I know you might think I'm nuts, but for some of those odd, itchy things that won't clear up with most over the counter products, hit your local veterinary office for REAL udder balm and a salve called Oto Soothe, or it's similar product, different companies call it different things. Oto ear, Oto salve, etc.
Real udder balm is great stuff for dry, chapped hands and feet. Oto Soothe is an anti-fungal/anti-bacterial, most commonly used for yeast type ear infections in dogs, but it is great for all kinds of itchy stuffs.
I've worked for a veterinarian for 6 years, and most of our products are human grade, just come in the vet packaging.
I tried all the creams for my dry skin years ago. The best was lanolin...sheeps oil...but it was so expensive and eventually I could not find any to buy.
Then I found out from a friend of mine that eating raw pumpkin seeds would prevent dry skin.
I bought the seeds at the health food stores. They are green, raw, and have no shells.
I had to eat 2 tablespoons twice a week. The dry skin disappeared within a couple of weeks. My back stopped itching too. It was amazing.
I have never had dry skin since. But I eat the pumpkin seeds all winter long.
My hair was also thinning. Now my hair is very thick and my scalp is no longer dry.
The seeds give me energy, and I don't have to drink coffee to get me going anymore.
The best part is that I no longer have to spread expensive creams all over my legs and hands.
Pumpkin seed oil is also a remedy for a lot of things, but I have never used it.
You can search for 'pumpkin seed remedies' in the internet to see what other health benefits they have.
My hands are red and blotchy and itchy and painful currently. It's no fun. The edges of my mouth are irritated, too. My eczema always flares up in the cold, dry months, but always in different places. One year it was my face, one the backs of my legs, one the inside of my elbows. It nearly completely fades during the summer, but it is not pleasant. Slathering my hands in something like Aquaphor and wearing gloves at night helps somewhat, but it would be nice to find something more effective.
Ah! Dry itchy skin is the WORST! I definitely sympathize with ya! The Eucerin Calming Body Wash is fragrance, dye, and preservative free, and it's a great way to start the day. The Calming Itch-Relief treatment is good go-to for on the spot relief as well. Of course, everyone's skin is different, so it's always best to ask your dermatologist's opinion too. Check out the Itchy Skin page for more detailed explanations and suggestions!!
Hope things improve for you!
PS. I LOVE your name! One of my favorite lines to help me make it through tough days
I get super dry skin too - it's like I have dandruff on my legs . My hands crack at the knuckles and look like grandma hands. However, I HATE lotion that smells and doesn't soak in - I don't want to not be able to touch stuff after using it.
My favorite hand lotion is Crabtree & Evelyn's Gardeners Hand Therapy. It's not cheap, but it's the only thing that doesn't dry my skin out or burns when I put it on.
As for body lotion - it's all about greaselessness for me. And I have to force myself to lotion up after every shower. I'm usually in a hurry and barely have time to dry my hair in the morning, so I don't lotion as often as I should.
Btw, LOL at using vet products. I totally believe they work, but it's just funny .
I'm totally going to look into the pumpkin seeds! What a great suggestion Jolina!
Great topic BTW, but not appreciating your spamminess Adelish! I'm in marketing too, so I get it. But this board prides itself on not having people promoting brands or certain items on it. Props for letting us know you work for the company though, I'm appreciating your ethics on that.
Olive oil(for body, face, and hair), coconut oil(also for body, face, and hair), and cocoa butter(only for my body and hands) are the holy trinity to me; my three favorite moisturizers. As for the olive oil, I usually store some in a little bottle and add lavender essential oil for scent, but the coconut oil and cocoa butter smell great on their own..
Anyway, they're all great in that they're natural moisturizers that penetrate your skin. I greatly dislike most commercial moisturizers as the lot of them contain dimethicone or some variant of it, a kind of silicone that leaves a slimy coating on your skin instead of actually adding moisture to it. Dimethicone moisturizers have been likened to a bandaid; on the outside it feels/appears that they have added moisture to your skin, but underneath the skin is actually getting drier and you can really tell when you wash the coney products away. What really convinced me to stop using them was that they clogged my pores and caused acne.
Oh, I forgot about aloe vera! Just plain aloe vera, 100% clear gel from the plant(rather than that blue stuff with lidocaine that people use for sunburn) is a great, lighter moisturizer that I use in warm weather- like today, for it is very humid out.
If I DO use a bottled moisturizer, it is this and this only: http://www.gothrosary.com/index.php?...products_id=38
All natural, vegetable-based moisturizers with the most luscious scents ever. Unfortunately, they are a tad on the expensive side, but worth it when I feel like treating myself.
I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil and it's the best yet, and inexpensive. Over the counter skin products really probably harm more than do good cause of chemicals. I believe in the more old and natural remedies. Olive oil is also great for chapped lips. And if you wanna exfoliate your face/lips, mix olive oil with sugar..
Emu oil can be useful, but since it's so expensive (in quantity) I would only use it on more severe issues (like cracking hands, so on)...
You can purchase vitamin E in bottles, inexpensively at places like Walmart, Walgreens, etc...a little goes a long way (it is used in making your own lotions/soaps so on) but is incredibly good for your skin and, from what I've observed so far, is one of the least likely to clog your pores.
Olive oil does work, but the consistency and smell (even with essential oils) may turn some people away...and I don't know much about it's pore-clogging properties when used on it's own. Personally, I prefer coconut oil. I'm the sort of person that doesn't like the feel of lotion and such lingering on my skin, and coconut oil dries quickly enough for me to not keep thinking about it *smiles*
We've been dabbling with soapmaking...I'd like to find a nice mix of oils that would help through the harsh winters. Maybe someday...
Also, keep this in mind whenever mixing essential oils/fragrance oils in with anything: always store oils properly, and test a lotion/oil mix on a small patch of skin before using. If you use too much*, you can get severe rashes that feel like mild burns...not pleasant.
*(and don't panic, too much is usually OBVIOUS, and you'd likely be too repulsed by the scent to slather it on your skin, but just in case)
At home I have Jergen's Soothing Minerals lotion for extra dry skin, I believe it's called, and it works wonders. Sadly, I forgot to bring it with me, and my legs are letting me know they disapprove. I'm using up the lotion I have down here (at my fiance's) before I go out and buy more. I have Sauve Cocoa Butter & Shea here, but I have to reapply that at least twice a day, where as the Jergen's lasts the entire day (unless I'm out in the harsh wind).
I love Arbonne lip balm for chapped lips and Arbonne cuticle oil for the bad spots on my hands. They moisturize better than anything else I have found. I just wish there was a way to find the products without the high shipping costs.
I ordered some coconut oil today from amazon (made my man happy too, cause he got to pick out some movies to qualify for the super saver shipping), I hope my legs can hold out with the sauve til it gets here. I resorted to putting some nut oil based hair serum (store brand from Canada) as a base for itching relief on my legs, and it seems to have helped so far. I like the initial relief from the sauve cocoa/shea but I have to reapply it several times a day, which is fine for hands, but really stinks for the legs.
I am hoping the coconut oil helps. I use a coconut based conditioner for my hair and it works wonders.
. My hands crack at the knuckles and look like grandma hands. However, I HATE lotion that smells and doesn't soak in - I don't want to not be able to touch stuff after using it. 
