Handy Hints for Sensitive Skin

The week is starting with a bang, and I will not have much time to be linking and listing all your books for a day or two, so I am offering my handy hints for skin care. Yep, you read that right. If you have sensitive skin, you know that this is not a small thing. We have had HUGE skin issues in our family. My now-sixteen-year-old had two years of undiagnosed crazy itchiness, my youngest son has eczema, and I have had everything from sunburn to poison oak on every inch of my body, to my current battle with the lovely mid-forties skin breakouts. Finding solutions to these problems has taken time and energy, so perhaps a handy hint post can save you some of those valuable resources. FYI: I am able to find all of these things at the grocery store or local drug store.

The first issue is irritated skin. To soothe generalized itchiness, or the more specific misery of poison oak or eczema, an oatmeal bath can be just the thing. Courtesty of Aveeno, we've seen many an oatmeal bath in our house. Plan on some tub cleaning afterwards; the stuff makes quite a layer of residue.

Next up: facial blemishes. We've found the Safeway store brand of Clean and Clear's cream cleanser to be the best option. We've tried many dermatology prescribed medications, but they all ended up causing burning and irritation. Irritation can end up causing a lot more blemishes, and the misery cycle just continues. This cream cleanser is oil-free, but it does not dry out too much. It's been a perfect solution for all of our blemish problems, and it costs less than any of the prescribed options we'd been offered.

Let's not forget sunburn! Anyone as fair-skinned as I am can claim some expertise on the world of sunscreen. I am in favor of staying out of the mid-day sun as my favorite option, but I still need to wear sunscreen on my face 365 days a year (I do live in California, after all.) My real problem with sunscreen is that it makes me feel like I am wrapped in plastic wrap. Ugh. For someone that can't stand the heat, that is a real problem. But I have found two great options. For my 365 days of face sunscreen, I highly recommend Eucerin's Extra-Protective Lotion (30 SPF.) It does NOT feel like plastic wrap. For a quick spray of hands and feet, maybe an arm or two, my sister-in-law sprayed me with Neutrogena's Fresh Cooling Body Mist sunblock (45 SPF) when we were away on our family reunion. Not only is there no "plastic wrap" feeling, the cooling mist is really nice on a hot day. Not cheap, so I'll probably save my supply for the quick spray of hands and feet as needed.

So, there are your handy skin care hints for today. I know it's not very intellectually or spiritually stimulating material, but it really could be worse. I've had my head stuck inside our thrilling family finances for days now, so I could have put you to sleep with that fascinating subject. Aren't you glad I chose skin care for the day's topic?