Soothing Solutions for Dry, Itchy Skin

Are you bothered with dry itchy skin? Try not to scratch, as scratching only makes dryness and itching worse, sometimes making an itchy area into a patch of rough, thickened skin that is darker than the surrounding area. Smoke, chemicals, detergents, solvents, and even weather can also aggravate skin. Here are a few soothing solutions:

• Use a humidifier in your bedroom to give your skin a fighting chance against dryness.

• A good moisturizing lotion after bathing will seal water into your skin and keep it from quickly dehydrating. Use moisturizer with natural ingredients, since these are usually less irritating. Zinc is especially beneficial — it protects against infection from bacteria, microbes, and fungus.

• Put natural vitamin E on dry skin. Vitamin E relieves itching.

• Look for moisturizer that is packaged in a spray bottle. This makes it easier to apply to parts of your body that are difficult to reach. Spraying something onto dry skin is also less irritating than rubbing.

• Increase your intake of fluids – especially water. A simple step, but well worth it.

Be mindful of anything that touches your skin on a regular basis, such as jewelry, cosmetics, lotions, clothing dyes, laundry detergents, and tight clothes — these can all trigger dry skin.