Help for dry skin
I don’t think we’re going to break 20 degrees Fahrenheit today, and it’s probably not as warm as 50 degrees in our basement. I change multiple diapers a day and am trying to make hand washing before meals a habit for our toddler Drake. All these mean that unless I’m careful, I’m going to have skin, especially on my hands, that is as dry and cracked as the writing on Arrested Development. While eternal vigilance isn’t possible, there are a few things that I do to keep dessication at bay.
One, I’m not drinking much more water. When I was breastfeeding, a nurse told me that while it’s important to keep hydrated, drinking too much water results in frequent urination, which in turn can result in losing more water than is retained. So contrary to common sense and practice, I’m sticking to the usual recommendation of about 8 glasses a day.
Two, I use Cetaphil cleanser for my face. Not only is it gentle, but it can also be tissued off without water.
Three, I apply hand lotion after every hand washing. I keep lotion next to every sink.
Four, I don’t shower every day.
Five, I avoid moisturizers with petrolatum, lanolin and mineral oil in them. These ingredients create barriers so that moisture doesn’t escape from skin, but they can irritate skin and simply sit on top of it rather than moisturizing or healing cracked skin. Using lotions with gentler ingredients immediately after rinsing the skin with water works best for me.
Finally, I find products by Dr. Hauschka good on several levels, though affordability is not one of them. The ingredients are natural, organic and sustainably harvested. They smell and feel great to use. I find the rose moisturizers for face and body and the rose body oil very comforting both in scent, which is light, and texture, which is rich.
January 7th, 2005 at 11:24 am
i highly recommend Kiehl’s Intensive Treatment and Moisturizer for Dry or Callused Areas …but i can’t tell from the website if it has any of the banned products. (although it does have wheat germ…)
i got it as a gift this year, and it’s wonderful.
January 7th, 2005 at 12:44 pm
Amen to that. I bought it during one of my past benders at Neiman Marcus during their beauty event. It’s good stuff, though expensive.