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What are you doing for super dry skin?


Mommy22alyns
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Embracing my inner lizard.

 

 

Not one product has been effective this season. If

I exfoliate anymore, I'll be shaving off muscle, lol! So if I had to rate products by least abysmal, coconut oil alternating with Burt's Bees lotion.

 

Despite all of my efforts, the bottom of my feet could be used to sand down rough sewn cedar!

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coconut oil, but my mom swears by grapeseed oil. And I really like a particular 'anti-itch' cream...curel? My friend with horrible eczema told me about it. It is unscented and has something in it that makes it a bit thicker and it seems to stick better to my skin. And it really does work for itchyness. It doesn't make her break out and it seems to sooth her skin a bit so I tried it.

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A green smoothie 5-7 times a week for the last year...  Got 30 great recipes here.

 

I noticed a difference in how smooth my cheeks and hands felt after the first month.  This winter, I've had much less dry skin on my face and less cracking of skin on my hands.   :hurray:   Oh--for hands that crack, I put shea butter on before donning my gloves for going outside.  That helps a lot--I'm sure it would work on dry feet, too.

 

Cheap hand lotion that works:  Jergens Ultra Healing.    

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This cannot be overstated!! What KungFuPanda says about applying lotion on skin while still damp(!!!!!) is THE thing that saved my skin. It is the difference between night and day. If I wait too long, I might as well not even bother. But if I do it first thing out of the shower (FIRST THING! Do you HEAR me?! LOL), I have soft, dewy skin all day.

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are you drinking enough water?  how about cutting down on sugar and salt?  (they absorb water so you have to drink more for the same benefit)  be sure and look for the "hidden" ones in prepared food.

 

I have one extremely dry patch where I had an hemangioma.  I use cetaphil.

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Something else that hasn't been mentioned:  be sure to moisturize twice a day, at least.  At night, I use something heavy like Ponds.  And I use that in the morning in the winter, too.  Remember all the old movies with women slathering cold cream or something in a thick layer on their faces before bed?  :)

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Drinking lots of water.

Oil the skin right out of the shower while damp. 

Only soap what obviously needs soaping. Do not soap obviously dry areas. 

Making sure I have enough vitamin B and omega-fatty-acids. 

Use a salve or cream with beeswax for areas that get washed often (I put it on my hands before I start and before I go to bed and anytime it feels like its not working). 

 

I'm pretty good except for my hands (tons of washing for SN son). 

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For the body, a sugar scrub in oil or coconut oil has helped a lot. I used to get dry patches on my hips.

 

My hands are  exposed to the weather as it's too hard to pick up dog poo with gloves on--so I need to keep them highly moisturized or they actually hurt. I use Oil of Olay when I get home (after washing so they are damp) and something I bought in Israel in the am.

 

 You are basically trapping moisture, by applying something to the surface. So lotions won't really add a lot of moisture; they are preventing what's there from evaporating(That's what I was taught, anyway.) Hydrating from the inside out and putting water on the skin and then covering it with something that prevents evaporation is the way to go.

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I just skimmed through the thread so I don't know if it's been mentioned or not, but for my hands I use O'Keefe's Working Hands.  I've only seen it at Home Depot.  It comes in a round green container, kind of like The Body Shop's Body Butter only this stuff doesn't leave your hands feeling all greasy.  It is amazing though!  Best thing I've EVER used!  There's one for feet too that I use in the summer - it's in a blue container.  I put it on any extra dry spot on my body, not just hands or feet.  Then I use a regular lotion all over my body immediately after getting out of the shower.

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Ditto the suggestions for CeraVe lotion (for face and body), Dove sensitive skin soap, humidifiers, keeping well hydrated and wearing rubber gloves when washing dishes or doing any kind of cleaning.  Aquaphor ointment works best for my hands and lips.  Being a zealot about putting on rubber gloves every single time I wash a dish and using Aquaphor has made a huge difference in the condition of my hands this winter.  I've managed to avoid having any of those very painful skin cracks.

 

And limit showers/baths if you can.  In the summer I could (and sometimes do) jump in the shower two or three times a day.  In the winter I try to limit it to every other day.

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For body: I'm using Aveeno lotion right now--whatever is on sale at Costco works for me (Aveeno, Cetaphil, Eucerin, Lubriderm). Right after the shower.

 

For face: This is where I have problems. Like you, dry patches around eyes, also around mouth. Also itchy--something like eczema. I have pretty good results using Eucerin cream to moisturize (feels lovely on the dry spots and never stings my sensitive skin as many things do), and then a layer of Vaseline petroleum jelly for a barrier layer. I read something somewhere that made me think my skin may be losing it's barrier ability and this does seem to help.

 

For hands: Norwegian formula skin cream. I have steroid ointment if my eczema acts up.

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When I am at my worst, I do a sugar/oil scrub before I shower, turning the water on/off as needed to wash my hair,  then just lightly rinse off the body using only using a small bit of moisturizing soap like Dove where needed.  As soon as I am out, I partially pat dry with a towel, then do a full body rub down with warm grape seed oil.  I fill the sink with hot water and toss my bottle of grape seed oil into it, so it can warm while I shower.  

 

If I am in a hurry and don't have time to do this, I use a generous amount of conditioner on my shower sponge instead of  body wash and give it a minute to absorb before I barely rinse it off.  I make sure to leave a residue on my skin.  This is really fast and helps a lot believe it or not. 

 

 

 

 

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Drinking lots of water

 

Putting shallow dishes of water on the heating vents

 

Gooping up my body when I get out of the shower with vaseline intensive care lotion. I probably use 1/4 cup a day.

 

I use bag balm on my cracked drying hands. That's mostly my choice because it works on my cow's chapped teats, and I've already got my hands in it each morning..... sooooo.....

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An herb-infused soy oil for a body oil.

 

I make my own ultra-hydrating scrub/mask for my face: 1/2 cup oats, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tbsp dried lavender flowers, mix it all together in a food processor so that it is still coarse but broken up. I use this as a daily scrub, and once every couple weeks I'll mix a tablespoon of it with a bit of plain yogurt as a face mask - it is so hydrating that I can skip face lotion the day I use the mask.

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A key here is making sure water doesn't evaporate off the skin. Limit water exposure, especially hot. When there is exposure (shower, washing hands, whatever), make sure you dry completely. Use an effective moisturizer afterward.

 

The Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream someone mentioned above works really well here. It can be used anywhere.

 

I've wondered if my sudden struggle with dry skin is because my thyroid is going downhill (slightly high TSH/low thyroid).

 

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I know skipping a day between showers can keep your skin from being so dry, but I just can't do it. I'm not excessively sweaty, but I do work out almost daily and I HAVE to shower to be happy after that.

 

I have perfected the super fast shower. If I skip washing my hair, I can be in and out in about three or four minutes. I also have a spray bottle of hemp oil that I use on damp skin when I need a little more than lotion that day.

 

I AM guilty of the occasional, super-heated bath when it's really cold. When I get out of the tub, I don't drain it until the water cools down. I figure I'd rather let the heat go into the house than down the drain. It adds a bit of moisture to the air too. My kids get nosebleeds from dry winter air, so I'm always trying to add some humidity.

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Have you tried FlyLady's technique of wearing shoes in the house?  It seems counterintuitive, but wearing shoes inside really helps hard, cracked heels...  

I agree.  In the winter, when I wear socks and/or shoes a lot, my feet look beautiful.  In the summer, when I go barefoot a lot, my feet are so gross looking.  The problem is that I hate wearing shoes!

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