Winter is coming, or it, ah, might already be here, depending on who you ask. Baby, it’s cold outside, and biting cold is no fun at all for your skin, especially those of us who suffer with sensitive, dry & eczema prone skin. Worry not, here are a few of my favourite products to help sooth cracked, red, ultra-dry skin. Oh, and they’re all super affordable.
1) The Body Shop Hemp hand cream
This stuff smells like mouldy bread, but trust me, it is the tits for dry, cracked hands. I get awful eczema on my hands in winter. It’s so bad that I was almost refused entry to India, as the visa man couldn’t get a clear stamp of my fingerprints, as the eczema makes them wrinkle up like prunes. (What a lovely, visual image). This hand cream is the best of many I’ve tried. I just wish they’d do something about the smell.
2) The Body Shop Aloe soothing eye & lip contour care
Another Body Shop product, but they really know their stuff when it comes to dry skin. In deepest winter, I suffer terribly with red, irritated skin around my eyes. This is the only cream I’ve tried that’s managed to clear it up. Be warned, the consistency is a little odd, after you apply it, it looks as though it’s flaking off. But don’t worry, the cream still penetrates enough to work its magic. I would highly recommend any product with aloe in it, if you suffer from red, inflamed skin.
3) Bepanthen nappy care ointment
Yes, Bepanthen, that goopy nappy rash cream tattooists used to recommend for fresh ink is also fantastic for dry skin. As it’s formulated for babies it doesn’t clog the pores or cause break-outs. It’s a great everyday cream I used on my driest areas, although perhaps best used at night owing to its greasy thickness.
4) Diprobase ointment
A lot of people appear to have tried Diprobase cream, which is useless, and then they’re like
‘Diprobase sucks!’
It doesn’t but you gotta go for the ointment, not the cream. This is my go-to barrier ointment. It’s like a slightly claggier version of Vaseline. I highly recommend it for any flaky skin or active eczema breakouts.
5) O’Keefe’s lip repair unscented lip balm
Believe me when I tell you I’ve used every lip balm in existence, and since I discovered this one its replaced any others in my inventory. Forget Blistex, forget Chapstick, O’Keefe’s is where it’s at. It successfully healed my mouth when I had cracked corners like the Joker, and it gets rid of super-dry skin in a day or two. No, it’s not the prettiest or the fanciest packaging, but IT WORKS.