Hiya

Random question, but does anyone know how to get rid of reallyreally dry skin? I think it's caused by an allergy to some ridiculously high factor sun cream that I wore when I did an outdoor activities weekend the weekend just gone! It went all tight and cracked and sore on my face, so I left it until last night when the soreness and the crackedness had gone, and mum said to put some moisturiser on it, and now it's just gone more dry! It isn't sore or anything, today it just feels like sandpaper and it looks like I'm growing a white beard!

Anyone any ideas?

A couple of years ago I got a really bad patch of dry skin on my face. It was not pretty, but what I found helped was aqueous cream. You can get it from a pharmacy without prescription. If that doesn't clear it up you may find you have to go to your GP to get something on prescription, which is what I had to do in the end. That sorted it out once and for all!

Ooh poor you. It sounds a bit like the way your skin peels after you get sun-burn - only I guess it can't be that if you used a really high-factor sun cream. I wonder if it could be wind-burn?

It may be that the thin top layer of skin has to flake off and the underneath skin will be ok. If this is the case, I think moisturiser will only help the underneath skin, it won't repair the top layer that's already coming off. Keep using your moisturiser as long as it doesn't seem to make it worse.

Difficult to say without seeing it though, and I'd hate to give you wrong advice, so if you're worried, or it gets worse / uncomfortable, see a pharmacist, or even your doctor.

Elmo, I'm going to suggest something totally different, based on my experiences of having very sensitive skin and allergic reactions to all sorts of chemicals in cosmetics.

First, don't put anything else at all on your skin where it's affected, until it's completely healed up. When you wash, use a clean flannel and only water - don't use soap while your skin's all dry and cracked. If it's something in either the sunscreen or your mum's moisturiser that's irritating the skin, you need to minimise the risk of further irritation from now on.

Second, make sure you're drinking loads of water so that you are not dehydrated. That will help your skin too.

Third, if you're out in the sun, use a broad-brimmed hat that shades your whole head and face, or if you haven't got one, make sure that your skin's covered with a lightweight scarf.

Finally, if it still feels sore and itchy, go to the doctor.

Cheers

Katyjay

A couple of ezcema products I swear by are E45 and Unguentum Merck

Try Neals Yard Remedies - Calendula Cream

A soothing and healing cream with the natural antiseptic properties of calendula for general skin support.

INGREDIENTS: aqua, helianthus annuus oil, calendula extract 10%, alcohol denat, prunus dulcis oil, cera alba, cetearyl alcohol, sucrose palmitate, lecithin, phenoxyethanol.

Eek! Not E45 unless you are absolutely certain you are not allergic to lanolin. It makes my eczema much, much worse.

The stuff my Gp prescribed for my kids was called diprobase, its pharmacy controlled, but you can get in a normal chemist.

Careful with prunus dolcis- Its sweet almond oil, and one to avoid if you have a nut allergy.

Thanks for the replies! I usually don't put anything on my skin when they get like this, but because it's on my face I'm a bit more self concsious about it! I'll justs stick doing that though *nods*

That's what me and my mum use. We both get incredibly dry skin; if I forget to moisturise for just one morning, the skin on my legs starts to crack and flake off. So I swear by diprobase.

Eek, I have the opposite problem - I need stuff to make my skin drier!!

Hope you get it sorted out, elmo. Skin can be such a pain...