Dry skin can make us feel itchy and uncomfortable. For those who have common skin conditions like eczema good skin can is a must. Here are my general recommendations for good skin care and some product suggestions.
1) Use mild, non-perfumed, non-dye soap. Harsh soaps do not clean better than gentle ones, and often times our skin can become irritated with perfume and dyes (colors). One example is Dove Sensitive Skin without perfume or dye. When you buy in bulk, it's about $1.10 per bar.
2) The most common cause of dry skin is water. Yup. Frequent bathing or water contact removes valuable oils from your skin's surface. Try to avoid showering more than once a day, and pat yourself off, do not rub and lastly, avoid very hot showers.
3) Perhaps the BEST thing you can do for your skin is to moisturize. This can get confusing. First some terminology. All moisturizers are made out of water and oil (and any active ingredient like Aloe). . The oil is the good stuff that our skin needs. Lotions have the least oil an the most oil. Although they are easy to use, they are the least helpful.
Although easy to use and quick to absorb, these lotions are not going to do much for very dry skin. Instead, try a cream (typically 50% oil) or an ointment (about 80% oil). Here is an example of a cream that comes highly recommended by the dermatologists I work with.
Remember how I like to recommend generic products as compared to brand names? Skin care is no exception
Always apply the moisturizer right within about 3 minutes of bath or shower, while your skin still has a little water on it. This will seal in the moisture and help the valuable oils penetrate into the skin. You may apply the moisturizer at other times in addition to this.
