Winter Essentials (Revised)
Aveeno Skin Relief Body wash - This is fantastic. I can't believe I didn't buy this before.
Aveeno Dermexa cream - helping me with dry, itchy skin. This has ceramides and colloidal oatmeal.
Sebamed sensitive skin soap - I use this on face.
Bioderma Sensibio Gentle Soothing Micellar Cleansing Foaming Gel - I got this sample face wash that I've been using on for a week. It's really nice. But I find it a bit expensive. So I won't buy full pack.
Bioderma Sensibio H2O Daily Soothing Cleanser - I got two bottles of this. I use it to remove make-up. Sometimes I use this in the morning as well.
The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution - I use this 2-3 times a week.
0.05 Tret cream - still trying to get into a working routine with this. I haven't figured out.
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How would they react to reader having eczema?
These are some things that helping someone with eczema entails
Stopping them from scratching (giving fidget toys, trimming down nails, mittens you can’t take off)
Rubbing 10 different lotions on
Soaking them in the bath, making sure they don’t take a hot shower (try and stop them)
Absolutely no fragrance, not in the laundry, not in the soap, nothing the cologne
Not wearing wool or other itchy clothes when cuddling
I do get embarrassed about it a lot and I’m trying to accept it, but I would really love it if you could! Thanks in advance!
Oh hey. I have friends with eczema. I throw colloidal oatmeal and tubs of various lubes at them.
Really, I think the boys would do much the same. You would be duct taped into mittens for their amusement to stop the scratching and skin-picking, though oatmeal baths will have to be explained so Horror doesn't drink the water (He will try anyways. Reader soup is his favorite).
Scentless is going to be a bit harder, only because they'll have to stop and look at what they're pilfering. Different AUs may have the same brand with different ingredients.
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@magnetronic I think the easiest way to think about a routine for dry skin is to start by discussing moisturizing ingredients.
humectants - draw water from the inner layers of the skin (and from the external environment if there's sufficient humidity) to help keep the top layers of skin moist
some popular humectants in skincare are: butylene glycol, hyaluronic acid, sorbitol, honey
emollients - lubricate and fill in gaps between skin cells
some popular emollients in skincare are: silicones, squalene, jojoba oil, and meadowfoam oil
occlusives - slow moisture evaporation from skin by creating a physical barrier
petroleum is the best for this task by a long shot (and is extremely well-tolerated), but other occlusives include lanolin, beeswax, palm kernel wax, and mineral oil
These aren't entirely separate categories, and some ingredients have both emollient and occlusive properties. Anything you're looking to use to should have something from at least one of these categories pretty prominently in the ingredients list. This is a pretty widely accessible writeup with a lot more ingredients than I listed, and this one has a lot to chew on if you're interested in more technical stuff. This one is about reading ingredient labels, which is helpful if you're not used to it.
There's also a large number of ingredients that aren't serving any of these purposes explicitly that are also used to help dry skin with various levels of clinical backing and widespread use. Ceramides are the most important item in this category, but it also includes things like colloidal oatmeal, centella asiatica, panthenol, etc etc. There's a whole bunch of them and they're talking about new ones every single week it feels like. They can be further down the ingredients list and still be effective.
So, when you're looking at creating a routine around dry skin, it can be helpful to think of trying to get kind of a sundae bar of these various ingredients and ingredient categories while not creating a burdensome routine. Especially if you're having other skin issues like dermatitis or a damaged skin barrier, sticking to a routine with 2-4 products that don't irritate your skin and that you apply consistently will be your ideal goal. This will give you some consistent products that you know will behave, and a full routine to go back to if try a new product and it irritates your skin.
You're aiming to set up something that'd look sort of like this:
Face Wash: a particularly mild and hydrating foaming wash OR a face milk or other less-stripping cleanser OR the least-drying option, a micellar water (I'm trying to keep this general, and I've never personally used it, but it's my understanding that Bioderma Sensibio is a best-in-class, ultra mild micellar water that doesn't have fragrance). If you can't tolerate any of those, rinsing your skin with water is also viable. I wouldn't worry too much about getting moisturizing ingredients here, because you'll be rinsing it off anyway.
Moisturizer 1: a thin moisturizer that's got water, humectant ingredients, and maybe some emollients. Hyaluronic acid is one of your better options here, unless you live in a very dry climate or don't tolerate HA. I sincerely think the Japanese do this step better than anyone else on the planet, and if you import nothing else, this step would be the step to do it. Even now that Japanese and Korean toners have been in the West for close to a decade, the West is still not really making products that provide a lot of moisture that you can layer. I love Hada Labo (both this Moist version and the much more moisturizing but stickier Premium version), but if you hate hyaluronic acid, there are a handful of options, including Matsuyama and Kikumasamune (which does have added fragrance, but it's never bothered me).
Moisturizer 2: A thicker lotion with more emollient ingredients and maybe even an occlusive ingredient or two. Japanese or Korean emulsions fit this category, as well as any lighter or creamier lotions you may have.
Occulusive: something chunky to seal in everything that's come before. Petrolatum is ideal if you're very dry, either by itself in something like Vaseline or in a product with additional ingredients like Cerave Healing Ointment. If you can get away with less here, something like shea butter or lanolin are ideal. This should be a really thick cream or an ointment texture. You may not need this during the day, but you will almost certainly need one at night.
I think one of the big issues when designing this part of your routine is finding basic skincare that is basic enough. I think it's really important that these four items (or three, if you decide you desperately want or need to skip one of the moisturizer steps) have no fragrance (or extremely minimal fragrance that has never bothered you), no essential oils, no actives (why does every Western toner have glycolic acid and every Japanese toner have retinyl palmitate?), and I try to keep plant extracts to a minimum too just because of my own allergies unless I know already that it's beneficial (I also can't do snail mucin, another popular moisturizing ingredient in Asian skincare circles, because I'm allergic to it).
So, for example, my routine is in flux right now because a bunch of items I've been using for years have been reformulated and I'm allergic to the new versions, so I am trying some new stuff, but the stuff I'm currently using in these spots we discussed above are are:
Face Wash: Face Shop Rice Water Bright cleanser - a foaming cleanser with fragrance that I've been using for a decade, but if I was replacing this with something milder I'd probably pick something like LRP Toleraine cleanser or Sioris Cleanse Me Softly or SANA Cleansing Milk.
Moisturizer 1: Isntree HA Toner, but I slightly prefer Hada Labo Moist and I'm going back to it when the bottle is empty.
Moisturizer 2: Hada Labo Premium Emulsion, which is a thicker and creamier formulation than the regular lotion. My Soon Jung Barrier Cream fills a similar niche as a very liquid-y cream.
Occlusive: Now that my skin is fairly stable and I patch test and stop using things as soon as it's obvious they're drying me out or giving me a rash, I rarely need to use Cerave Ointment as my occlusive on my face, but I still use it on my arms and legs and in the winter sometimes.
I can usually get away with Illiyoon Ato Ceramide Cream (Though I am trying Aestura Ato Barrier once the Illiyoon is empty).
My other advice for Western skincare brands is I look for stuff that says it's safe for eczema. "Fragrance free" doesn't mean much, and neither does "hypoallergenic," but a formulation that says it's good for eczema (or people with eczema on the internet recommend) at least gives me an idea it might be suitable for my skin.
Also, Yesstyle isn't always the cheapest place to buy, but they happen to be a place that does both Korean and Japanese stuff that actually lists ingredients and keeps them semi-current (unlike posting Amazon listings, for example).
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hi random person visiting thru one of ur posts. i also have evil hell dandruff and i found coal tar shampoo is basically perfect for helping to keep down the flaking :) unfortunately the itching wont go all the way away tho :(
Oh yeah for sure, I actually have like 6 bars of coal tar soap, plus coal tar shampoo, plus Neutrogena acid free face wash (it has salicylic acid), plus normal shower stuff. I am in itch and drift hell. Basically the only time I don't itch is straight after a shower, but if I just tousle my hair a little bit it's a snow drift and feels Terrible
(For those unaware, salicylic acid is a skin product that helps dead skin strip off easier and acts like a mild antibacterial, usually used for acne or, if you watch hoof gp videos, the powdered form is used to allow dead skin to separate and keep exposed live skin from getting infected. In the case of dandruff, all it does is help make the top layer of dandruff easier to remove. Coal tar extract and coal tar, however, actually inhibits skin growth specifically, preventing dandruff and such caused by shedding excess overgrown skin like in psoriasis. Another option for who's issue is eczema instead of psoriasis and normal causes is products containing Colloidal Oatmeal, since eczema involves try skin that cracks and needs moisturizing and soothing, rather than scales of dead skin that are easily peelable. Usually dandruff shampoos have neither, such as head and shoulders which has pyrithione zinc in normal products, and usually selenium sulfide in stronger products aimed at fungal issues that cause dandruff. If you suffer from untreatable dandruff, explore your options on potential causes, and try different active chemicals that attack different sources of the issue)
[THIS POST MADE BY FLAKY SCALP GANG. DO NOT REBLOG IF THE IDEA OF A FLAKY DRY SCALP IS GROSS OR MAKES YOU WANT TO LEAVE A NASTY COMMENT. CURSE OF BAD SCALP UPON YE]
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