Soap ( I know, this is a boring title)

You are stripping all the oils from your skin. You might consider using Aveeno soap followed by the lotion. I noticed they have some new scented washes you might like. The lotion is light & not greasy. It's oatmeal based , not lanolin.

There are a lot of really good hand soap options at Whole Foods. I like the Avalon Organics hand soap range (lavender is nice...I'm a sucker for lavender). Also, if you're ever looking for a good body wash, try the Everyday Shea range (also at WF), which is spectacular, and VERY reasonably priced. $10 gets you about a liter of the stuff.


My GF has sensitive, dry skin like you, and she (and therefore I) use Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser (there's also a Gentle Skin Cleanser) and Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream "for dry sensitive skin". Considering how thick the lotion it is, it goes on light and doesn't feel greasy. Good stuff. Her dermatologist recommended it.

Speaking of dermatologist, have you been to one mtgprox05? Your issues sound scary serious.

I've gotten off the routine of using soap every day, except in certain important areas. I'll do a full wash around twice a week, depending, and just the nether regions other days of the week. My skin is much less dry and seemingly healthier as a result.

For shampoo i've been trying a variety of SLS free brands and have found two that work very well for me. Alaffia's Coconut & Shea is gentle and smells great, and Giovanni's Tea Tree Triple Treat (and Trader Joe's less costly version) is the only shampoo my girlfriend and I ever have shared.

Also, I stopped using soap/detergent on my face. I've always had oily skin but since switching to this oil based cleanser i've found the excessive oil was my skin overreacting to having all it's oils stripped off twice a day.

I wouldn't call my skin sensitive in any way but going the gentle route has been hugely beneficial.

I hope you are gettiing help for that OCD. I know how much it sucks, and I know it can be treated.

As for the soap, the gentlest soap I use is liquid olive oil soap, which is not perfumed.

I use Dr Bronner's bar soap, and currently have lavender and rose. I like them, and they seem to be as mild as any bar soap can be...

Just FYI, since I didn't clarify, Cetaphil products are available just about everywhere, and I've seen Avalon at Safeway/Kroger.

Its good. I use the unscented from time to time. I also find it gentle. It wont lather up like regular soap but it also wont dry your skin as much either. I think it cause it doesnt contain Sodium Laurel Sulphate.

Mtgprox, might I recommend Desert Essence's Thoroughly Clean face wash. It IS a bit drying - the key is to use it only say, before bed, and not to let it sit on your face. It's an excellent cleanser though, and has helped me with a facial skin condition (perioral dermatitis) - it was one of the only soaps to help. I can't with any assurance blame Dove, but it wasn't too long after that I had switched to Dove that I first noticed the symptoms (a small bump, almost looked like a tiny pimple, beneath the eye. At first I thought it was a pimple, but about a month later it was still there accompanied by a few more, and it gradually got worse). IAnyhow, about the Thoroughly Clean Face Wash, it's primary ingredient is tea tree oil, and the rest of the ingredients in it are all natural as well. You can get a giant 32 oz bottle of it for about $8 on Vitacost.com (or other online sites, I'm sure). I like to buy it in bulk like that and actually use it as a full body wash during the summer months (it's a bit too drying for winter).

Another thing worth trying on some skin conditions is Nizoral brand shampoo (or a generic equivalent if you can find it. The key ingredient is ketoconazole). Ketoconazole is a strong anti-fungal and can help in numerous skin conditions that are actually being caused by excess yeast.. often times the cause of eczema or psoriasis like skin conditions. It's the only thing that actually healed the condition around my eye.

edit: Ketoconazole is often prescribed as a slightly stronger pill to be taken internally, to help with fungal/yeast infections.. so the idea of using a shampoo which contains it as a topical cream is not just some random home remedy! I found that applying a very light layer of it before going to bed, and washing it off in the morning, had the problem area fixed in about a week or so (there was some peeling as this happened.. I just washed it off and applied an organic, fragrance free moisturizer).

This is the only stuff I've used on my face for years: Lily of the Desert brand Aloe Vera 80 face scrub/wash. Google the name. I've never had the need to switch. I have no complaints about the condition of my facial skin, and I think this product has alot to do with my satisfaction.

Hi, mtgprox05.

I have some similar issues - very sensitive and dry skin on my hands, and extremely sensitive (but combination, not dry) skin on my face.

Hands. Heavily fragranced hand soaps will eventually make my hands break out in tiny, itchy red bumps. You can try Trader Joe's liquid hand soap. The lavender chamomile one; I think it has tea tree oil in it too - cylindrical bottle with a purple label. It's lightly but pleasantly scented. It's pretty inexpensive - maybe $2.99-$3.99 for 16 (or12?) oz. Trader Joe's usually also has some good lavender soaps if that's what you like - nice ones with dried lavender in them.

Face. No more red blotches that I used to get. Long story short - the gentlest thing I've found, and continue to use, is Kiss My Face Olive Oil Soap. The bar soap. Not the aloe one, not the chamomile one - the plain, unscented one. Get's slimy if not allowed to dry out so I keep it on a soap saver away from the shower stream. I love the stuff.

Perhaps an option could be to occasionally wash your hands using hand lotion. In the winter I sometimes clean my face with lotion and it does a good job of cleaning my skin without drying it out. Otherwise, the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser that was already suggested could be a very good choice, since it is very mild. Good luck.

You don't need a Whole Foods to get Avalon Organics. Our WalMart has them-- Lemon; Rosemary; Lavender lotions, body washes and hand soap. The lavender is very nice (unscrewed and whiffed, haven't tried on hands.) Walmart also has some Kiss My Face and other similar "natural" products-- but you have to look for these in the cosmetics section (where the eye makeup etc. is, not the regular aisles for soaps and body washes.)

Regarding the Yardley lavender, the last time I saw that, it was in Big Lots or Ocean State Job Lot. I haven't visited those stores recently but that would be where I would look...

You obviously like nice smelling stuff, but I'm sorry to say my advice would be to go MUCH simpler than that - an unfragranced PH neutral soap, either tallow based (avoid lanolin if possible) or, if you're against that, one suitable for vegans (veggie soaps often have other chemicals in them that are notorious reactants), heavy on the glycerine and very few chemicals, followed by some pure olive oil (normal cooking olive oil is fine as long as it's pure) as a moisturiser (not too much, otherwise you will be left with greasy hands). Olive oil is massively under rated as a moisturiser for skin and conditioner for hair and it's MUCH cheaper than most creams on the market.

If you're not allergic to alcohol, you could even consider an anti-bacterial hand gel, similar to what they have in hospitals, but you can find milder stuff with fewer chemicals but still effective in supermarkets and pharmacies, but beware that stuff will dry your skin even more if used frequently.

Dove is advertised as a gentle PH neutral soap, but the fragrance in it catches a LOT of people out - whilst I don't suffer to the same degree as you, I do have very sensitive skin and Dove products are the worst of all for me and it's always the fragrance ingredients in it that get me.

mtgprox05, I was thinking of you the other day when I was thinking about how often I wash my hands throughout the day...without having OCD. Substitute teaching in schools, taking care of my dog, running daily errands, cleaning the house, crafts projects, preparing meals, doing things in the yard, filling the bird feeder, taking out the garbage, all just normal activities. I am constantly washing my hands. I use hand lotion, but my hands are perpetually rough and reddened. Sometimes I use an antibacterial gel as a break. I particularly like cheapie Walgreens' brand that has beads of shea butter floating in it. That one is not as drying, plus it smells nice. Anyway, I hope the Impetigo clears up soon. Be kind to your skin! ♥

My brother had impetigo at one time. The antibiotics will clear it up.

I didn't know Yardley's English Lavender came in a hand-soap form because I, too, have never seen it in stores. The bar version works great on a bath puff prior to Pour un Hommeing my way to bed, though. And it's cheap and readily-available.

Wish I could help you out on the liquid front but I got nothing. Hope the physical stuff clears up for you.

Impatigo isn't pleasant, but it's easily treatable, shouldn't come back and is nothing to be too concerned about - I had it on one of my (face) cheeks once (like you I had none of the other symptoms, just the scabbing tissue) after a cut got infected.

Glad to hear you're hopefully on the road to sorting it.

Those anti-biotic gels are mostly alcohol and are probably very drying to the skin. (Just my observation.)

Get well soon mtgprox05 - it just takes time and hopefully with the medication and ointment- you'll be right as rain .

*** maybe using Aqueous cream to wash your hands and face will help - it won't dry out your skin .it works for eczema .