Extreme dry skin

[chillywaters]

Help needed please, I have extremely dry skin and patches where it's dry and rough that I regularly have snow like flakes inside my clothes like back of ankles and calves and my lower back. Sorry if that's gross. I've always had quite dry skin but this is now extreme. I've tried lotions and ointments but not found anything that works. Can I ask for tips please. I'm also scared this is an underlying condition.

Try Vaseline and a trip to the GP

It's possible to develop eczema later in life if you didn't have it as a child. Sounds like that. What lotions have you tried? If it's eczema then you should just use E45 as anything more in the "beauty product" range rather than being medicinal is likely to irritate the skin and make it worse.

E45 or aveeno are good for dry skin. If your face is also dry I recommend welda skin food, my dd has eczema and suffers with dryness round her eyes and this helps.

Please dont use E45 as i can aggravate it.

try either Aveeno ot Boots does its own brand, or Cerave.

Me too, especially at the end of winter.

Creams just stick the old stuff back on (!) so what I find best is some kind of loofah (Korean face cloths are brilliant) and taking really good quality fish oils daily.

What are you using to wash with? And when you applied emollient how much?

I would get something like Epaderm ointment which you can use for washing as well as applying to your skin. And use loads! A 500g tub should only last a fortnight. Most people don;t apply nearly enough.

I have dry, sensitive and eczema prone skin and as well as moisturisers you need to think about the shower gel/soap you use. I do also exfoliate once a week to try to remove the dead skin.

Most of my life savers have oat in them. It seems to really calm it. My go to produces are;

Body - aveno dermexa body lotion here
Face - First Aid Beauty ultra repair cream. FAB This stuff is amazing and has saved my skin. You can use it on the body but it’s expensive.
Face wash - kheils ultra facial wash. It’s very gentle and has glycerine in it with no perfume etc. it doesn’t strip my skin. face wash
Body wash - aveeno or Shower - This

I hope that helps.

Have you heard of Ichthyosis OP? Could it be that?

I'd start with soaking in a warm bath with some Dead Sea Salt added. Then gently polish with a pumice stone.

Once dry add a moisturiser like Aveeno twice a day.

Do the bath and polish at least twice a week.

If that doesn't help to manage it you'll need a Dermatologist

And yes Cerave is great too

Perimenopause Can cause very dry skin . I use Garnier for very dry skin in the green bottle .

This one .

Be careful if it is eczema with e45-if you look on the back it says 'can even be used on sensitive skin'-meaning it's actually not intended for sensitive skin. I used it on my son (11) and he screamed-it burnt him. Had used it on my other son who had dry skin but not horrendous. I'd recommend le Roche posey or moo goo as brands for really really dry/sensitive skin with eczema but my mum gets flaky skin and does swear by aveeno! Also possibly look at how much water you're drinking. Hope it goes away soon

Another vote for Cerave. It’s not sexy or exciting but it’s very effective. In the cold weather I had to slather it on to stick my flaking face and lower leg skin back on and it quickly got better.

OP my skin the same. Always super dry and often irritated. Best thing for me is Aveeno.

Also, I try to drink more water (which I'm not generally good at) and eat foods that are rich in good fats like olive oil.

I suspect that I should also be avoiding harsh soaps and shampoos that might be drying out my skin, but I can't figure out what products to use...

@Synergies

You need SLS free products. Bar soap is usually better than shower gel.

If you are happy to miss out on the lovely packaging then medical products like Epimax, Epaderm, Zerobase can all be used both for washing and emollient.

Otherwise your options are French pharmacy brands like Avene, products aimed at kids with ezcema like E45 kids, or organic/natural products like Neals Yard or Faith in Nature.

There's actually quite a lot of choice once you start looking.