Tips for folks with dry skin

We've been getting lots of questions lately about what to do about itchy dry skin.

Here are a few suggestions:

•  Try using a natural cleaning solution when you (or your cleaning lady) cleans your bathtub.  We make cleaners in our house, we mix equal parts of Borax, table salt, and baking soda and use it to clean tub and shower surfaces.  Household cleaners can be very very harsh, and they have to be rinsed extremely well to remove all traces from surfaces.  So if you have been using conventional cleaners, some of the residual chemicals could be ending up in your child's bath water, drying out skin, and causing itching.

• Double check the ingredients in your laundry detergent.  Just take note and remember if you've switched detergents or fabric softener or dryer sheets that it could be a culprit in skin dryness.  (Also, even if you still use gentle detergent for clothes, if you wash sheets in something different, that could be irritating skin and air quality during sleep).

•  Some non-natural oils like petroleum jelly and mineral oil that is plain with no fragrance can gently soothe dry sensitive skin.  Some 'baby oils' have baby oil fragrance, try to find the plain ole' mineral oil or petroleum jelly from one of the dollar stores.

•  Try gentle soaps, farmer's markets are GREAT sources for all natural detergent free high moisturizing cleansing gentle soaps!  It's awesome to find a artisan soapmaker in your area.  Dove is a more pure option, too.

•  You can also try a little natural bath and body oil like extra virgin olive oil as an effective natural skin moisturizer without harsh solvents and fragrances.

•  Glycerin is also available at discount drug stores as well as solid cocoa butter and are simple one-ingredient-fixes.  They're inexpensive and very effective in the right cases.  Many of these are store brands and are kind of hidden among the many other brands in the vast skincare aisle.  Glycerin is actually a moisturizer, it attracts moisture to our skin.  And cocoa butter is a pure plant vegetable solid that traps in moisture as a pure simple dry skin solution.

All in all just see everything that touches your skin as a potential irritant or possible skin-nurturer, reduce/eliminate irritants and increase skin pampering products!

PS--consult your physician when skin is regularly cracked or broken, and for expert advice/prescription on treating skin issues