How to Treat Dry Irritable Allergic Skin

I never could understand how anyone could dig in the dirt and not run to wash their hands right away, because their hands were screaming with pain,or how someone could just sit on their clothing or bedsheets without first
smoothing out the wrinkles, to avoid getting a bruise, or ride in a car,on a horse or on a bike with the wind blowing their hair against their face without screaming because it felt like a broom hitting their face.But,I could see others without care and in apparent lack of pain doing the things that caused me a lot of hurt.

I've gone to many dermatologists and allergy doctors over the years.They gave me a lot of prescriptions and suggestions, such as acne medications Dove, Lubriderm, Basis, Aveeno and Keri, which made my skin a lot worst.They were treating appearances or the dry part of the equation,and not the allergic reaction. But other than cortisone cream, the doctors didn't help.

I discovered when I was pregnant that ultra sensitive skin and medical complications tend to be part of the package of a redhead. This helped, to finally have medical recognition that I did have a situation and that it wasn't in my head. So, then, I needed to find out how to deal with it.

This is not an article about different possible products on the market. Because if you, truly, have the type of skin I have, You are not going to run right out and try them. This is an article about what has worked for me and what hasn't and why. Because, I was given help from a lady whose daughter had the same problem I had and she recognized that I too had it, and I want to help your life to be a bit less miserable. Yes, I said it, miserable!

There is nothing worst than skin that itches,hurts and breaks out all the time, 24/7 with possibly no remedy in sight.The items that I've listed work for me because they have less additives in them, or are lacking whatever
additive that is irritating to me, not because they are fragrance free.My problem with fragrance is in my nose and possible headaches and not with my skin.But,I will list those that are fragrance free.

Baths vs showers
I found that showers caused my skin to be even drier and more irritated.Just think, pressure washing, which is water under pressure can be used to wash the dirty walls and pavements of a home. A shower is a milder version of water under pressure. Whereas, a bath not being under pressure, will put no pressure on your skin and won't add to the irritation.

Toner vs Astringent
A toner,usually, has no alcohol in it, and alcohol is a drying agent. There are two brands that I have found useful for me; Clinique, which has allentonin in it. Allentonin has a mild calming effect on irritated skin and cleans
effectively. The second,a tad bit cheaper,is Neutrogena's Alcohol-Free Toner, which also cleans well and is nonirritating.Or you can use water to clean your face.Clinique is fragrance free. Another item, which isn't a brand, is witchhazel. It's not exactly scented, though it does have its own peculiar fragrance. This also works well in cleaning without irritation.

Soap/shower wash vs Soft soap/Non-soap cleaners
I'm allergic to anything that has real soap in it, except for a very diluted version, which I can use very occasionally on my hands. We use Soft Soap or a generic version to wash our hands with, instead of bar soap.I use Cetaphil to bathe with. It comes in three forms, a cleansing lotion,a moisturizing bar and an antibacterial bar. These are all three non soap cleaners. I have used all three, but I tend to prefer the moisturizing bar,because I need all the moisture I can get and it is more portable than the lotion. These do not foam or suds up. But, they are totally nonirritating.Cetaphil also has a moisturizing lotion.Cetaphil is fragrance free.

One of my dermatologists had recommended Dove, Lubriderm, Basis, Aveeno and Keri. But they either caused my skin to breakout or itch because they were too heavy,Dove(has cold cream, which is heavy) and Keri, or they were for dry skin, but had ingredients hostile to allergic, dry skin, Lubriderm,Basis and Aveeno.

Baby oil/mineral oil vs moisturizers
For the most part, lotion is just not heavy-duty enough for the industrial strength dryness that my skin can exhibit. So after a bath, I use baby oil,from the base of my neck to my feet. If fragrance is a problem for you,then check the pharmacy for mineral oil. It's the same thing without the scent. I use Walmart's version, because the scent is light and nonirritating to my nose.I moisturize my face and neck with facial lotion or cream. The two that I've found that work, are Walmart's version of Oil of Olay,(Which I have also used, successfully) although,it has, recently, gotten so expensive, that I switched to St Ives Collagen Elastin for all skin types. Aaahh, what a wonderful switch.

Lotion vs Vaseline/petroleum jelly
As in the previous entry, even though I do have some version St Ives lotion on hand to use on my feet, for the most part, I have found that lotion just isn't strong enough. So I usually use Vaseline/petroleum jelly for my hands,
lips,around my eyes, base of nose and my feet, since everything either cracks,splits or peels,otherwise.I discovered St Ives when my cousin tried it and didn't like it. So she brought it to me and I tried it on my hands, with no ill effect and it was better than the Walmart brand I was using at the time.The Walmart brand also doesn't hurt.Another brand that also works well is Suave. Vaseline/petroleum jelly is usually fragrance free.

Laundry detergents
Remember the old commercial that gave a solution for ring-around-the-collar?Well-we spent two whole years miserably and constantly rewashing clean clothing and household linens because we suffered from a red rashy ring-around-the-body due to an allergic reaction to every major detergent on the market.I kid-you-not. We were broken out from head-to-toe, and everything detergent we used, caused our clothing and linens to feel like brillo pads on our skin.We finally found that Walmart's brand of liquid detergent worked, until they took it off the shelf and redid the formula. We then switched to Woolite, which I had already been carrying with me on my trips.We just use less than the recommended amount,to make sure that there is no residue left.We can still use Walmart's dryer sheets. Which is a relief, since there aren't any other ones that don't cause us to break out.

Bug spray and sun protection
The best sun protection is to not spend much time in the sun. Otherwise,I have found that the high number sun blocks are very irritating to my skin,and I have heard that it is true of others with sensitive skin.I don't use sunblock. But if I use a product with sunblock in it, I don't go any higher than about 15-25 because of the irritation factor, and I don't spend that much extended time just sitting in the full sun because I don't understand stewing-in-my-own-juices and my tan tends to be bright red or nonexistent.

Bug repellent can have the same effect as high SPF. Most of them cause my skin to breakout.Skin-So-Soft by Avon is nonirritating, however is not quite as effective as commercial insect sprays.

Latex vs non-latex
Not just gloves come in latex or non-latex.If your rubber gloves are causing your hands to turn red or to breakout, you may be allergic to latex.This would also include band-aids, medical tape,diapers, plastic shoes/flip flops,
etc.

Hydrocortisone/Neosporin/Balmex
Sometimes when your skin is really irritated, hydorcortisone or Balmex work better than Neosporin, because Neosporin has an ingredient that is nickle alloy based(copper/nickle/nickle silver are all nickle based).When my
skin is not in an irritated state and needs an antibiotic, I use Neosporin. When it is irritated and needs something like an antibiotic, I use hydrocortisone cream or ointment. Otherwise I use Balmex, which is a diaper rash cream
without cod-liver oil in it. If the irritation is anywhere near your nose,you really don't want cod-liver oil near it. Needless to say, Balmex is also relatively unscented.

Shampoo/conditioner
Long before I got married, I lived with roommates. One time, when I had run out of shampoo and had forgotten to buy any, one of my roommates let me use her Castile shampoo. After almost half of my hair fell out and my
scalp was snowing 1/2 to 1 inch flakes, I went to a dermatologist in desperation.He prescribed Ionil, which reset the balance of my scalp. I learned from that experience to be very selective about what I use on my head.

Several of the actual salon brands work well, however are a bit pricey, such as Paul Mitchell and System Biolage.Several of the off-the-shelf brands also work really well, such as Sally's Beauty Supply's and Suave's versions of the previously mentioned brands. I have found that Redkin and Pantene tend to either leave my hair limp and dull or leave a buildup on my hair. Herbal Essences tends to dry my hair out.It took me years to try Suave. But once I did, I haven't gone to anything else.

Deodorant
When I was in Junior High, one of my gym classmates decided to spray with some of her Secret deodorant on me. It caused me to breakout. I learned from that experience that some of my skin problems weren't just related
to bug-bites and other irritations.

I discovered Soft&Dry years ago and have been using it ever since. Ban is also nonirritating, but it doesn't work as well.

Makeup
This is an area that I've had a lot of problems with, because the manufacturers like to change their formulas without warning. I used to use only Clinique, because, for a long time, it was the only dependable makeup that didn't cause me problems, until they changed their formula. Clinique is also not so easy for us to get, because we have to travel a ways to get it and it isn't exactly that cheap. Then I found some other brands I could use; Cover Girl eyeshadow,blush and mascara have been consistently reliably nonirritating over the years.(Although their tinkering with their mascara has sometimes been a problem-I use only waterproof, because I can't stand it sliding or flaking down into my eyes.) The other two brands I've used consistently are L'oreal for their lipstick and Almay for their concealer. Although I've had to switch them sometimes when their new formula is causing irritation or is no longer doing what I need it to do.Almay in fragrance free.

Vitamins and supplements
I use a multivitamin/mineral, potassium(because I do a lot of walking and dancing), fish oil,vit C and vit E for dry irritated skin and calcium for my bones and skin.

I also drink a lot of liquid during the day, because I am dry and often thirsty. It is also recommended that drinking plenty of liquid will keep you from being too dry. But I don't drink because I feel that I ought to and because of what is recommended, but because I have gotten more in tune with what my body wants and follow its needs.

These suggestions are just that, suggestions. Since you may very well have different sensitivities than I do. But they may give you some ideas for your own solutions and some of them may work for you.

Sources:

http://www.avon.com/

http://www.clinique.com/cms/product/supercat/offers.tmpl?cm_guid=3-_-123027695013-_-12343351013&ngextredir=1&cm_mmc=Yahoo-_-YS_CLIN_US_RV_T1_Brand-_-YST_2011_CLIN_US_BRN_Brand-_-clinique|-|Y123027695013

http://www.cetaphil.com/

http://www.neutrogena.com/econsumer/ntg/index.view

http://www.almay.com/

http://www.covergirl.com/

http://www.lorealparisusa.com/_us/_en/default.aspx#page=top{userdata//d+d//|main:home|overlay:_blank|nav|media:_blank|diagnostic}