Your one absolute banker to smooth rough, dry skin

[MorrisZapp]

I'm 51 with very dry skin. My face is so rough you can actually see the flakes. I have a number of exfoliants, glow giving masks etc but I wondered if there's anything that works for you every time to get down to the smooth stuff.

Try a soapy flannel to,exfoliate.

Before I stick anything on my skin make sure I'm drinking heaps of water, like it's going out of fashion. Those cheapy stretchy nylon gloves in the shower, and palmers cocoa butter, the original one, all over. Face, Beautypie Superdrops then Japanfusion moisturiser during the day, and their retinol at night. But if I'm dehydrated nothing works.

Are you flaky and dry or is it red and raw peeling? If it's the second, could be you've damaged your barrier, perhaps by overexfoliation. In which case, dialling it back for a little while to very mild, simple, moisturising skin care is your best bet. For flaky and dry, I use a more occlusive night moisturiser or oil, sometimes with some vaseline on the very worst areas, and have a tiny humidifier on my bedside table. Works a charm.

For your hands, good old Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream. Then gloves on at night.

I use it for so many things. Even on a scar post surgery and it's barely visible now.

But I was just about to reply to the OP about the 8hr night cream. I use it when I have a dry skin flare up like this and it works wonders. It's thick yes, and it takes a while to soak in. I think it's a bit like slugging using Vaseline, but just a bit nicer. I love the smell of it too, it's an odd smell but it's warming somehow to me.

Is it possible to be over exfoliating?

Cotton gloves. Not sure about rubber.

Sali Hughes recommends the flannel, or as we call it in Scotland, the facecloth. I do like the effect but I keep forgetting to launder them and have them on hand. I'll raise my game on this.

Weirdly, I had an old tub of vitamin c wipes from Primark which I used primarily to clean my desk at work until I randomly found they clear the flakes in the middle of my forehead like no other product can.

I've since run out and they don't have them any more. I've bought all manner of other acid wipes but none completely clear the flakes like those old ones did.

Annoyingly my hands heal much faster if I use rubber gloves (thin latex ones) I can only think it's because they get so hot the pores open and the cream goes in. I bought cotton gloves and my hands didn't heal at all. So I continue using the rubber ones which is very attractive and really horrible! They get very hot in the night!

And here I was thinking you were going to bed wearing washing up gloves 😂

@isthismylifenow yeah I realised after I wrote it that you probably thought I was going to bed in my Marigolds!

Im mid 50s, have dry skin that used to flake, especially on my nose. I only wash my face with water (luckily I rarely wear make-up). I exfoliate twice a week.

Straight out of the shower, after drying, I apply a small blob of Bio Oil dry skin gel to my face. That gets absorbed whilst I clean my teeth, finish drying.

Then I moisturise with one suitable for dry skin. Currently Nivea Face Cream Rich Moisturiser for Dry & Sensitive Skin.

My skin is the best it has been 😊

This is also for Tipster100, I used to have dry, cracked winter hands:

Assuming you're not vegan, try lanolin. And if you're not vegetarian, try tallow or emu oil. Not very glamorous but once you've tried animal fat moisturisers you'll never go back.

Thank you for your suggestions and for yours too @isthismylifenow . I will try all of these and see how I get on. My hands have turned to sandpaper today with this cold weather.
OP you may find the glycolic (a gentle one) is like the vitamin c wipes.

OP and @Tipster100 , please update later and let us know how you got on with these! I'd be interested to hear what worked and what didn't.

Ditch the exfoliation for a bit. You need to soothe your skin and help it repair itself. I would try the Curel Range (Boots or Superdrug - can’t remember). They are a Japanese brand made for sensitive, sensitised skin and they are full of ceramides and glycerin which will moisturize and hydrate while soothing and protecting your skin’s barrier. If you wear makeup, they have a lovely cleansing balm (you only need a wee bit that you melt into your palms, which is easy because it is in a tube, massage onto your dry face and then add warm water until the balm goes milky and then gently flannel off.) Then use their foaming cleanser - I promise it won’t dry your skin out. It’s a foam pump that lasts for aaaaages and again, is full of ceramides. (I’ve been using this for years.) They have quite a few different moisturizers, and I would recommend the gel cream in a pot. It’s got a lot of impact, but doesn’t feel greasy or heavy. You can put makeup over it.
Nadine Baggott raves about these products too. If you feel you want a bit more hydration, then I would get the Premium Hada Labo Hyaluronic Acid lotion. (Pop the cream over the top.)

La Roche Posay Cicoplast Baume. Best ever for menopausal skin.