Very dry and sensitive skin: need moisterizer reccomendation

[badger]

I dug this thread up because in another forum that I go to, there was a thread on washing without soap. Yes, without soap.

I stopped washing my nether regions with soap some time ago. And once upon a time in university, this girl on the next floor up never washed her face with soap, just with water and she had great skin. Unfortunately that experiment went bust after a few days when I started breaking out like there was no tomorrow.

So I'm not completely blown away by the concept of no soap.

I stopped using soap on my legs and arms last week (do we really need soap on our legs and arms? especially in the winter??) I've also stopped using moisturizer on my legs, and guess what? My legs are not flakey like they would if I soaped and didn't moisturize. I still feel the need to soap my armpits, though...

I doubt I'll ever go without shampoo, though. Some people are able to, but I have a feeling I'll be very greasy and miserable.

[shootingstar]

Probably alot less soap needed on legs and arms

Depending where I cycle in shorts season, it interesting that leg skin can have a fine layer of dust, sand when one goes for a few hrs. and rack up mileage on paved roads. Hence, I would need soap to remove the grit properly..

Really do need on soap on face and shampoo in hair even at this point in life. These areas probably have 40% less oil than when I was a teen.

oh well. At least my hair has a natural gleam. I rarely use hair conditioners at my age still. Useless. When I do, it feels heavy and dead.

I do not have the problem of dried out hair yet...and I wash my hair daily. Still. But then my hair has not been chemically treated with any colouring agents nor perm solutions.

[ny biker]

I use soap on the sweaty parts. For my face I use Cetaphil at night and just rinse with water in the morning.

I only use soap on arms and legs if I have to wash off sunscreen, grease, etc. or if I'm washing out a cut.

I still need moisturizer in the winter.

[sarahspins]

I dug this thread up because in another forum that I go to, there was a thread on washing without soap. Yes, without soap.

Honestly, knowing what goes into commercial 'soap' (or rather, that they take out all of the good stuff in it - like glycerin) this doesn't surprise me at all.. I have been making my own soap for 3 years now because I'm allergic to so much stuff, and I can't imagine using anything else at this point... but I do tend to only lather up areas that need it - but more to spare my soap, not my skin

I superfat my soap and I rarely use any kind of lotion.. because I just don't need it.

I've tried the no shampoo thing in the past, due to my severe allergy to SLS's, and it just doesn't work for my hair at all, not to mention my skin was taking one heck of a beating from the vinegar rinse, as much as I tried to keep it off me. I went through trying a lot of different brands of SLS-free shampoos, and finally settled on Jason Pure and Natural as my preferred one... no SLS and no perfumes (many other SLS free shampoos, like Burt's bees and such, are heavily scented, and I also react badly to a lot of EO's, so that's an automatic "no way" for me).

I don't use conditioner though... I hate the way it weighs down my hair.

[badger]

that's great you make your own soap - you know exactly what does into it! I would love to make my own soap as well. I certainly have enough stuff to go into them! (like jojoba, shea, coconut, and cocoa).

I try to use only stuff that you can ingest and not have any ill effects. Especially on your lips - the stuff some of those conventional lip balms have is frightening, and you're eating them!

[GLC1968]

I only use soap on the stinky parts and occasionally on my body if I am particularly dirty (like after cleaning the chicken coop....ICK!). And I have never used soap on my face...ever.

I also went for two years without using shampoo and my hair was gorgeous (if I do say so myself!). I would 'wash' with conditioner. Even now, I wash with conditioner every day and I only use a non-SLS shampoo once a week (except pool swimming is screwing up that schedule). It worked better on long hair - with my short hair, it looks too 'bed-heady' if I don't lather it at least once a week.

And I have absolutely found that natural home-made soaps are WAY gentler. My husband has extremely dry skin and he loves using it! We both love making it too...so fun!

[shootingstar]

I also went for two years without using shampoo and my hair was gorgeous (if I do say so myself!). I would 'wash' with conditioner. Even now, I wash with conditioner every day and I only use a non-SLS shampoo once a week (except pool swimming is screwing up that schedule). It worked better on long hair - with my short hair, it looks too 'bed-heady' if I don't lather it at least once a week.

And I have absolutely found that natural home-made soaps are WAY gentler. My husband has extremely dry skin and he loves using it! We both love making it too...so fun!

Sounds like everyone's hair is different. But that's great it works for you, GLC. And good to hear about natural home-made soaps.

I consider my hair texture/right amount of natural oils now just right state, the state I wished I had when I was a teen (when I had too much natural oil that led to other problems).

[sarahspins]

I would love to make my own soap as well. I certainly have enough stuff to go into them! (like jojoba, shea, coconut, and cocoa).

You should go for it! Cold process soap is really super easy, and it only has to cure for a month before you can use it (and that month flies by if you put your soap somewhere you can't look at it). A 2lb batch of soap will last me about a year... less if I give a lot away I make mine with a relatively simple modified castille (olive oil) recipe, and everything except the lye is available at the supermarket... no exotic stuff required unless you really wanted to use it.

I was afraid to make my own soap at first.. scared of using lye, but it's really safe if you use gloves and eye protection (and have vinegar handy if any does get on your skin - I have yet to have that happen, but am always prepared). It takes about an hour to prep everything and "make" the soap, and it's cut 24 hours later. Then it sits in a box in the closet until my phone calendar tells me it's ready

Lye is becoming increasingly hard to find in stores though.. Apparently it's used at some point in the process of making meth, and many retailers have opted to just plain NOT carry it since there are many alternative drain cleaners available now (ask at Home Depot or Lowes and they'll just look at you funny). The only place I've been able to find it local to me is Tractor Supply. It can be ordered on the internet but it involves faxing things for them to be able to ship it - more of a hassle than I've ever wanted to deal with for as little as I use. I am only on my second 2lb container of Lye in 3 years, and I've only used a tiny bit of that second container.

I try to use only stuff that you can ingest and not have any ill effects. Especially on your lips - the stuff some of those conventional lip balms have is frightening, and you're eating them!

I agree.. when you start looking at ingredients it's a lot of "WTF?!".. scary that many people just don't give it any thought at all.

[OakLeaf]

when you start looking at ingredients it's a lot of "WTF?!".. scary that many people just don't give it any thought at all.

They don't give it any thought because the manufacturers as well as their own doctors repeat over and over that you can't absorb anything through your skin... at the same time they're manufacturing or prescribing medication patches for you.

Dr. Bronner's on the stinky parts, Pangaea and Better Botanicals on the face, Kiss My Face Whenever on the hair, pure shea butter on the hands for me...

[Crankin]

Ah, well, I'm probably one of those people.
I use Cetaphil on my face, too. A wise dermatologist recommended it to me almost 25 years ago, when I started getting acne after after the birth of son #2.
I use Ivory soap on the rest of my body; come to think of it, I don't use soap on most parts, just the armpits, and "sweaty" parts. I do sweat profusely. But it's not a conscious decision, it's just the way I wash.
The thought of not using shampoo seems creepy to me. I can go a day without shampooing, if I wet my hair and use product, but after that, it's not nice. My head itches, too. My hair is already source of irritation to me, which is why it's short. In fact, I grew it longer last year and cut it in the fall. I still have side bangs that look great, but require a flat iron. After a ski or ride, it's gross. So, next hair cut, back to the pixie. I've used Bumble and Bumble products for about ten years and I am happy with them.
OK, back on topic. It's great if you have the time to make your own soap, but I am getting a picture of a woman stirring a pot in colonial times. I seriously do not worry about this kind of stuff too much. My skin does get dry in the winter; I use Cetaphil lotion, along with a few other things, but it seems to be related (I know) to wearing wool. Even the merino seems to bother me. Guess I'm just a princess, but I've tested this out in the last week and as soon as I ditch the wool, the itchiness goes away.

[tulip]

I have not yet made soap, but it does not seem complicated. No more so than baking a cake. I like the idea of having a year's supply of soap that I made. I might give it a try because I like trying new things as self-sufficient as I can (which is not very). GLC1968, do you ever make soap with goats milk? I love goat's milk soap--its so gentle and creamy.

I use Weleda these days. I use the Sea Buckthorn body oil on my face and all over. It's wonderful. I also use coconut oil (the kind you get in a health food store). It keeps my skin moisturized until the next time I take a shower.

I have to shampoo my hair every day or it gets nasty. That's just me, though. I've heard of people who wash their hair once a week or less, but not me.

[sundial]

My hands turn to fine grit sandpaper in the winter. I've tried Gold Bond, Vaseline, Neutrogena, Oil of Olay, DermaSoft, and nothing seemed to help. I even tried an old school remedy of rubbing Preparation H gel on my hands and wearing gloves.

Then I saw this in the Duluth Trading catalogue.

I ordered it and I am more than pleased with it. It dries to a very fine film and it's like wearing an invisible glove so it keeps moisture in. It is not greasy.

As for body lotion, Mr Sundial the pharmacist recommends Sarna lotion to his customers who have dry, itchy skin. He also likes the Sesame oil lotion from Neutrogena.

I want to add too that you might be very surprised about the laundry detergent buildup in your laundry. That could definitely add to your woes. This winter I started using 21 Mule Team Borax and white vinegar and my laundry is much softer and cleaner. I no longer have residual soap. A nice benefit of using vinegar in your laundry is that it cuts down on static.

The humidifier also made a big difference.

[NoNo]

I make my own soap! I don't do cold process, I just don't have enough room to feel safe having lye around. I've been selling it and I'm getting a lot of people with sensitive skin wanting to try it. So far, no complaints. So many things can give you dry skin, from how much water you drink to how dry the air is, and soap alone won't fix that, but it could help it from getting worse. For me, no matter how "gentle" of a soap I bought, I'd always come out of the shower with tight skin, itching, and with hives all over my chest. Since making my own, I haven't had that problem. Plus you have total control over what goes into it. I've also found that I can't use orange oil on my face, so I can avoid putting that into my soap. If you compare the price of buying supplies to make your own natural soap to buying the same amount of natural soap in the store, making your own is totally the way to go.

[GLC1968]

Sounds like everyone's hair is different. But that's great it works for you, GLC.

Yes, I should mention that I have very, very thick, curly hair, so not using shampoo is possible. Curly hair is naturally dry even though my scalp was oily...so it wasn't until I stopped trying to dry out my scalp that it 'normalized'. My face skin is that way too, once I stopped drying it out, the oil production reduced greatly. But if you have naturally thin or straight hair, you probably can't get away with NO shampoo for very long.

GLC1968, do you ever make soap with goats milk? I love goat's milk soap--its so gentle and creamy.

Not yet! We unfortunately didn't get around to learning how to make soap until after we'd stopped milking our goats! And this year, we didn't breed them, so we will be without our own source of milk for a whole year. We will be making it eventually, though.

[Owlie]

I too have very thick and curly hair. I only shampoo (with Burt's Bees--anything else makes my scalp itch after two weeks) once a week or a week and a half in winter, if I'm not doing anything that requires me getting dusty or sweaty, or I haven't put products in my hair (I almost never do). I'll rinse it through with conditioner in the meantime, but not very often. Occasionally I'll put almond (my mom always did this for us when my sister and I were growing up) or neat cheap olive oil on the parts away from my scalp.

I have dry skin everywhere except my face, and to complicate matters, I have eczema on my hands. It's made worse by both dryness and by the greasy creams that don't let my skin breath. Delicate balance there, so I'm rotating hand lotions constantly. To make matters worse, the water in my building runs HOT, and I have yet to find a comfortable shower temperature that doesn't dry my skin out without making me feel like I'm taking an ice bath. We also have very hard water, which makes my skin less happy.
I soap my legs after I shave, because if I don't, I end up with angry red spots. I use a moisturizing shower gel for that as well as any sweaty parts and removing grease. My face gets washed in the morning with milder a salicylic acid cleanser, because if I skip it, I turn into a zit. Some kind of body lotion post-shower. Shea or cocoa butter in winter, whatever the heck I want in summer. I'm dreading the after-college experience because winter gets expensive!