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how to moisturize the skin?
@are been using the %4 hyaluronic acid gel that I purchased, and it sort of helps with the dryness, but does nothing to reduce the oiliness we talked about, dehydrated skin... but I like it a lot and will continue to use during these harsh dry winter months, also seeing as it as no VA content, that is another plus!
Skin care is part of what got me here, with use of Retin A and retinyl palmitate, retinol along with long term vegetarian diet. I became suspicious of hyaluronic acid, and doubly suspicious when I found it in nearly every skin care product. So I started searching.
Turns out all low molecular weight HA is highly irritating. Only high molecular weight is less irritating, but can still pull moisture from the skin. Effects as a cosmetic ingredient are touted I think a bit too much. I found high molecular weight HA products still drying for me. I tried Hyalogic. SkinActives also used high molecular weight. Lots of info with links to research on BareFacedTruth.com
Companies will respond when contacted by email, regarding the weight of the product they use as an ingredient. I avoid it completely now and my skin is looking better. Its brutally difficult to find products that don't use it, right now I'm using mineral oil to remove makeup and plain old fashioned original Oil of Olay, plus an oil free mineral sunscreen from Derma E.
Arena, I hope your skin gets better.
I only just did this research about HA recently, because my skin everywhere else is soft and beautiful on low A diet, but my face was so dry and I started HA products several months ago.
Found some good care suggestions on Reddit, apparently I'm not the only one who noticed this.
@saraleah11 What are some other care suggestions for dry skin? thanks! HA seems to be ok with me for now, but its only been a few weeks.
To heal dry skin I recommend first the dont's: No scrubs, clairsonic brushes, abrasives, no BHA (salicylic acid) no peels, no acid AHA or harsh soap, no vitamin C. No citrus peel, no fragrance. Have to rebuild moisture barrier.
To rebuild step 1 : an easy 2 step cleanse, 1st light oil, like Jojoba or mineral oil massage in. Oil can loosen dirt. Let soak in, while in the shower. Then remove some oil with gentle a sulfate free cleanser like Vanicream. Important so you don't break out. Can do 1X daily or 2x- just use cleanser the other wash.
Then seal water into skin while its damp with a simple moisturizer, even a body lotion if you cant find skin care with no HA, it can have petrolatum or glycerine, or just use sunscreen as your day moisturizer. I'm using Derma-E baby, Aveeno baby SPF 50 also. Coppertone Simple, Banana Boat, Badger ones look ok. I scrutinize the labels.
I found HA/retinol in almost every sunscreen, every day and night cream. So frustrating.
Basically I'm now after years of products and skin care invested in $$ brands like Dermalogica, Revision, dermatologist brands, SkinCeuticals etc and of course retin-A, I'm backtracking. away from everything I ever thought was true about skin care. Like everything I believed about healthy food, skin care is upside down and backwards.
I use inexpensive Vanicream cleanser, as my 2nd step with plain mineral oil or organic Jojoba as my 1st step. Olive oil can be drying for some but it might work for someone else, my skin hates it. Hates coconut oil too, I break out.
To seal I found Nivea Co Q10 body lotion. I use it all over even my face after night shower. Later I use the plainest cheap old fashioned Oil of Olay- dont like the smell. I will try Curel Japanese care at Ulta when I recover from tossing all my $$ skin care. Ceramides would be great but CeraVe has HA. I was using it also wondering why my skin got worse and worse.
When it gets better I'll add an exfoliant like BHA ( fancy name for salicylic acid) AHA with NO HA no retinaldehydes 2x oly one or two times weekly. Loads of options in the drugstore and Walmart cheap. I only figured this out recently but my skin is already noticeably less parched and I was spending lots of money to look like an alligator skin. Long post sorry.
Have any of you tried castor oil? It is very sticky and stays moist for along time. I put it on over another moisturizer to prolong its effect. I have read that it helps grow hair, so I have been avoiding using it on my face (I assume it would only grow hair in places that already had some, but I don't know about that).
I like what you (Saraleah) said about skin care being like everything else-- "inside out and backwards"
Salicylic acid is a plant poison, just thought I'd mention that. VA isn't the only plant poison out there...
No matter what I put on my lips they still peel and then I also break out on the margin too.
My face flakes and peels, especially in the butterfly zone but the flaking comes and goes across the whole thing. I just live with the belief that the peeling is detox. This was happening even before I got on the VA bandwagon.
Le sigh.
Eucerin Original Healing Cream which is fragrance free and very few ingredients works for me. When my face burned last year because of vitamin A it was the only thing that helped. I now use it for my hands and feet.
Hello Arena,
I am new here. A little over a week ago I had an epiphany. I was looking at yet another different brand of bottle of vitamins I had purchased to cure my night time eye issues. And I looked at the bottle ingredients and BAM. I looked at that Vitamin A amount % and then I looked on the internet and found this place and the books that Grant wrote. As for the skin burning. Well, back maybe it was 2019 in August or so I had been trying out a new ointment for my eyes at night. It had Vitamin A in it. Well, low and behold after a hot day and doing some yard work with my head covered with a hat my skin got so burned and dried up and it stayed that way for a while. Nothing was working and I felt it was not a normal sun burn cause I have been in the heat before and this never happened. Plus the dryness was excruciating. I was working at that time and I just told people I got a sunburn but I knew it wasn't. That ointment was on my skin cause it doesn't all go in the eye. Well, crap! At first I didn't figure it out. But I stopped using that ointment. Besides it didn't work anyway. I went down to Walgreens and asked them what to use and they suggested that Eucerin Original Healing cream. I used that and Vaseline and cold wash rags and quit all soap for a while and now I use only Dove unscented soap and not much of that either. I tell you that was a bad experience. It took quite a while to get rid of the burned skin. No Aloe vera leaf could help that.
But I still did not know about the Vitamin A food and mega vitamins and the doctored up milk products in the stores connection till now. I also have the history of Accutane in my 20s and now I am in my 60's. Things are now clear to me. Why after going to an Accupunturist to cure my eye pain experiment and eating his recommended rainbow foods I ended up within days swollen knees and ankles. And no doctor knows why that happened. It was very strange. But not now.
Hi ItsMe, I use very little on my body now.
I use a basic shampoo (lather, rinse, repeat) on Saturday morning. I have very long wavy, "antique" hair and it mats. It is a bit of a hobby haha and takes patience and gentleness. So, first thing I do when trying to sort out the rat's nest without conditioner is I start up by the roots gently separating mats with my fingers. Then a wide tooth comb from the ends up. I use a hand mirror with the wall mirror to make sure I'm styling it ok with the comb. Once the tangles are gone and the hair is moving in the correct direction, I shake my hair a little to get it off the scalp and air-dry allowing the natural wave to form. I find not using conditioner has other benefits. My hair stays clean longer and is not weighed down. Not using heat-styling such as a blow dryer also has benefits to the health of hair, and the lack of frizz, and maybe it's gentler to your skin (facial, scalp, hands).
For detangling DRY hair I do the same finger-detangle but follow with a natural bristle brush and then a wide tooth comb.
For cracks or dry spots I use a little vaseline on damp skin. I often use it on lips.
I use a natural, fluoride-free toothpaste, a wax free floss.
Now and then, I use over-the-counter antibiotic ointment for little infections (and NOT A and D ointment which I was brought up on).
I use just basic simple unscented bar soap to wash the necessary places once per day.
I don't seem to need deodorant anymore, my armpits don't stink like they used to.
I wear very little makeup and when I do it irks me because not only is that an exposure, then I need to use some sort of product to remove it.