The autumn breeze stirs up more than just dead leaves; for a few members of my family and a handful of dear friends, scaly skin, itchy limbs and dry patches suddenly crop up. Seasonal temperature and humidity changes often trigger seasonal skin irritation, particularly for people who suffer from dermatitis or eczema. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 10-20 percent of children and approximately 3 percent of adults suffer from eczema.
Abrupt changes in temperature and humidity can cause skin irritation even for people who don’t have eczema. Moisturizing and shielding the skin from potential irritants are key remedies for relieving eczema symptoms and seasonal skin irritation. If you are in the midst of an episode of eczema or are battling scaly skin, read on for our battle plan.
Credit: Rhino Neal. Licensed by CC NC, ND, 2.0. Accessed Oct 9, 2014.
My family and friends are roughly split into two camps in their approach to battling seasonal dry skin: the “natural” and the “synthetic”. Personally, I think a combination approach is the best. All natural remedies such as the use of coconut oil or shea butter, whilst moisturizing, often lack the ability to trap moisture in the skin that more commercial ingredients such as glycerin and mineral oil do.
For those who are dead set against “commercial” ingredients such as mineral oil because of health risks, please consider the links in the Further Reading section at the end of this post. Mineral oil, even though, yes it’s technically refined petroleum, does not pose health risks. While mineral oil can clog pores because it is fairly viscous, it is also a fabulous sealant and protectant, which is exactly what dry, irritated and parched skin needs.
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The Mild: Itchy, dry skin, but otherwise normal
If your skin is just feeling dry and tight, perhaps slightly itchy, a heavy does of moisture with ingredients to seal the good stuff in could be all you need.
1. Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Oil With Aloe and Vitamin E
Mineral oil as a sealant + aloe and vitamin E to moisture and nourish. Apply to damp, NOT towel dried, NOT half an hour post-shower, skin. Baby oil works wonders on damp skin right after a shower. Baby oil is pretty thin in texture and will absorb quickly. Pat yourself with a towel and slather on. For super dry skin, a thicker gel version is available here. Word of warning, baby oil gel is really thick, which is a godsend for people with really dry skin, but takes a while to absorb fully.
Apricot and grape seed oil based. Both oils are light in texture and decently moisturizing. Burt’s Bees claims that the petroleum, SLS and paraben-free is “safe” for sensitive skin. Personally, I have tried this baby oil and other natural baby oils and found that while they do moisturize well, my skin gets dry after a few hours because of the lack of a proper sealant. Plenty of “natural” ingredients that can act as sealants are widely available though. Shea butter, cocoa butter and beeswax creams are just some examples. Layering these over the Burt’s Bees Baby Oil can boost its moisture-retaining ability.
The Worst: Eczema Flare-Ups
1. Aquaphor
Aquaphor is THE biggest gun. Its formula packs together the sealant properties of mineral oil along with glycerin, which retains moisture. If that weren’t enough, lanolin, an intensive moisturizer made from wool grease, is also part of the formula. Before you get grossed out, lanolin is also an ingredient in other ointments such as A+D and many other skin products. Personally I think Aquaphor is the most moisturizing of them all and also the least irritating for eczema. Apply to damp skin immediately after a shower. Also can be applied over any Rx eczema creams/ointments to moisturize and protect inflamed areas.
2. Unrefined Shea Butter mixed with Cold-pressed Coconnut oil
A decent alternative for the mineral oil adverse. Coconut oil has anti-bacterial properties which can aid in the healing of eczema flare-ups. Unfortunately coconut oil is a pretty crappy sealant and cannot help the skin retain moisture. Enter, shea butter. Coconut oil and raw shea butter, on their own, are pretty difficult to work with individually. Use our recipe and make your own whipped shea butter that applies like a dream. DIY-ing also cuts down the number of potential irritants that go into the cream and reduces the potential of further inflaming an eczema flare-up.
As a general rule-of-thumb, fragrance, essential oils and fruit extracts, especially citrus, should be avoided at all costs. These ingredients tend to be highly irritating and can worsen eczema and seasonal skin irritation. Avoiding prolonged exposure to hot water also seems to help.
Do you suffer from seasonal skin problems? What are your favorite remedies, share them with us!
Further Reading:
- Why Does Mineral Oil Have Such a Bad Reputation? [Ask An Esthetician]
- Beauty Myth or Fact: Mineral Oil is Bad For Your Skin [SELF Magazine]
- The Top 5 Myths About Mineral Oil [Beauty Brains]
- Beauty Product You Can Use For Just About Anything: Shea Butter [Huffington Post]
-H.
