Ouch. My lips are so chapped that it looks like I’m wearing bright red lipstick. But it’s not just my lips. My skin is ashy and itchy, the same goes for the girls. I catch Pea absentmindedly scratching and scratching and scratching her little legs to the point that they get all scraped up.
I’ve tried so many different lip balms and salves in the week that we’ve been here, but nothing is working. And my beloved Kiehl’s Creme de Corps? In Texas, it solved all dry skin issues. But here, in Utah? Not so much…
I know I made a solemn pledge not that long ago to wean myself off of the Aquaphor because of the whole petroleum thing. And my giant tub of the miracle product is coming up on empty pretty quickly. But I’m feeling such a need for the stuff! It’s taken such good care of my skin in the past, my dry lips, my chapped elbows, my cracking cuticles. And it’s helped the girls through brief bouts of eczema. I just might have to bring it back.
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I would not recomend Avino because it contains parabens which can cause cancer.
I second mama birds suggestion- I love the smell of that stuff, too.
My son, in particular, gets very dry skin and chapped lips/ face each winter- especially since we moved out West. Our pediatrician recommended that, in the winter, he take a lukewarm shower every other day (vs. every), apply lotion liberally after each shower and increase his water intake. Overall, it has improved. I’m hoping to ask my dermatologist for suggestions as well, though.
For chapped lips, we’ve always used Blistex DCT (Daily Conditioning Treatment) in the small pink tin. It works great for us.
I love the neutrogena light sesame body oil. it’s amazing. smells heavenly.
Most of what I would recommend has already been mentioned. Everyday Yogini mentioned the whole water thing though and that’s super important. Hydrate until you are floating away. Yes, that’s it. Also use cocoa butter on your lips. I’m so sorry for the girls. Just slather their skin like you were putting butter on bread. The no fragrance thing is a must. Fragrances dry skin out. Cetaphil makes a daily facial cleanser that is really good. I use it when I visit my sister in Denver which is terribly dry and it helps me a lot. How’s the unpacking coming along?
We live in Alberta, not far from the Rockies & the winters are brutal on our skin, especially my youngest son who tends to have eczema. One thing my dr. recommended & really works well is Glycerodermine, a Vaseline-like skin cream. I can load up on pretty much any kind of intensive care lotion & it doesn’t touch my chapped hands, but this stuff actually works! Oh, and btw, I love your blog, read it daily, and we’re in the moving thing right now too, so I empathize a lot with you (although I have to admit we’re only moving 2 miles!) packing up a house is a lot of work, no matter how far you have to go…
OK – I am NO beauty product expert. However, I have had the worst dry skin this winter. Something about pregnancy hormones and NE winters apparently is a bad combination. I went out and bough Palmer’s cocoa butter lotion. The stuff smells a bit strange, like a cake batter almost, but man does it work! If you try it, let me know what you think.
I had eczema for 17 years, and something that helped dryness was Calendula Baby Cream from Weleda. It does have some of a scent so when I was leaving the house, I started using The Golden Salve from Equinox Botanicals. My mom is an herbalist so she didn’t let me use petroleum either.
My top five tips from living in Colorado:
Use soap-free body wash
Use water that’s not super hot to bathe and shower
Drink so much water you feel like you are floating away
Put jojoba oil or weleda calendula oil on before you are completely dry out of the shower and THEN put lotion on when you are dry
Dead of winter? Definitely Aquaphor.
This mid-west mountain weather is TOUGH on skin…I’m still hooked on Aquaphor and sounds maybe kinda yuck, but it works – A & D.
M – We went to Mexico for a week in November, and came back to 7200 ft. and my lips were chapped for weeks. But, with religious applications of Vaseline and Minted Rose Lip Balm, they improved. Now, for skin issues, Keri lotion works miracles, as does good old fashioned Gold Bond. Take it from a mountain girl who KNOWS dry skin issues.
Oh man, I was totally going to warn you! I was thinking, it is so dry here, after Texas it will definitely be a shock. But you found out soon enough. I seriously have to slather on baby oil after I shower, while I am still slightly wet or else it’s bad news. Of course, I am sure some other oil would do the trick, if mineral oil makes you break out (which I think is what is in baby oil). As I mentioned, I am originally from Arizona, but my parents had soft water (that helps quite a bit I think) and there is something about the freezing temperatures that seems to make it worse.
Oh, and with the baby oil, I use a baby oil gel, so it’s not as much of a mess.
Good luck!
burt’s bees honey and shea butter body butter?
it is pretty amazing. and it’s at whole foods, which per your blogging is right down the street now.
Have you tried Aveeno lotions? They even make some for babies. I’ve heard several people sing praises to Aveeno for solving their dry skin problems.