Dry skin can be a vexing problem. Most people notice particular problems when relative humidity is low, as it often is in winter. Frequent handwashing can also worsen the roughness and irritation of dry skin. So how do you address it? Readers have offered a wide ranger of unusual dry skin solutions.
Experimenting with Listerine:
Q. A couple years ago, one of your readers wrote that she had used Listerine for dry skin on her arm, and it worked. It sounds illogical, but I was intrigued. I tried an experiment: in January and February, the worst months for my problem with dry skin, I applied Vaseline every night to my right leg and Listerine to the left. Both legs were treated from knee to ankle. To my surprise, the treatments worked equally well — I could not tell a difference in the results.
A. We too are surprised by your dry skin solutions. Not with Vaseline, since dermatologists frequently recommend applying it liberally to dry skin. Listerine, on the other hand, is a popular remedy for many different problems, but we’d not thought of dry skin. We would have imagine the alcohol content would prove drying.
When we did a quick search of research on PubMed, though, we found that skin has transient receptor potential channels called TRPV3 (Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Jan. 2019). These calcium channels on nerves contribute to inflammation and itch when they are overactive. They react to carvacrol, a compound in thymol, which is one of the ingredients in Listerine. Other Listerine ingredients such as eucalyptol and menthol might also affect skin TRP channels. Menthol, for example, activates TRPM8, which in turn increases blood flow to the skin (Microvascular Research, Jan. 2022).
Mineral Oil as a Dry Skin Solution:
Q. My husband has VERY dry skin all year, but especially during winter. Straight mineral oil solves the problem. It IS messy, but soaks into the skin in about 5 or 10 minutes and the skin is no longer oily. Stand on a towel when you apply it to keep the oil off the floor.
Wearing thermal underwear seems to help, too. AmLactin lotion applied immediately after drying off stings the first few times it’s applied, but it’s not messy, and it also solves the problem.
Old-fashioned sponge baths and washing your hair in the sink can be helpful. Keep water off the rest of your skin, because standing in the shower or soaking in the bath strips the oils off the skin. My mother used to use Crisco, and her skin was soft and didn’t itch.
A. Thank you for sharing your dry skin solutions. Mineral oil might indeed help, but as you point out, it is MESSY! Not everyone will want to stand around for 10 minutes waiting for the oil to work its way into the skin.
Other visitors to this website have offered some different approaches:
“My dermatologist recommended Vanicream for the terrible rash on the front of my legs (that appeared as soon as the furnace was turned on this past fall). I apply it as soon as I get out of the shower and it works! No more rashes.
“I’m still looking for dry skin solutions for my hands. They have been terrible, sandpapery with nasty paper cuts that hurt unless you put bandaids on your fingers. I think I’ll try Udderly Smooth Extra Care with 20% Urea that you have written about.”
This reader is referring to a moisturizer with a high concentration of urea. Redex Industries, makers of Udderly Smooth creams and lotions created a 20% Extra Care Cream. (Disclosure: Redex Industries underwrote our radio show for years.)
Urea Is One of the Best Dry Skin Solutions:
A study in the most respected dermatology journal (Journal of Investigative Dermatology, June, 2012) suggests that when an adequate amount of urea is applied to the skin in a topical cream, it can strengthen the skin’s barrier function and boost its resistance to microbes. That may be why it is so helpful for conditions such as eczema (atopic dermatitis).
Visitors to this website have found that urea works for a variety of skin problems
Jennifer wrote:
“Products with urea work great on calluses. Even though I exercise rigorously, since I have used urea products on my heel, I don’t have calluses anymore. My heels are smooth as silk!”
Wendy used Udderly Smooth:
“I am currently using the Udderly Smooth cream with urea and having similar great results! I’ve been putting a good-sized blob on the spider-vein area and covering with a bandage at night, and the spots have significantly faded and diminished in just a few days!”
RLM also used a urea cream:
“I applied the cream at night before bed. The spider vein patches began to fade in 2 weeks and were almost totally gone in another 3 weeks. My doctor was surprised at the results and assumed it was due to the keratolytic action of the urea on the superficial veins.”
It has not always been easy to find high-potency urea creams. That’s why we asked Chuck Friedman to come up with a 20% urea moisturizer for The People’s Pharmacy. You can get a convenient 2-ounce size for the handbag or glove box. Or you may prefer the larger 6-ounce size to keep in the kitchen or near your desk.
The good news is that they are BOTH on sale this week; get 14% off in honor of Valentine’s Day. Treat your Valentine to a tube, or treat yourself and have soft hands for your honey. The discount code is Valentine14. Put Valentine14 in the coupon box as you check out and appreciate the benefits of urea for dry skin!
Citations
- Zhang H et al, "Pharmacological Inhibition of the Temperature-Sensitive and Ca2+-Permeable Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid TRPV3 Channel by Natural Forsythoside B Attenuates Pruritus and Cytotoxicity of Keratinocytes." Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Jan. 2019. DOI: 10.1124/jpet.118.254045
- Dillon GA et al, "Menthol-induced activation of TRPM8 receptors increases cutaneous blood flow across the dermatome." Microvascular Research, Jan. 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.mvr.2021.104271
- Grether-Beck S et al, "Urea uptake enhances barrier function and antimicrobial defense in humans by regulating epidermal gene expression." Journal of Investigative Dermatology, June, 2012. DOI: 10.1038/jid.2012.42
