Recommendations for cream for VERY dry skin

recovering_spendaholic

The skin on my legs and body is terribly dry and has got worse and worse over the last couple of years. I exfoliate regularly and moisturise but it still looks horrendous - it is all flaky and white. There isn't anything wrong medically with the skin but it is just so awful and dry. Can anyone recommend a shower/wash cream and moisturizer. I have tried Bodyshop hemp and vaious other BS ones but they don't give any real relief. I have thought about lush, but don't know if that would be any use - similarly I have thought about SBC off QVC but I haven't got loads of money to throw around and want to try and buy smart IYKWIM. Any recommendations?

jackieb

Boots aqueous cream. You can use that to shower with or use it as a moisturiser. It's like E45 but a lot cheaper. You can buy it in 500ml tubs.

jackieb

Here are some reviews for it. http://www.ciao.co.uk/Aqueous_Cream__Review_5347915

Bronnie

From the inside out.....do you have enough of the "good" oils and fats in your diet?

I would prefer a natural oil like almond oil or coconut oil, easily and cheaply available, to mineral oil products. Very effective if applied to moist skin immediately after showering, leave to absorb for a few minutes then pat dry with a towel.

Avoid very hot water and lingering in hot baths, a short warm shower is better. Pat the skin dry, don't rub . Also avoid using bubble bath and heavily scented products. My experience is the simpler and more natural the product you use, the more likely your skin will get back into balance again.

Loanranger

I have used aqueous cream and E45 and E45 is better for very dry skin. Aqueous cream is good for cleansing rather than moisturising, IMHO.

eeker13

Maybe try the Simple Derma range ? They do a shower gel/cream and a variety of different moisturisers.

HTH

jenniewb

I agree with the comment about oils in your diet (good oils not saturated fat) but it is limited, 20% of your skins moisture is affected by your diet, the other 80% is environmental (harsh enviroment, pollutants, air conditioning/heating, use of hot water over warm, wearing drying fabrics over more moisture supporive ones for example).

I would recommend using oils rather then petroleum based products. This is because although petroleum based products can help to keep the moisture in your skin (as long as you have some!) it prevents your skin from creating its own moisture. Bit by bit your skin becomes dryer and 'needs' creams more and more often. Using more natural based creams does not have this effect.

I'd say try things like coconut oil, olive oil (for skin- not that different to food oil but there is normally a difference in added scents) or similar. Then after it had soaked in I'd use a natural based body cream. I have my own preferences but there are many out there. You do often pay higher for natural based creams (but not in every case). There are reasons for this and few are to do with the label. Its more to do with the production costs, the ingredience and how long it lasts/life span being shorter, the people making the creams not having the same £multi-million funding as do other brands such as L'Oreal or etc.

I'd say go to Superdrug, Boots, even Tesco/Sainsburys as most do have lines of natural based products (without Mineral Oil, Petroleum, Lanolin.... etc) and give those a go. Use with an oil at first to get your skins natural oils back up and pretty soon you wont need to be doing this. But do make sure your body is getting its proper nutrition; oils and good fats for example as well as nutrients to have those work properly, even at 20% of your overall skins moisture, it is enough of a difference to make you very uncomfortable if your not getting what your body and skin needs.

Sensemaya

I purchased this from John Lewis I think in the Trafford centre.

http://uk.ritualsstore.com/product/23378/hammam-massage/

Might be worth a try as I think you would be better with oil rather than cream. There is also Boots Botanics baby oil.

Youdontseeme

Check out the ingredients in your shower gel / soap / bath stuff.

So many of these say the are for dry skin and are moisturising but then contain stuff that is known to dry the skin.

Try and avoid products with SLS's in.

Double check the ingredients in your aqueous cream as some of them also contain SLS which wont help.

I use one without (tend to stock up when I find it!) I mix in about a 1/4 to 1/2 of a bottle of almond oil, and slap that on after a bath, it seems to be sorting out my reptile skin, you can use any oil I guess, I have used olive before now but find the almond smell a bit less offensive.

Another trick is to apply this before a bath, be generous, and then have a long soak and it sort of seeps in, although it makes the bath a bit of a b*gger to clean and be careful not to slip!

Elmis Nourishing Milk Bath has been recommended to me by soooo many people but the price puts me off, it is defo on my Christmas wish list!

YDSM

Griizelda

Pure Shea butter is also very good and can be used anywhere on the body, including face and lips. It also works on my son's eczema on the backs of his knees much better than anything else I've tried.

Another thing I've done is melt it slowly and whisk it up (a stick whisk works best) with some rescue oil (from Poundland) and this also works very well.

Bloomin_Freezing2

Have you seen your gp? My daughter has eczema but is dry all over. She has moisturisers that can double up as 'soap'. It's not aqueous cream (can't remember the name right now), but it works wonders. We're currently seeing dr's in the dermatology dept at hospital to deal with some very bad patches of skin on her legs, the dr there told us NOT to use 'friendly' soap/purfume free baby washes as you may as well be using washing up liquid. If you can't see your gp try aqueous, a huge tub in tesco was just under 2.00 recently.