After shower oil care

[jcandleattic]

Wasn't sure where to put this question, but here goes.

Not sure exactly what I'm asking either so hopefully y'all can help me figure out what I need.

Since being in a VERY humid climates the last month or so (Mexico, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Singapore) my skin has actually developed a taste for humidity. (go figure, thought I hated it, turns out, not so much) - well, since being home for the last, not even a week, only 5 days, my entire body has shrivelled and dried up. My sinus' hurt, my skin is flaky and dry.

Now onto the question. I have been using my hair oil which basically consists of FCO and scent, along with a body cream as my after shower care, but it's just not sufficient. It works but an hour or so later my skin is all dried up again.

Question: is there an after shower oil recipe that y'all would recommend that I could put on (while still damp to lock in the moisture) my body that would combat the dryness of the climate I am in, without feeling like I'm going to flake away?

I have I think almost every oil and butter known to man, so am open to many options. I have experimented a little bit, but some guidance would be very helpful.

TIA

 

[Nate5700]

I can't say I'm an expert on this at all, but I saw this and for some reason I feel like I need to help you solve this problem, so I'll share what I've been experimenting with. I made a lotion bar with babassu oil and shea butter. I don't recall the precise recipe off the top of my head, I have it at home but it's something like:

55% Babassu
20% Shea Butter
25% Beeswax

I also threw some almond FO in there at around 1%. The idea in my mind was that the babassu soaks in fast, so that gives you some immediate relief, and the shea butter takes longer so that gives you a more long-term effect. It seems to work pretty well for me, but I'll caveat that by saying that I live in a humid climate and my skin doesn't get all that dry. YMMV.

I'm sure there are better ones out there so I'll be interested to see what others chime in with.

 

[earlene]

Lanolin applied while still wet should hold in the moisture pretty well. Perhaps if you mix it with an emulsifier it would be easier to apply, but I use it straight up out of a jar when applying it to my skin. It can take a long to spread all over the body, though, and it's not that attractive applied to the scalp.

I wonder if part of the problem is related to the shock your system received with the air travel, and perhaps dietary changes? Perhaps you will return to normal once you re-adjust to your environment and dietary norms.

 

[amd]

Maybe not the answer you're looking for, but here's what works for my uber dry skin during the dead of winter months.
1) Moisturize with the thickest water based lotion/cream I can find
2) Lock it in with a body oil. My personal favorite is from Pangea Organics which is: High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Jojoba, Sesame Seed Oil, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Vitamin E.

That said, if you make your own lotion already, I would use that and top off with your body oil and see if the combo works for use. The water based lotion will soak further into the skin than a body oil, and the body oil will create a barrier so that the water portion of the lotion can't evaporate (or minimize the evaporation) off - which may contribute more to feeling dry. Keep yourself well hydrated too

 

[SeattleMartin]

My wife and I have been using an oil we made that uses FCO as the base. We add sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, Vitamin E and a touch of fragrance.

50% FCO
30% Sweet Almond Oil
20% Jojoba
Vitamin E and Fragrance

 

[jcandleattic]

and perhaps dietary changes?

Well, I didn't have much of a dietary change really - on the cruise it was American food, and in Singapore, I was surprised but most everything food related was the same as it is here in the US - they even had McDonald's, 7-11's, Burger Kings', Mexican restaurants and bakeries same as here.

But yes, the rest of what you said may be true. I might just need to let my skin adjust to being home and back in the arid air.

 

[lenarenee]

When our humidity is in the single digits here in CA, I have the same problem. What works best for me is glycerin water - I make my own in very small amounts since I don't add a preservative, use a glass bottle that I scrub out between uses (pump too). But there's commercial ones available too.
I spray that, do a quick rub (my skin says....Ahhh! I needed that!) Then put a rich lotion or my body butter on top.

 

[jcandleattic]

Maybe not the answer you're looking for, but here's what works for my uber dry skin during the dead of winter months.
1) Moisturize with the thickest water based lotion/cream I can find
2) Lock it in with a body oil. My personal favorite is from Pangea Organics which is: High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Jojoba, Sesame Seed Oil, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Vitamin E.

That said, if you make your own lotion already, I would use that and top off with your body oil and see if the combo works for use. The water based lotion will soak further into the skin than a body oil, and the body oil will create a barrier so that the water portion of the lotion can't evaporate (or minimize the evaporation) off - which may contribute more to feeling dry. Keep yourself well hydrated too

I do make my own lotion which really is more of a thick body cream than a lotion,

I've actually been doing the opposite and using my FCO body oil first than the thick lotion, so I will switch that up.

I drink so much water I slosh when I walk, so yep, pretty much well hydrated. LOL

 

[jcandleattic]

All of y'all have given me a good start and I thank you all!! I think I know what my next steps will be, and once formulated and tweaked to how I feel it should work, I'll share!

 

[atiz]

My skin was even drier than usual this winter, so I ended up experimenting some with this recipe.
It worked great. I didn't have the Gelmaker, and I also just used whatever oils I had on hand (almond and FCO), but it still turned out really nice, and I liked that it was an oil that basically turned into lotion on contact with wet skin. It helped a lot overall.

 

[jcandleattic]

so I ended up experimenting some with this recipe.

This looks nice. I've bookmarked this and will look into it more when I'm not at work.

 

[Obsidian]

I don't have a recipe but I like to use a shea heavy body butter after a shower, preferably applied to slightly damp skin.

You might consider a cool humidifier, they are great for sinuses. I use one in the living room and bedroom.

 

[Lin19687]

What about a sugar scrub at the end of the shower?
When I am super dry I have tried a sugar scrub I have. mainly CO in it, at the end of my shower. Then as I 'pat' off I am good for the day.
But here in MA is not that dry so not sure it would work for you.
I am just trying to use up a jar I have here in the shower