How to Get Rid of Dry Skin

Dry skin is a common ailment in a lot of people. Dry weather, warm dry heat or even washing your hands often can lead to irritating and embarrassing dry skin.

It's a common problem in our household, especially on our hands. With the constant washing of hands and using an anti-bacterial soap, it seems that our quest to end the dry skin is never ending.

I've reviewed all kinds of dry skin care from the cheap, generic brands to the most expensive, high quality and here are my reviews of the best.

Vaseline Intensive Care, Advanced Dry Skin Formula: This is a mid-price ranged item, easily found at any Wal-Mart or convenience store. It goes on incredibly thick, so it's not best to use if you're setting out for the day. I've used it at night with minimal results, so not my favorite but will do if you're out of everything else.

Eucerin Crème: This is my husband's favorite, who suffers from eczema as well. Rub it on and it soaks in nicely and can keep your skin from cracking. It's a little higher priced than a lot of common crèmes, but very much worth it.

Lubriderm: Mid-price ranged crème that is wonderfully effective. You'll find that you need to use this several times a day, as it tends to loose it's "oomph." It does soak in quickly though, allowing you to use the crème and then get on with your day. It works wonderfully for a few hours, but chances are you'll have to apply this three to four times a day for the best results.

Alpha-Keri Bath Oil: This is the miracle cure for dry skin. Apply some to your bath and soak. You will find that water is going to bead up and roll off of you, so I wouldn't recommend this if you need to shower and leave for the day. The oil will soak into your skin, and continue to keep your skin soft for quite awhile. The downside is, this has become very hard to find. Since this is one of my favorites, I've searched high and low in our area to find someone that sells it to no avail. It is an "older" cure, which has been pushed aside to make way for some of the new bath oils that have come on the market. If you can find this at a store near you, pick it up!

Vaseline: This is the best I've found that I can use on a daily basis. Good old Vaseline, or petroleum jelly. Slab a good amount on your hands at night, throw some socks over your hands and voila! You'll wake up the next morning with incredibly soft, not-dry hands. This does bring comments from your spouse; one of two typically from both ends of the spectrum. It is either incredibly annoying to him or her, or incredibly funny and you will get a lot of rude comments. It's worth it if you can ignore your husband or wife. It can get messy as you're trying to pull your socks on with Vaseline hands, but if your spouse is willing, try to get him or her to help you. This is the cheapest, easiest and works the best.

As you can see, the age-old cures for dry skin are the ones that work the best. Skip the expensive crèmes you find on the grocery store shelves and go for the golden oldies. You'll save money, and have great hands to boot!