I am prone to really dry skin on my hands and elbows. I also have lots of stretch marks... What kind of lotions etc do you use for dry skin, what about stretch marks?
I use a regular off brand lotion for my hands but they're still super dry and starting to crack.
As for my body, I have some Bio-Oil but find it a bit of a hassle to moisturize daily (definitely need to work on that issue).
I have been thinking that moisturizing could be somewhat of a daily pampering ritual if I found something pleasant feeling/smelling (I don't like strong perfume though).

I am interested in hearing what everyone else does as their daily self-care routine(other than being clean lol). Mine has been lacking for quite some time.

I lotion up my body while I'm in the shower after I'm clean and the water is off. I put it on damp skin, then pat dry, then I use my face lotion. I use eucerin dry skin formula for my hands and arms as needed.

Neutrogena makes a hand cream (not a lotion but it is sold in the same section) that is great for dry hands. A little bit goes a long way.

@CanadianCutie-I heard that putting lotion on damp skin is best, I should get into that habit, and I may give Eucerin a shot. I bought a face lotion with pro-retinol in it (since i am starting to see lines!) that I haven't started using yet and am a little nervous about it being irritating. Thanks for the tip!
@Wisertime-I think I may need to get a "cream" for times like these, regular lotion doesn't touch this dryness. I went to whole foods and they said "Borage" is really good but it is kind of pricey.

I second the neutrogena cream. a little DOES go a long way.

Jojoba oil is closest to our natural skin oil

But before going there -- what's your SOAP that is stripping your oils so? How about Dove?

A.

Hey A. I am a nursing student so we wash our hands with some harsh stuff, use alcohol based sanitizer constantly, and at home I am trying to figure out what to switch to (I just use a normal antibacterial hand soap atm). Is dove better?

Walmart sells a FANTASTIC body butter. Comes in a round container just like at The Body SHop. Only it is WAY CHEAPER AND has MORE shea butter and cocoa butter in it! SOooo awesome. I think it's called Spa Source or something like that.

Skip the antibacterial/triclosan type soaps. Go with a moisturizing soap at home. Since you work in med field at work you are stripping down a lot of oils with the soaps there so don't need more stripping at home.

Dove is kind to skin because it's got a lot of moisturizing ingredients and it's easy to find anywhere. You want to go a step up you could try organic soaps with moisturizing ingredients in it -- milk soaps for instance.

You can also try oil cleansing
http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

I've done it -- it works. Wouldn't do it daily because it can get a bit messy, but if you are in the need for a super moisturizing, try it out.

A.

Jojoba oil or shea butter for the body is divine! Castile (olive oil) soap is great too. I use dermelogica products on my my dry sensitive face.

It's the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream. A small tube that comes in a white box (I think...) Works great!!

Lanolin is the best for dry skin. Olive oil gets rid of dry cracked skin on my elbows.
I also eat 3 tablespoons of raw pumpkin seeds every weekend. It keeps the rest of my skin from being dry, and it got rid of dandruff.

You can get the raw seeds at Trader Joe's or the health food stores. They have the shells removed. Don't buy any cooked or flavored ones. They don't work at all.

Olive oil at night and stick some gloves on

The classic eucerin in the tub is awesome! My daughter has some eczema and it even helps with that. For face I like Eucerin Q10 anti wrinkle for sensitive skin. It's the only lotion that actually works and doesn't make me break out too.

I'm afraid there's no magical cream out there to cure stretch marks, they're sort of permanent.
As for dry hands, you just need a thicker lotion, some body butter perhaps. I've heard the the Soap and Glory hand cream is really good and has a great smell. You could also apply glycerin on your hands after washing them.