Dry skin, can you help?

[Miss Sparkle]

I'm a massage therapist (haven't got around to doing beauty qualifications yet, though I will do) and I've found my skin is very dry at the moment, literally flaking off - yuck! I think it's the combination of cold weather and central heating. My normal moisturiser (Simple) is doing nothing and vaseline isn't helping either. Can you help? I feel like I'm disappearing, flake by flake!

 

[Martin Duffy]

It's very difficult to tell what's going on with your skin without seeing it as it could be dehydrated or lipid dry, or both, and other factors will impact on what would be the best course of action. The type of exfoliator & moisturiser suggested will also depend greatly upon whether the it's due to skin type or a skin condition. The best bet is to go to a reputable therapist who can properly assess your skin in order to suggest products & a suitable skincare regime.

 

[GlamourPuss]

Hey new here and throwing in my 2 cents^^

If your skin is seriously dry you could try mixing in jojoba oil into your moisturiser. I used to suffer severe dry skin due to an acne treament it was flaky and horrible and this solved it pretty well. 2-3 drops in the morning and 4-6 drops at night. Also using rose water as a skin toner/tonic mask worked wel with it (dead cheap to)

I think a good quality baby oil would do the same job im use it at the moment to keep my skin hydrated thru winter. I had tried vaseline in the past and found it to heavy and greasy on facial skin.

Also which 'simple' moisturiser do you use, if its the light one its not going to be rich enough, i used it in the past to and it wasnt up to scratch in winter (great for summer tho^^)

Hope my rambeling can help you out somewhat

Xx

 

[Martin Duffy]

I would hope as "skin professionals" we would be looking at what was causing the flakey skin; it may not even be dry, it could be dehydrated, and both require different solutions. I'd also hope any professional skincare therapist would be advising use of professional formulations using quality ingredients, not discussing use of vaseline on the face?!

 

[Helen v]

As Martin has said it is hard to give you the best advice without seeing what is happening with your skin. You could try using a little wheatgerm oil or even (and this will sound weird) porridge oats. This is a suggestion made for conditions such as excema. If you put some oats in a cotton hanky and hang over the tap as you run a bath. It acts a bit like oilatum, you can also use the dumplin to massage into your skin. This has worked wonders for some then not so good for others, but it may be worth giving a go, but obviously only if you have no allergies.
HTH xx

 

[GlamourPuss]

Excuse me the vaseline part was mentioned because she had tried it on her face so id appreciate it if you not sound so condescending, not meant to sound cheeky but its true and i know how horrible it is as i did it when i was much younger and unaware. Vaseline can however be used safely on the body it was the only thing that controlled the itching of my cousins excxcema nothing prescribed worked at al.

Jojoba oil is a fantastic quality product that has many skin benefits as is rose water both of which are gentle on the skin and not going to break the bank so there are products which can be realistically used in conjunction with other prescribed treatments.

Well clearly without being able to see the skin and without knowledge of her lifestyle, we can hardly make an accurate reason for why the skin is in its condition but what we can do is give suggestions on how to provide some relief, and I agree with Helen on the porridge oats i know quite a few people who swear by this as correcting their skin ailments.

Hope I hasnt came out sounding bossy but i dont appreciate being mocked I hardly joined this community for that.

I hope you are able to find a solution that suits your skin I know from personal experience how having severe flaking skin can shatter self esteem, good luck

Rach x

 

[Martin Duffy]

Whilst you may have read my reply as "condascening" or "mocking", what I actually had intended was incredulity. As neither of us have seen the skin of this person we don't know if they're oily with dehydrated skin, dry with dehydrated skin, dry skin or whether it's something else entirely, so I don't see how we can reliably & usefully suggest a solution.

I don't disagree that jojoba oil & rosewater are beneficial, but they're not universal panaceas! If for example she has an oily skin type that is affected by a dehydrated skin condition, then oil is not necessarily the most useful suggestion, rather a combination of proper cleansing protocol & use of appropriate actives might be indicated.

 

[GlamourPuss]

Sorry but i get real grippy when someone sounds condesending towards me^^ and i was mainly refering to how your attitude sounded about the vaseline thing, you have to admit it came across a bit callous.

and yes you are correct that we have no clue on the skin type, but since she is asking on a forum site for general advice i did say i was going to throw my two cents in, and give advice on how to prevent or at least improve the flaking skin. Not everyone can afford proff formaulas etc and i never did state jojoba oil etc as universal panaceas just that they do help prevent flaking skin which is the complaint.

And not to sound a ****** (me being stubborn^^) but jojoba oil is actually a liquid wax similar to the skins natural oils which can be used on oily skin suffering dehydration to some extent to help improve and rebalance it lol you can disagree if you like but to be honest our scwabbling is hardly being productive to this person, but i have to say it is refreshing to find someone who isnt afraid to openly debate and express their opinions, even if ours do clash dramatically ^^ i am aware i have not as much experience as yourself but i know im not talking bulls**t. lol

Rach x

 

[Martin Duffy]

The problem is that the cause of flaking skin can be diverse, and thus the solution will differ depending upon the cause. As an emollient & moisturiser I agree Jojoba will help TEWL, and thus may be used for dehydrated & dry skin, but if the skin is underlying oily there are far better alternatives. Indeed, if it's dehydration on a non-lipid dry skin, then something that not only decreases TEWL but also replenishes lost hydration would be far more suitable, such as collagen or hyaluronic acid.

I agree in principle that this is a site for general advice, and although I perhaps could have put across my point in a slightly less colourful way, what I was trying to get at is that as skincare professionals we should attempt to maintain some level of professionalism, such as not guessing at solutions to skin problems without even being able to examine it!

 

[GlamourPuss]

I agree with your points above in the 1st paragraph and appreciate that you have your thoughts well presented. I can understand quite easily how it can be frustrating on these types of threads when the information given is vague and all sorts of ´sollutions` appear, esp when it is obvious you yourself are quite passionate about the topic; which i do respect.

And while i agree that it is important to maintain professionalism etc if we take the knowledge we have been given at face value, she believes it is the cold weather and central heating and while this may not be the case we of course have no definite proof i see little harm in providing a simple suggetion one that may not cure it but may help improve it and is not harmful to the skin.

It may well turn out that more specialised treatment is required as this seems to be a 1st for M.S. or it could simply be the skin type has changed, we do not know the clients age and this could be a big factor.

In my opinion there are too many specialists out there that do not have the clients best interest when it comes to recommending products and instead are pushing products for their own financial gain even if they know there are better alternatives. And this is esp. true when the client is unaware of why their skin is changing and are more suseptable.

Of course im not saying that all or like this goodness no but they do exist, but i believe if she goes to have a skin analysis to perhaps get a second opinion elsewere and do her research. You have your skin with you for life and I feel that its important that you look after it correctly and not be suckered in by flashy so called professional products and the word of the therapist.

I just hope we havent scared Miss Sparkle away from here own thread with our disscusion^^

x