The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Dave (Trenton, MI) on 02/17/2009
★★★★★
Hello,. if you have dry skin on your face from wind or what ever, put some 3% drug store Hydrogen Peroxide in a spray bottle and when your in the shower spray your face real good and let it set a few minutes, make sure you keep your eyes closed, and it may burn a little at first but let it stay and then rinse it off and keep doing it at every shower and your face will be real smooth after the first time. Dave
Honey
Posted by Candy (Riverdale, NY) on 07/12/2007
★★★★★
Taking a bath in honey will heal dry skin. My cousin's 18 month old daughter had cronic dry skin since birth and I suggested this remedy(I read somewhere that Ancient Egyphian Queens took daily baths in honey). The baby no longer has dry skin, from just one bath in honey and it's been almost 3 months since the remedy was used. When my cousin took her daughter to the pediatrician for her regular check up, the doctor was surprised by the results b/c she (the pediatrician) had prescribed several remedies, all of which never worked.
Sesame Seed Oil
Posted by Sharon (Salt Lake City) on 01/07/2022
★★★★★
Hi,
I have very dry skin and I started using sesame oil. It works great but it gets on everything. And it doesn't absorb quite as good as I would like. But, it does work so I may need to keep working with it. I found that when I use it on my face it takes away dark spots and is very healing for the skin.
FYI thanks, Sharon.
Lemon Juice
Posted by Alicia (New York, Ny) on 06/27/2013
★★★★★
The lemon juice remedy for dry hands is fantastic! I now buy lemons and cut a piece off during the day and rub on my hands and face. Within 30 seconds, they are baby soft. Best remedy ever. Great when you are out at a restaurant and they serve lemon with your water. I use the lemon slice to cleanse and soften my hands.
Coconut Oil
Posted by Joy (Battleground, Wash) on 05/15/2013
★★★★★
I had the cracks on my heels for 15 years, dry skin that had to be scaped off or it would form a deep crevace and bleed and take months to heal It all stopped when I started eating the coconut oil in november/december at the height of cold weather, warm sox and shoes all day... No more problems.
Omega 3 Fish Oil
Posted by Caitlin (Asheville, Nc) on 03/25/2013
★★★★★
Dry skin - the past week I have been experiencing dry skin on my palms, which feel very rough to the touch. I typically take 1 fish oil pill a day, but yesterday I took 2. Within 20 minutes, the rough, dry skin on my palms had disappeared. I also have dry flaky skin around my nose which gets triggered when I eat certain things like dairy or milk chocolate and that too healed at the same time and looked a thousand times better. I am going to up my daily dosage to 2 capsules, twice a day for a while. I highly suggest this! My capsules are EPA 400, DHA 200 if that helps anyone.
Milk of Magnesia, Coconut Oil
Posted by Joy (Battleground, Wash) on 03/21/2013
★★★★★
Years ago I heard that putting milk of magnesia topically on dry skin would remove dead cells and leave healthy skin, from a model that used it to keep her skin beautiful. I did that a lot on dry skin and loved it. Lately I bathe in it, 1 /2 cup in hot bath and also soak my head in the tub. I have had dry skin, so this is nice. I have fall/ winter/ spring dandruff but not summer.
Lately I ran across coconut oil and trying to use it in different ways. Heated some in an old agave bottle with a tiny tip on it. Heated my rice pack in microwave and wrapped the rice pack around agave bottle to melt the oil and then put on the scalp. Let soak all day then took a bath with head in water, followed with a shampoo. No oily hair just soft and no dandruff.
Also daily brush with the oil and put on face, hands and feet. Use half pea size in ear if there is any ringing starting up.
Coconut Oil
Posted by Diane (Boise, Idaho) on 03/15/2012
★★★★★
I love Virgin Coconut Oil for lots of things, most especially taken internally for soft, shiny hair, and moisturized skin from within! My daughter turned me onto it about 4-5 years ago when a colleague of hers lost weight dramatically. Asked what was her secret, she said on Oprah Winfrey's show she learned about eating a tsp-tblsp of coconut oil morning and night. It promoted inner cleansing for weight loss, and the side benefits were awesome! This is one health regime I don't forget! My hair at 66 is the best it has ever been in my life, my skin is moisturized from within, no more scaley elbows, and it helps with the feet, and some weight came off too. After reading other earthclinic. Coms comments, I now also use it externally on face, hands and feet after toning or soaking with Apple Cider Vinegar or in the case of the feet, plain cheap white vinegar. I also try and drink more water every day too. Sorry avon lady, I like the natural remedies!
Oh and I put about a tsp into my dogs food every day for moisturized skin and shiny hair/fur. No more expensive dog shampoos and conditioners. They are healed from the inside.
Pure Lanolin
Posted by Teri (Tacoma, Wa, Usa) on 12/04/2011
★★★★★
I have always suffered with very dry skin, and natural lanolin is the best moisturizer I have ever found. I used to rub it into my children's hands at night while they slept when we lived in a very cold climate. It healed their very red, chapped hands overnight, and protected them for days because it sinks in and doesn't wash away easily. There are downsides. It is thick and messy to use, but great under a pair of white gloves overnight.
Honey
Posted by New To All This (Los Angeles, Ca) on 05/01/2011
★★★★★
Winter 2010/11 was my fourth using honey to keep the back of my hands smooth. To test whether I still needed it, I waited till after the weather got cold to see if my skin got dry and rough and it did. I again used cheap grocery store honey for several nights and quit. My skin was fine for the rest of the winter without treatment. I did get two small cuts that I couldn't attribute to any event, daubed them with honey and had no further problems--till today, the first of May, when the weather was slightly chilly in the morning. I again noticed a minor tear but didn't treat it until late afternoon when I saw some blood and applied honey.
It's odd that colder weather a couple of months ago didn't affect my skin yet it couldn't take milder dry wind today.
Honey
Posted by New To All This (La, Ca) on 04/15/2012
Winter 2011-12 was my fifth year using honey to stop the back of my hands from getting so dry they bleed, as they did form many years before I used honey.
Surprisingly, this winter it didn't work quite as well as before, even though the Southern California weather didn't seem colder, hotter, wetter or drier than usual. Instead of applying the honey for several days and then having smooth skin all winter, I had to apply it about every couple of months. It never got as bad as before I tried honey, though.
At first I thought it was because I was using old supermarket honey, but the new organic honey I switched to had to be reapplied before winter ended, too. Even so, it was far better than the hand creams and the prescription cream I tried before discovering honey.
This year I paid more attention to my chapped lips, which needed reapplication much more often than my hands.
Pure Lanolin
Posted by Lisa (Little Rock, AR) on 03/19/2009
★★★★★
dry skin: This is for Chanson from the midwest and any others out there who experience severly dry skin. Go to your local pharmacy, retail store or baby supply and get a tube of pure lanolin. My Dr. told me to use it when I was breast feeding. My nipples cracked open and were, as you can imagine, extremely painful. The lanolin healed them completely and I was able to continue breast feeding. My father works with chemicals in his job and his fingers crack and bleed. I got a tube for him to use and it healed his fingers. I would suggest applying it after you have eaten as you don't want to get it in your mouth. It is an all natural product. It's very thick and has a slight odor, but nothing unbearable.
Coffee Grounds
Posted by Sreis (Jacksonville, Florida, USA) on 11/16/2008
★★★★★
Seconding the coffee grounds idea: I learned about using coffee grounds in a spa class. They are great to exfoliate with, especially since you can consider it recycling to use them after your coffee is brewed. They are said to help with cellulite because of increasing circulation in the targeted cells. That's from caffeine plus the action of rubbing your skin. Not sure if proven.
FYI about exfoliation: Exfoliation is for removing the surface layer of dead skin cells, polishing off excess build-up and any flakiness. It also really helps to increase cell renewal. Never exfoliate inflamed or cracked skin. Never exfoliate without moisturizing after. If you don't moisturize, you may see results at first but later your problems will be worse. The reason is that you're abrasively removing the outer protective layer, including good oils, and possibly causing damage to living cells. If you don't replace the oils to help protect and nourish your skin then it will dry out again, more quickly this time. Also, do be gentle.
Moisturizing: There are lots of great oils out there you can use right on your skin. Try to go as natural as you can and avoid anything with mineral oil, petroleum, alcohol or plastics. A few good oils: sweet almond (less greasy), emu, avocado, coconut, jojoba, olive, sesame.... Whenever I'm cooking with olive oil I like to rub some on my hands and elbows. It soothes and prevents drying too badly from washing dishes.
Pomada de la Campana
Posted by Mari (El Paso TX USA) on 10/01/2023
★★★★★
Pomada de la Campana for dry skin patches
Just wanted to let you know of an inexpensive Mexican ointment called Pomada de La Campana. The ointment has helped me with dry skin patches under my eyes, it looked like dermatitis and now its almost gone. I dab on the dry area morning and night and so far it is working. My step dad used to have beautiful smooth skin during his 70s because he would use it every day. I hope it helps someone in the same situation. Some people have also indicated its helped them with acne.
Papaya Ointment
Posted by Maria (Canberra, Australian Capital Territory) on 01/16/2021
★★★★★
Am now adding another use for Papaya Ointment. Itchy elbow one sided. Showed it to my doctor years ago and he said it looked like Psoriasis and advised me to put petroleum jelly on the surrounding skin to prevent it spreading. So long ago, do not remember what I used but instead of going to a Homoeopath, I pushed it back into the system with something topical and now years later it is attempting to return. It's very mild and I like to experiment but the only ointment which stops the itching ...straight away...is Papaya Ointment. I have two kinds, one pure one not and both work.
Sesame Seed Oil
Posted by Shweta (India) on 02/08/2014
★★★★★
Hi, during winters my skin gets very dry. Hands are severely effected as I get deep lesions and skin starts peeling off. I have seen my grand mother and elders applying sesame oil on hair and body during bath. I also gave it a shot. After taking bath, I pour 5-10 drops in some amount of bath water and splashed all over the body. After that I massaged gently and then poured some water again and then pat dried my body.
Everynight before going to bed, I apply sesame seed oil again on my feet and hands. Trust me, you won't complain about dry skin ever.
One more trick is to apply few drops of oil on your navel before going to bed.
Pineapple Juice
Posted by Cyma (Dubia, Uae) on 04/27/2013
★★★★★
Since moving here three years ago I have been plagued with severly dry, scaly skin. I have tried scrubbing with coffee, sugar, salt as well as commercial scrubs but, nothing works. I have not been able to find a lotion that can keep my skin moist for more than a few minutes. I'm in my 40's and have always had soft skin. About one month ago, whilst eating some fresh pineapple I got the idea to apply some of the juice to my skin (seeing that it contains fruit acids which act like exfoliant) before applying my normal moisturiser. I first tried it on my legs and arms - the driest parts. Within a few days I noticed the layer of dry scaly skin was gone! I have been using it since and dry skin is no longer a problem. On the face I dilute the fresh juice with a little water and leave it on for about 10 minutes. I then wipe my face with damp cotton pads before applying a moisturizer. If your skin is sensitive, it might tingle a bit on the face. But so far, I've had no adverse reaction. Give it a try. It's inexpensive and effective.
