dry skin?

[Tiam]

I feel I've used every contrivance, shea butter, vaseline, olive oil, cocoa butter, eucerin, vaseline Intensive care, Aveeno, Aloe vera from the plantm corn huskers, Berts Bees...but still my hands and hair are SO, SO dry. Nothing seems to really work. I suffer chronic dry skin and hair. Does anyone feel they have found a cure for such dryness? I am hypo thyroid, and take medicaiton. I've heard it is a symptom of the condition. I am tested once a year for my levels, drink lots of water. But...I don't want an online diagnosis, as much as I would like to hear what works for people.

[leslieann]

My partner just brought home from his drumming circle a jar of shea butter. Not a cosmetic, just plain shea butter (which I didn't even know you could buy). Anyway, they use it before playing and it sure feels like it might work on my cracked and dry hands. Apparently is also helps to condition the skin of the drum heads. That seemed like a recommendation (!)

Sounds like you have been through a lot, Tiam. I hope someone has a good suggestion. Here is mine: do you get enough fat in your diet? In the 1980s I worked in an obesity treatment program where people were using those protein sparing fasts.....with three "shakes" a day. They lost weight but boy, did the skin ever dry out...when they added some fat back to the diet they smoothed out a lot.

Anyway, can't say there is any scientific evidence but it does seem that what goes in the mouth should have at least as much effect as what we put on the skin from the outside.

Also, someone told me last week to check my soaps for sodium laureth sulfate. My soap doesn't have it, but it turns out my dishwashing detergent does. Apparently that is very drying as well.

[herbgeek]

I mix my shower gel or soap 1/2 and 1/2 with oil. Sounds weird, but it really help to keep the itchies at bay in the winter. I use Dr Bronner's soap for my face. I use almond oil or jojoba typically for oils, sometimes sesame (not the toasted sesame!). My skin is not greasy, just not all dry and scaly.

[Miss Cellane]

To some extent, I think you just have to experiment with different lotions. My best friend and I both suffer from very dry skin, especially in the winter. The lotion that works best for her, well, I swear it leaves my skin dryer than before it put it on.

Since at least part of the cause of your dry skin could be the thyroid condition, have you spoken to your doctor about this? I believe that there are some prescription skin lotions out there--your doctor most likely has other patients with the same problem and knows what works and what doesn't.

I mostly use Neutrogena products--their Norwegian formula hand cream is the only thing that really works on my hands. They also have body lotion and shower gel that don't dry my skin out. In addition, at night I use a cuticle oil. It's not just for cuticles--I rub it in on the skin all around my nails. Since I've started using it, I don't get the splitting and cracking and bleeding and little infections that I used to have all winter long.

Also, consider showering every other day instead of every day. You can take a sponge bath on the days you don't shower if you think you need it. When you do shower, make it as short as possible. I only wash the areas that get stinky, the "pits and bits" and my feet. In the winter, I just don't get dirty or sweaty enough most days to really need to lather up all over.

Check out various soaps and body washes to find ones that work best for you.

[pony mom]

Have you tried taking fish oils and using a humidifier? These can help.

Warm, not hot showers, olive oil soap helps too. I found a moisturizer that's paraben free that's working pretty well for me (Alba Organics) but I see you've tried everything. The Body Shop's Body Butters help me during the worst part of winter; they're very thick but a little goes a long way. I use the shea butter.

Maybe dry brushing your body will increase circulation and lymph flow to get everything under the skin moving.

[Rosemary]

On my hands, I use a water-based lotion and after it is rubbed in top that with an oil-based lotion. The rest of my skin does not get dry - my hands are a problem in winter due to washing dishes, cleaning, etc. I use rubber gloves when my skin gets dry and that helps a lot.

I wash my hair about twice/week. I use two conditioners each time - one quick conditioner that seems to take away the dry feel and then a longer conditioner that has a kind of wax in it that seals in that moisture.

I think that taking an omega-3 supplement can also aid with dry skin and hair.

[reader99]

I have always had dry skin and hair. My lower legs flake, even with daily moisturising. Two things have helped: Aquaphor moisturizer, recommended by my doctor (WalMart has a less expensive equivalent); and eating the so-called 'good fats' - avocado, salmon, tuna, nuts and seeds. This has really been dramatic. I eat sunflower kernels and pistachios, since I seem to be mildy allergic to other tree nuts and to peanuts.

[mtnlaurel]

I have eczema and have had good luck with CeraVe cream
www.cerave.com

[reader99]

Is Cerave by any chance unscented?

[mtnlaurel]

Is Cerave by any chance unscented?

It does't say Uncented on the jar, but it doesn't have any added scent to my nose.
The website seems pretty thorough and they have the ingredients listed for each product.

A dermatologist recommended I try it after an eczema outbreak on my hands.

[crunchycon]

Just seconding a couple of recs....Neutrogena Norwegian Hand Cream is the ONLY thing that mended my cracked cuticles and split fingertips when I worked in the library (back in the days of paper, which does nothing but leach moisture from your skin). It's also intended for use anywhere you have extremely dry skin. DH swears by Burts Bees Body Butters to relieve the itchy skin in winter time - I use olive oil (on damp skin) with a drop of lavender essential oil. Superfatted soaps (like olive oil soap) will be your friend -- run, do not walk, away from bath gels.

[domestic goddess]

Be sure you have adequate humidity in your home. Add humidifiers if you need to. In the winter, I often use almond oil after a shower, applying while skin is still damp.

[nswef]

We've been using O'Keefe's mason's cream. Put it on your hands and cuticles at night and it seems to work pretty well. But I haven't used it on any other skin parts except my feet. We get it at the Ace hardware store at the cash register. Lowe's has it too.

[julia]

I use a mixture of organic extra virgin coconut oil and castor oil to cleanse my face, then gently wipe with a warm damp flannel, then massage in a little more of the mixture. I put coconut oil in the bath too. I have VERY difficult skin, and it really helps.

[Gardenarian]

My skin also gets so dry that it's just like paper. I find that exfoliating helps a lot; it gives the lotion a chance to actually get to my skin. I use St. Ives apricot scrub - it's inexpensive and free of parabens. Agave fiber washcloths (find them in health food stores) are wonderful for exfoliating too.

[ReneeIngram]

Dry skin is one of the most common skin problems. Moisturize your skin after shower or hand wash. You can also try fish oil pills. It will help you to make your skin smooth.

[Glo]

Here's what I do: i use cheap hand lotion, but dampen my hands before applying the lotion. This method does make a difference. I do the same thing on my face but I've been using regular Olay for over 40 years. Also if my hands/cuticles become cracked, I apply neosporin before bed. It really helps heal over night.

[rose]

I like Cetaphil cream (not lotion). Unscented. I used it for my face and body.....most lotions leave my face feeling dry soon after applying but Cetaphil works for me.

[Lainey]

I like Cetaphil cream (not lotion). Unscented. I used it for my face and body.....most lotions leave my face feeling dry soon after applying but Cetaphil works for me.

+1 Cetaphil was also recommended by my dermatologist.

[artist]

I also have hypothyroidism so I know what you mean about chronic dry skin that won't go away. It is definatly a symptom of the condition. Two things that have helped. Omega 3. Fish oil, preferably the higher quaility the better. Don't go cheap on it. Also Melaluca oil is wonderful and the Renew lotion is great, though you have to be regimented about it and use after washing your hands every time. You have to find someone who sells it though, as it is not available in stores. I've been using Melaluc products for 15 years.

[larknm]

Every morning I warm a bottle of Sesame oil in a small bowl of hot tap water and then put it all over my body (except where hair grows on head). I wear an underhsirt to keep it from getting my clothes oily. Somepeople put it on a night before bed and use a special nightgown. This is an Ayurvedic method for dry skin and now my skin is silky after only a few months.

[Tussiemussies]

When I had dry skin I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil not too much just enough so your skin can absorb it. You want to use the extra virgin since it is the only olive oil that is not chemically treated in the extraction process. Then I went to the health food store and bought soap especially for dry skin and vitamin E facial cream. I would wash with the soap then apply the olive oil which btw most closely resembles our own sebum, and ten apply the vitamin e cream. This worked well for me. The soAp I bought is by Aubrey and called Rose Mosqueta. It also has anti- aging proprieties. Good luck!

[krystal]

I was suffering from same things as you do.I was trying product after product but there was still no relief.There was still so much dryness on my hands and face and I was looking very aged and tired.
But then somebody told me to use cocoa butter dry skin cream with vitamin E.It started working well on my skin from the first night and made a huge difference to my skin.It has mineral oil and a wax in it so even after morning shower an invisible moisture locks and keeps my skin hydrated throughout the day time.;)