I don't think it's your laundry at all. I too, live on the West Coast and used to be plagued badly by the cold (for us) winter months. They played havoc on my skin causing it to be irritated, dry and whatnot. Although you mention your skin isn't necessarily dry, I'd point to hard water. Ever since I had a soft water system installed, my skin is noticeably better this winter.

Soft water requires MUCH LESS soap and rinses it away much more thoroughly. Although it's quite an investment, I now consider it a necessity.

Try adding vinegar to the rinse water to cut resigual soap.

My water hardness doesn't really change in the winter, so I don't think that is the culprit. I'll try adding vinegar.

You could also try using a fragrance free lotion. I recommend the one maid by Curel. I would also increase the amount of water you are drinking a little. The cooler air can really zap precious moisture out of your system.

HTH : )

I don't mean that your water hardness changes in the winter. But, the hardness doesn't help with skin when we have such dry weather during this time of year.

I too live on the West Coast and with it being cold lately and dry, the humidity in the air has been havoc on my already dry and sensitive skin.

I do formulary for bath and body care products. There is a myriad of products on the market all with proprietary ingredients and many for label appeal. The basics of lotion are pretty much the same with proprietary amounts of oil to water and other ingredients to add slip, and label appeal.

First of all, start taking some Omega 3 fish oil caps, and you will start to notice a change in your skin. Give it a little time but I now take this daily and it has helped my skin a whole lot.

A good lotion is fundamental in keeping moisture in your skin. Try to put the lotion on right out of the shower when your skin is still moist and dewy. This will help lock in moisture. One tip is to keep a bottle of baby oil in the shower and put some on while still wet from your shower. The key here is to lock in that water with and oil of some sorts. Lotion is a blend of oil, water and an emulsifying agent (wax). Some oils are better than others at absorbing into the skin while others sit on top of the epidermis layer of your skin. Also, turn down that temperature of your shower and shorten shower time. Long hot showers dry your skin out.

I prefer extra virgin olive oil on my wet skin and some unrefined shea butter. If money is an issue, doctors in burn wards of hospitals use something called "C Cream". The "C Cream" is good old-fashioned Crisco, which is just hydrogenated Soy oil. Put this on top of damp fresh out of the shower skin to lock in moisture. Just limit the amount if you are worried about being greasy. I prefer to use the heavier oils at night under my jammies so it can soak in while I sleep.

On the West Coast we have very soft water so try using ½ the recommended detergent and rinsing well with your laundry (The vinegar trick works in the rinse cycle).

I just think you are suffering from winter skin. When temps drop below freezing at night it zaps all the humidity out of the air and dries the dickens out of your skin. As we age our skin gets drier.

One place you can go is the skincare board on www.makeupalley.com and the girls there will be able to help you out.

Here is a link that might be useful: makeup alley

Thanks all for the sage advice. Skin has been much, much better.

I agree with xhappyx. It happens to me every year. The dry air can overdry your skin and trigger exczema (sp?) in sensitive skin. Hot showers take the natural oils out of your skin and make it worse. So does scratching it. Another suggestion would be to maybe get a humidifier for your home for the wintertime.

Oh good, I am happy to hear that your skin issues are clearing up ;)

xhappyx, I would be forever grateful to you if you would mention this lotion penetrates and does not sit on top of the skin. Please, I'm 68 years old and would LOVE to hear your professional recommendation.
Patricia Moore

Hi Patricia

Different oils soak in faster than others. It is important to have a good mixture of several types of oils in the lotion. If something sinks in too quickly then it doesn't help protect the moisture barrier in your skin. If it sits on top of your skin without sinking in to trap water, it leaves a greasy mess and doesn't feel as moisturizing either.

I would go for lotions made with a lot of shea butter, olive oil, and glycerin for mature skin. If they have some mineral oils that is fine but that just sits on top of the skin.

How dry is your skin and what type of climate do you live in? That plays a lot into how well a cream/lotion will work for your skin. If I know that info I might be able to make some suggestions.

xhappyh, i am a youngish 68 years old, but my face, for example, is oily. Yes, I don't look my age. I notice my legs and arms are now showing my age and the fact that I live in Southeast Michigan. Today it is 21 degrees but I haven't gone out. For my body and hands, I alternate between CeraVe, Olay Quench Green Tea (Paula Begoun says is the most elegant forumla), Aveeno Daily, and just bought Gold Bond Ultra Healing, which is nice for elbows, feet, etc., in the winter only.

Are you saying both glycerine and dimethycone are good ingredients?

You are a doll to answer me.

Pat

Patann, I hope you have a humidifier of sorts in your home with the temps below freezing. That right away will help on so many levels. With that said, the amount of oils in a lotion plays a big part of it. Unfortunately, most formulas are proprietary with mentioning the AMOUNT of oil in the lotion/cream formulas. They only list ingredients in order of the most to the least. Try to look for something with the 2nd ingredient an oil of some sort followed by water.

For my dry skin, I always use something that has 25% - 30% oil of some sort in the formulary.

Glycerine is excellent on the skin as it draws moisture from the air and to your skin throughout the day. Dimethicone is added to formulas mostly for slip and to leave behind a silky feeling. It does very little in adding moisture to anything (and I feel should be avoided in hair products as it builds up on your hair and over time actually keeps moisture from absorbing into your hair. If you have ever detoxed your hair from it, and your hair feels like straw as soon as you strip that out you will know what I am saying. Paula is a huge fan of cones and there is a lot of debate over them in the formulary industry. They are cheap and not needed in hair products unless you have very course and curly hair). Cones can be good in hand creams however, at a higher amount because it works like a silicone glove if you are a nurse or someone that washes their hands often.

For really dry hands have you tried Camille Beckman products? I haven't purchased her creams in years but they work wonders on my 84 year old mothers hands. Since I make my own products, I haven't tried much of what is on the market today.

However, I do remember liking the Kiss my Face Olive and Aloe products. It was a good all over head to toe formula. Now days I use unrefined shea butter or EVOO on my wet face most of the time. I keep it simple as the less ingredients on the face the better IMHO.

Basically, a very basic formula is all you need for your body. Even basic cetaphil or eucerin cream will work for dry hands and body but since they are heavy in mineral oils they will sit on top of your skin much longer than something made of different oils. If you want some luxury, LUSH puts out some nice body creams. Or you can just stick with something as simple as keeping baby oil or even shea oil, safflower oil, olive oil, cocoa butter, etc. in the shower and putting that on your entire body while rinsing off.

Here is a link to Camille Beckman hand creams. You can sometimes find them in Hallmark stores. If you have a LUSH near you the smitten hand cream is nice along with the dream cream. Their url is www.lush.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Camille Beckman

xhappy, do I ever have a website and product for you. It's called "South of France," and the bath/face soap is so like your requirements that when I discovered it (a friend gave me a bar of soap a year ago and I just opened it up and used it after I read the ingredients, right off your first answer to me above. Unbelievable.) I have never found a soap like this in my entire life. Just look at the ingredients of the South of France Verbena bar. Then look aat the body lotions. I swear you formulated these. Thank you so much for your great help.
http://www.southoffrancebodycare.com/

Pat

Thanks Pat

I am aware of South of France products. They are good basic soaps. I am a fan of cold process soaps myself. There are many great etailers on the web that provide really nice CP soaps. Once you start using CP soap, you can't ever go back to the standard drugstore variety. Whenever I travel I sometimes get stuck using whatever is at the hotel and boy do I suffer for it.

Some bar soaps that I have tried and like are

Indigo Wild (www.indigowild.com)
Magic Hands Workshop (http://www.magichandsworkshop.com)
Villianess (http://www.villainess.net)

And some of my favorites are from a place called Chagrin Valley

Chagrin Valley (http://www.chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com)

These aren't as pretty as some and the packaging is simple but Ida does make a great bar of soap without all the artificial fragrance oils. There are many more out there that I am a fan of but I don't want to turn this thread into a search engine, LOL!

I hope your skin gets some moisture into it and the tips I have given you help ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: Chagrin Valley Soap and Craft

I understand and thank you again. I am sorry to have hijacked this thread, but it does relate to how I tolerate some laundry soaps, and I got carried away. I really appreciate all your tips.
Pat

I have sensitive skin year round, but it gets worse in the winter.

I agree with Omega 3 fish oil, good to use. And if anyone has pets with skin problems, yes I know this is off topic, but adding a teaspoon of olive oil to their dry food is good for their coat, skin and also aids in digestion.

Applying lotion within three minutes of exiting the shower works wonders. I have eczema, and since I've done this at the recommendation of my dermatologist, I don't have many problems. I personally don't use body oils, as they tend to dry my skin, no matter when I put them on, and they keep moisture away from your skin once applied.

Plastic surgeons recommend castor oil for patients who have had facial work done - very thick and probably not something you'd want to use daily, but if you are having problems with irritation or a reaction from other products and need something for the interim, this one is usually safe without irritants, fragrance, etc. For your face, though, not body.

I use Avon's Skin So Soft lotion on my body, that works the best for me, but I've also tried Cetaphil skin cream (you can buy it in large tubs at Walgreens), and that works well too.

For my face, I use Dior HydrAction creme, in the wintertime. It helps boost moisture by 70%. I love this product, and usually don't buy into all the "more expensive means better product" hype, but this one works to alleviate the winter flaky skin I tend to get.

I've also switched to fragrance free laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener, and don't use dryer sheets. My skin is just too sensitive. If you think about it, your skin being the largest organ in your body, absorbing all that perfume can't be too healthy.

A website I swear by is EWG.org (Environmental working group), go to a link called Skin Deep, you can punch in any ingredient and it will tell you the toxicity levels, from household products to makeup, soap, etc.

For soap I use Zest. Of all soaps I've used, this one doesn't seem to leave a film, rinses clean.

Shea butter products work well on my hands, but I also like Basics Organics E-Ointment before I go to bed (it's vaseline-like), it has aloe and vitamin E. I tend to get the cracked bleeding hands in the wintertime from washing a lot, and this product is non irritating and helps them heal. Don't use Vaseline (brand) on your face, it promotes hair growth.

Make sure you are drinking enough water in the winter months. Staying hydrated helps considerably.

I have really sensitive winter skin too. I itch and flake all over the place. What I found that works well is one of those chlorine removal filters that goes on your shower. It eliminates the chlorine(which is very drying) from your shower water. It has helped me tremendously. These are available at most home centers for a reasonable price.

After using one for about 6 months I took a shower without it being installed. When I got out of the bathroom it smelled like I threw a jug of bleach all over the bathroom!
Back on the filter went.

I second the suggestion to get a humidifier- was the best thing I did. Your house is dry in winter- sometimes as dry as the desert. Continue with the creams and oils but they are just treating the symptoms- you need moisture in the air. I don't have probs with dry skin but with sinus trouble and the humidifier worked wonders. Now go out and buy one NOW!!! You'll be glad you did.

Update: I've been using either Aveeno Bath & Shower oil or Neutrogena Bath Oil after the shower and it really does the trick. They rinse clean and don't leave a heavy film like body lotions can. My skin in much improved. The fish oil capsules I'm sure have also been helpful.

I had sensitive dry itchy skin forever until I switched to phosphate free laundry detergents and sulfate free shampoos and soaps two years ago. My skin is SO much better. I have no idea which one did the trick but I'm happy with both types of products so I haven't experimented.