Winter Dry Skin Thread

[susiestar]

I know many of us deal with the dry winter skin that gets irritated by the cold and wind. Nomad's allergy thread brought this to mind. What do you do for yours?

I recently picked up an ELF brand (eyeslipsface) jumbo lip gloss stick at a grocery in the city because my lips were peeling and sore. It was only $2 and is NOT small at all. It is about as thick around as a kid's marker and has at least as much in it as a brand name lipstick. There were not a lot of shade choices, so I picked a pink that I thought would be close to the natural color of my lips.

I like ELF products, that isn't a secret. Once again I was very pleased. The color is nice but not so intense that you absolutely must have a mirror. If you color outside the lines, it doesn't instantly leave a stain. It has a very slight mint scent, no flavor (which I love because then I don't lick it all off and make the chapping worse, lol), and it is doing lovely things to my lips.

I liked it so much I went and bought the other colors they had at the grocery. I had to go back to pick up something anyway.

My skin is another story. I do use sugar scrub in the shower, but I have to stick to my own recipes for creams etc... because the store bought ones still cause problems. I am just glad they are easy to make and use. Sugar scrub is insanely cheap, and a salt scrub is even cheaper if you prefer that. You mix sugar (or salt) with enough oil to make a paste (adjust the thickness to your taste). Add a couple of drops of essential oil for scent and there you go. (Makes a LOVELY gift and people think you went crazy spending tons of time and effort, but it takes more time to do a label for a gift, lol.)

If my skin gets too dry, I put on a layer of mineral oil before I towel off after a shower. I don't use the natural oils like almond or shea because they go rancid on your towel if you are not careful. But with mineral oil (or baby oil, which simply has fragrance added) this doesn't happen.

So what are your "Go To" products and tips for winter skin problems? Also, have you tried the BB creams? Have your teen daughters? Which ones do you like best? Jess is thinking about trying one, but isn't sure which.

 

[Dixies_fire]

Coconut oil, grapeseed oil and mineral blended in a bottle,

 

[GoingNorth]

Aveeno bath soap lotion, and shea butter applied while still damp. Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner, being sure to rinse thoroughly. "Bed Head" leave in conditioner once a week.

If you go the shea butter route, go to a health food store/section and get pure shea butter (people COOK with this stuff) and NOT the lotions or creams with it mixed it. You want the real thing.

I use tea tree oil on my hair as I get funcgal infections from my hair being so thick and heavy and hence staying damp in back for hours. This with wearing my hair short. If the scalp irritation gets too bad, I use a coal tar based dandruff shampoo and comb my hair up and away from my scalp to air can circulate as it dries.

MOST dandruff is actually a fungal infection of the scalp. That's why the tea tree/coal tar/sulphur shampoos work for it.

I get actual patches at the back of my head. No hair loss, just itching and heavy flaking.

In fact, I just committed to staying up until 1AM because I just washed my hair. I use the sink because I don't have a working shower and can't get my hair clean/rinsed in the bath.

And beauticians always comment on my beautiful, thick, wavy hair and how it's a shame I don't grow it out. Nope! Cut it all off!

 

[helpangel]

for severely chapped hands cover in vaseline and put white socks on your hands at night. When I use to work outside my hands would get so chapped they would bleed and any lotions etc burned like fire, the vaseline was a lifesaver.

Nancy

 

[DammitJanet]

Funny thread because Billy and I were just talking about my father and his bleeding fingers. One wouldnt think a person who had a white collar job and was never out in the cold would have awful fingers that would crack and bleed in the winter. I think most of it had to do with the fact he used paper so much. He was an accountant.

For years my dad had trouble and he tried everything he could find. He even had these little things called finger cots that looked like little condoms for his fingers...lol. He would put all different lotions on his fingers and sleep in those finger cots.
Well one year I solved his problem! Someone down here told me about Utter Butter. Its the stuff they put on cow udders to keep them soft and not chapped. It worked very well and for the last 10 years or so of his life, he didnt have cracked fingers anymore. In the beginning he had to buy it from places like Tractor Supply but they now sell it in Walmart I think.

 

[susiestar]

for those who buy and use those aveeno bath powder things when they itch, you get the exact same results from putting reg oatmeal (old fashioned or quick cooking) into a nylon and tying it shut. I used to use 1/2 cup when the kids needed this in winter. You just put the nylon full of oatmeal into the water (kid seem to like to squish it) and it iwll do the same. Or you can grind the oats up in a blender or food proc until they are a fine powder and dump them in the water with-o a sock. They will dissolve and rinse away.

 

[dstc_99]

I have tried a few of the BB creams and easy child has as well. My favorite right now is Philosophy brand that you can get a Macy's. It only takes one squirt (pump) to do my entire face. It isn't thick and it covers lightly while keeping your face moist. It almost feels more like a face cream than a foundation. It is expensive but considering how little I have to use I would say it will last twice as long as my other foundations. We tried Clinique BB cream and found it too heavy for us.

Corn Huskers lotion is an old fashioned farmers remedy for dry skin. Men like it because it isn't thick, takes very little, and has no smell. My husband uses it and brings it out every year I think he has had the same bottle for 10 years. Kinda gross to keep it that long but he uses so little at a time.

Bag Balm is another kind of lotion that is similar to Udder Butter. It was invented for farm animals and is great.

Right now I am using Lush products but they are way too expensive so I am getting ready to run out and not repurchase. I plan to make myself some sugar and salt scrubs since they help me greatly.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Avocado oil (feet, elbows, hands, scalp<every few days I rub it into my scalp before I go to bed>) and Gold Bond are my body life savers -- for the lips I use Nivia.

 

[susiestar]

GN is totally right about buying your oils at the grocery. Whole Foods has a house brand that is well priced and is a good quality. husband loves the various oils I buy for salads and cooking, and as I don't use large amounts of any one thing, it keeps them from spoiling. I can usually get the oils at our local grocery that has an organic/gourmet leaning, but the prices are higher and they don't sell a lot of the fancier oils. So by stopping at Whole Foods every few months I can stock up and have a fresh product. I h ave yet to see shea butter or other butters that are nto mixed with other stuff at the organic or middle eastern groceries, but I will look again.

 

[trinityroyal]

Sugar scrub and all other exfoliants rub my skin raw. I recently started using hand-crocheted cotton washcloths, made with worsted weight 100% cotton yarn instead of terry wash cloths or those horrid plastic scrub-thingies they sell at the drug store. I use moisturizing shampoo instead of body wash (whatever they have on sale), and for the first time ever I'm not itching from head to toe this winter. I use avocado oil as a moisturizer for skin and hair, and blistex lip medex for dry lips.

I'm allergic to lanolin, so most of the really good moisturizers make me break out in hives and weeping sores.

If anyone crochets and wants my washcloth patterns, let me know. I have a few good ones. (I'm careful with the structure of them, as certain stitches scratch more than others, even with the soft cotton).

 

[Nomad]

I too use the Aveeno bath lotion for washing in the shower. Origins makes a foot lotion for dry feet that I honestly think is the best in the world. I also switched to all organic/natural hand wash liquid soaps...checking that they have little to no alcohol and carefully wash my hands (often) to protect myself from germs....they were getting dry from regular soaps.

 

[AnnieO]

A few years ago my mom came home with a recipe for this stuff that is awesome. 1 container each Vaseline, vitamin e cream and baby lotion. Combine till smooth. It's not great but super hydrating and great for sensitive skin. And you can get unscented baby lotion...

 

[1905]

I love to use oils. Jojoba, grapeseed, argon, maracuja. I wash my face with them and put them in my hair before bed. My skin gets so dry, moisturizer irritates it for some reason. Maybe fragrance in those products isn't for me, the oils work well and they're cheap.

 

[trinityroyal]

Vitamin E cream or oil is another allergen. Like lanolin, it makes me break out in hives and weeping sores. Apparently a lot of people have vit e allergies or sensitivities, so go gently if you're going to try Annie's recipe and you have a history of skin troubles...

I wish the allergies weren't such an issue. The nicest moisturizer I ever tried was an olive oil body butter from the Body Shop. It felt so lovely and my skin was so soft without being greasy or goopy -- until the lanolin reaction started and I broke out from head to toe. Sigh...

 

[AnnieO]

Trinity, you can make it without the vitamin E. That seems to work really well for me, but since I'm allergic to lanolin, too, I have to be super careful. (They put lanolin in some baby lotion... Ugh... And of course the nursing cream is medical-grade lanolin... And, yes, Rose is allergic too.

 

[trinityroyal]

Annie, when you say Vaseline, do you mean Vaseline petroleum jelly? I imagine it would be incredibly emollient, but it is a BAD sensory experience. Does the baby lotion ameliorate the ICK at all? I'm interested in trying this, but get the willies at the very thought of vaseline goop.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Trinity... as you are in Canada, see if you can get "George's Special Skin Cream". It's a Canadian concoction, here quite widely available. The creator is a pharmacist who frequently compounds rx creams for doctors... and who used that experience to come up with a non-rx cream. It's all we use.

 

[AnnieO]

Trinity, the thought of putting vaseline on my skin makes me nauseated. It's SO goopy and greasy. But, yes, it is definitely made more lotion-y by mixing with the baby lotion. But since you won't be using vitamin e cream you will want to either cut the amount of vaseline in half or double the amount of baby lotion...

 

[trinityroyal]

Thanks Annie. I'll keep that in mind. And IC, THANK you. George's Cream sounds just about perfect. Now comes the challenge -- finding a local distributor.

 

[susiestar]

I have had many people recommend the baby lotion, vaseline and vit e cream mixture. I must say that it was one of the nastiest things I ever tried. Baby lotion can be VERY hard on the skin if you have any sensitivities. For one thing the fragrance is strong and irritating to many people. Every doctor we ever had said to NEVER use baby lotion on a baby as it is very harsh on their skin. As I had several different docs due to moves and insurance changes (whatever doctor we had seemed to not take whatever insurance our employer changed to, grrrr), having them all say that if you have any skin sensitivities/problems then baby lotion is bad says something.

Vaseline keeps my skin from breathing and makes me feel like I am suffocating. Yes, odd, but it is my particular sensory problem. If I let my hands get super bad then I have forced myself to sleep with vaseline n them, but it is not a fun or restful night.

This is why I started ordering ingredients like shea butter and oils etc and DIYing my creams/lotions. I find that the quality is far better, the cost very reasonable even with shipping, and my skin sure likes it better. I thought I might react to shea butter like I do to vaseline, but they are totally different. The shea is thick, but it absorbs so fast and you need so little that it is amazing.