Q. My husband has VERY dry skin all year, but especially during winter. Straight mineral oil solves the problem. It IS messy, but soaks into the skin in about 5 or 10 minutes and the skin is no longer oily. Stand on a towel when you apply it to keep the oil off the floor.
Wearing thermal underwear seems to help, too. AmLactin lotion applied immediately after drying off stings the first few times it’s applied, but it’s not messy, and it also solves the problem.
Old-fashioned sponge baths and washing your hair in the sink can be helpful. Keep water off the rest of your skin, because standing in the shower or soaking in the bath strips the oils off the skin. My mother used to use Crisco, and her skin was soft and didn’t itch.
A. Thank you for sharing your dry skin solutions. Mineral oil might indeed help, but as you point out, it is MESSY! Not everyone will want to stand around for 10 minutes waiting for the oil to work its way into the skin.
Other visitors to this website have offered some different approaches:
“My dermatologist recommended Vanicream for the terrible rash on the front of my legs (that appeared as soon as the furnace was turned on this past fall). I apply it as soon as I get out of the shower and it works! No more rashes.
“I’m also going to try the Udderly Smooth Extra Care with 20% Urea as my hands have been terrible (sandpapery + those nasty paper cuts that hurt unless you put bandaids on your fingers).”
D.Z.
D.Z. is referring to a moisturizer with a high concentration of urea. Redex Industries, makers of Udderly Smooth creams and lotions have created a 20% Extra Care Cream (full disclosure: Redex Industries underwrites our radio show).
A study in the most respected dermatology journal (Journal of Investigative Dermatology, June, 2012) suggests that when an adequate amount of urea is applied to the skin in a topical cream, it can strengthen the skin’s barrier function and boost its resistance to microbes. That may be why it is so helpful for conditions such as eczema (atopic dermatitis).
Visitors to this website have found that urea works for a variety of skin problems:
“Products with urea work great on calluses. Even though I exercise rigorously, since I have used urea products on my heel, I don’t have calluses anymore. My heels are smooth as silk!”
Jennifer
“I am currently using the Udderly Smooth cream with urea and having similar great results! I’ve been putting a good-sized blob on the spider-vein area and covering with a bandage at night, and the spots have significantly faded and diminished in just a few days!”
Wendy
“I applied the cream at night before bed. The spider vein patches began to fade in 2 weeks and were almost totally gone in another 3 weeks. My doctor was surprised at the results and assumed it was due to the keratolytic action of the urea on the superficial veins.”
R.L.M.
It is not always easy to find high-potency urea creams. If your lips are as dry as the rest of your skin, you may find our Winter Skin (and lips) Survival Kit of great value. We are offering a 15% savings on our all-natural lip care products (pomegranate, berry & chocolate mint) along with 15% off a two-ounce tube of Udderly Smooth Extra Care 20 plus a FREE copy of our Guide to Skin Care and Treatment with other natural remedies for eczema.
Here is a link to the Winter Skin Survival Kit. We also now have the Udderly Smooth Extra Care 20 Large Size tub (8 ounces) should you want to prepare for the long, cold winter ahead.
