchy/buring skin. What allergy medicine are you taking?

9
  1. Change the kind of soap you use. Lush or a local soapmaker that makes their own cold-process soap would be a good place to start. Avoid sulfates or any kind of chemical surfactant. Goat milk soap is known to be very moisturizing. You could also use Cetaphil. It sounds dumb, but if you carry around your own little bottle of soap, you can take better care of your hands. The crap my workplace uses in the soap dispensers here is absolutely terrible.
  2. Every night before bed, soak your hands for 15-20 minutes in a bowl of hot water mixed with moisturizing oils–coconut oil, olive oil, whatever. Essential oils will smell good to mix in, but might irritate your hands because they’re fragranced.
  3. Coat your skin with your favorite unscented lotion immediately after the soak (do not dry your hands off). I like plain vaseline for this, actually. Place a pair of soft white cotton gloves on, and sleep with them on every night.
  4. Change the way you dry your hands. Try to avoid using paper towels. Never **ever **rub them dry. Always pat dry, preferably using a soft cloth.

BTW you can get latex gloves and shower with them on, if showering really dries them out. Actually, make it nitrile since your skin is so sensitive.

10

I have very dry skin, and my dad has icthyosis vulgaris, which is a genetic condition which causes very dry skin which itches, peels and cracks and in the winter. So I know a fair amount about caring for dry skin.

You’re doing a lot ‘right’ of course. Some ideas:

Bathe less. For real. My dad only bathes 1xweek if that in the winter. He ‘sponge bathes’ (washes hair, and keeps feet, pits, and bits clean) and you can’t tell at all.

Cut down on the hot water. I know, it’s torture in the winter, but it is the absolute worst thing for dry itchy skin!

Stop using soap/cleanser all over your body, if you are doing so. I almost NEVER put soap anywhere but my privates, armpits and feet and I feel and look clean and smell good according to many people. A water rinse/rub is more than enough for most of your body to stay clean, especially your arms and legs.

In fact, if you are in such discomfort, I’d stop using soap, period. ‘Natural’ soaps are better than detergents (sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate) found in bodywashes, etc but I still find they are WAY too drying for me to use on my problem areas. Try switching to an oil-based ‘cream cleanser’ or some such.

I also use manual exfoliation to keep myself clean without drying my skin out, (I have one of those Asian nylon exfoliating clothes) since I have a mild version of my father’s problem and dead skin ‘sticks’ to me.

Every time you wet your skin, moisturize!

Every day before bed, moisturize! If your hands or feet are problem areas, lube them up and then put on gloves or socks to really let it soak in overnight.

Re: moisturizers. Oils are good, but oil alone leaves me itchy and dry. Those of us with REALLY dry skin need moisturizers with plenty of humectants, which help the skin retain water.

You need to find lotions and creams that work for you. I know it’s not cheap, but keep on trying new ones, and use a variety of those that you find work for you. Some lotions just do not work for me AT ALL. Others leave my skin feeling contented for hours…

11

Yeah, Eucerin, much touted, doesn’t do much for me at all. I stick to Aveeno. Both their body washes and their soaps help a lot, and make me feel much better.

Unfortunately hands and feet are not my problem. Feet are just about taken care of since I started using the PedEgg combined with O’keefes for healthy feet, and my hands are all right. I get itchy on my breasts, my sides, my butt, my legs - oh my legs! And my scalp sometimes, though that is more easily taken care of since I don’t shampoo my head daily.

I think I need to just moisturize these parts more often. Oh and Ellen, I use a Zyrtec knock-off, but I get the itchiness when I use the medicine, not without. Apparently in some people it causes major dryness.

My face never gets dry! Thankfully, because that would be even more annoying, but it’s just so weird! Can’t you figure yourself out body!

12

Avoid anything with fragrance. Fragrance is always a potential irritant. Try putting on oil right after your shower (before toweling off, as **Q.N. Jones **said), but instead of baby oil, try plain mineral oil. Mineral oil and petrolatum have been shown to cause the least reactions from sensitive skin, according to Paula Begoun.

I also 100% endorse using Dove sensitive skin bar and using it only on the smelliest areas. (As George Carlin said, every morning, the only places you really have to clean are armpits, asshole, crotch, and teeth.) Soaps (even hippie-style ones) are drying and leave a residue on your skin, and as noted anything with SLSs in it is drying and irritating.

My dermatologist recommended CeraVe and CeraVe SA lotions for me, and I like them a lot.

You could always chuck modern bathing and do like the ancient Romans - coat yourself in olive oil and scrape off dead skin and dirt with a bronze strigil!

13

Ok, I will try the Dove thing. At least in the winter, which is absolutely the worst time. I don’t use things with fragrance, so that helps. I’ll try mineral oil, too.

Lots of great suggestions here. Thanks all!

14

I highly recommend a switch to castille soap. Dr. Bronner’s unscented is the best one I have found. In the summer I like to use the peppermint as it provides a nice cooling sensation, but if you have sensitive skin it will probably irritate. I also use the almond scent, but start safe wih the unscented and see if it helps the drying first. Plus, it’s really quite entertaining.

If it works for you, ordering by the gallon is cheaper and super convenient.

Also, I find that mineral oil and petrolatum just make my skin dryer. (I get the dry, cracked open hands every winter.) Only creams (lotion = more water) with glycerin in the first 1-2 ingredients work for me. I really like the neutrogena hand cream. Be sure to get the unscented version. CVS used to have a great, cheap, knockoff of it, but since Neutrogena lowered their price CVS stoped making it.

And I so relate to the shower dilemma. I find that if I let the hot water run and steam up the bathroom a bit, then I don’t mind turning down the heat as much. I do miss that wake-up burn though.

15

Just as another data point, but I’ve found that bathing less irritates my dry skin more, presumably because sweat/salt and environmental dirt irritate the dry areas.

One new thing I’ve been trying this year: shea butter mixed with coconut oil. Holy crap this stuff is amazing. After a week the bright red dry patches on my hands are nearly gone. I do apply at least twice a day, and skipping does cause the patches to flare up again.

If you try this, make sure to get virgin coconut oil. Processed oil has a much higher melting point (virgin is around 76F, processed is in the 90s somewhere) and doesn’t absorb into the skin as easily. Also, don’t melt them to liquid to combine them, just soften a little and stir together.

Also note that with shea butter and coconut oil, a little goes a long way. Use way less than you think you should, otherwise you’ll end up greasy. A little dab will do ya. Work it in before going for more.

16

Most of this has been mentioned, but it all bears repeating. I was a soapmaker for many years and talked to lots of people with terrible skin problems. Many times the products you use can make the problem worse, unfortunately.
Toss out all “corporate” soaps. Visit a health food store and pick up the following:
Any handmade soap that lists ingredients, and to begin with, you want a pure castile (olive oil) soap. Skip the exotic oils for now, because you want to cut out any potential irritant. Coconut oil makes a lovely soap ingredient, but it’s not necessary for clean skin and it’s an irritant to some people. So…straight olive oil-based soap with no fragrance and no additives (except perhaps oatmeal, which might be soothing.).
If you want to try them, pick up a few oils: Sweet almond, olive oil, shea butter, jojoba, coconut oil or cocoa butter. You don’t need them all, but if I had to choose two, I’d go with cocoa butter and shea butter. Try them individually to see how your skin reacts. Then, as suggested above, melt a few butters/solid oils together with a bit of oil and let them cool. Slather on after showers.
Avoid hot water, baby oil (which is mineral oil based and often drying), fragranced anything, and keep close track of which oils seem to soothe and which, if any, seem to irritate. You may find that one particular oil/butter/ingredient is the culprit.
I had a customer once who, through trial and error with about 8 different blends of my soap, was able to finally figure out that she was sensitive to coconut oil…good to know, because coconut oil is in practically every moisturizer and soap made.
Some decent lotions are out there, too…I’d try Burt’s Bees or Tom’s of Maine.
Good luck. I know you must feel miserable. :frowning:

17

My wife suffered with terrible itchy skin from her scleroderma, and got relief with Sarna Sensitive lotion. She said only the Sensitive formula worked, not the Original formula. It is expensive, but she swore by it.

18

Someone mentioned Neutrogena hand cream. I prefer Neutrogena Moisture Wrap daily repair body lotion. Same Norwegian Formula but seems to work better. But looking at the ingredients, I see several things that might be triggers. So your milage may very.

19

Would it help to do your showering at night? That way, you’re in your humidified environment at home for much longer, you would have time for a second application of moisturizer/oil if needed, and gives your poor skin some time to settle, before leaving the house in the morning.

20

I can tell you what works for me.

I don’t have the problem rhubarbarin’s dad does, but like him in winter I curtail my bathing. I use Cetaphil cleanser on the stinky bits (pits, crotch, feet) and the dirty parts (face, hands) daily, but more of a water wipe/rinse on the rest on most days (if I do something that makes me sweat, or I get actually dirty, I do a real wash). I use Cetaphil cream, NOT lotion, on anything dry. At first it’s a little like spreading butter on your skin but it seems to do the job better than any lotion. Likewise, if you can find an oil that doesn’t cause additional problems you might find that works better than lotion. The downside to creams and lotions is that you have to wait for them to “soak in” but I feel it’s worth it to avoid scratching myself bloody.