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Dry skin because of swimming pool water - recommend anything?

Hi gents,

Title says it all. I go swimming every so often but get maddeningly dry skin once I'm outta the pool. What's good to fight this?

I do have a bottle of lubriderm lotion lying around somewhere... If I can find it.

-ice
 
I have really dry hands, so bad that in the winter my skin breaks open if I do not keep them lotioned up pretty often. When I was washing dishes as a teenager, I used the Nivea cream in a tub. That was 20 years ago, and I have since discovered that there are better items out there.

Now I use the ReNew lotion from Melaleuca. It moisturizes better than anything else I have tried, and does not leave an oily feeling on my hands. Works great on exzema(SP?), too.

My adopted daughter has skin so dry it gets almost scaly. My wife's naturopath recommended baby oil. So, we got the baby oil from Arbonne, and it works really well to keep her skin moistened. It soaks into the skin better than any of the grocery store shelf baby oils.
 
smear vaseline all over your body before you swim, you'll be moisturized and shiny ( womerns likes that) :thumbup:
 
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First, It's very important to shower after exit the pool, the chlorine in the pool will help to dry your skin out. Than it's no rocket science, lots of moisturizing, oil of any kind or some product like Nivea creme.

/A
 
Hi gents,

Title says it all. I go swimming every so often but get maddeningly dry skin once I'm outta the pool. What's good to fight this?

I do have a bottle of lubriderm lotion lying around somewhere... If I can find it.

-ice

Any time you put your skin in water, oils that used to be in your skin get lost and end up dissolved in the water instead. When we are young, an abundance of natural oil production in the skin can make up for losses during swimming and bathing, etc. However, as we get older, our oil production goes down, and many people find the need to supplement these losses by adding some oil to the skin. So moisturizing is really a misnomer, you dont need to add water, you need to replace oil into your skin.

As far as what to use, lubriderm lotion is probably the most watery non-moisturizing stuff available, and its loaded with preservatives, mainly because it has so much water. Its great for people who don't have dry skin but want to put something on to make themselves feel like they are doing something.

As recommended above, instead of watery lotions like lubriderm, use a little bit of vaseline or olive oil to all dry areas of skin, not before you swim, as suggested above, but AFTER you swim. Also after you take a bath or shower. You don't need a lot, and if you are worried about getting oil on your clothing or having a lot of oil on your skin in general (many people have a huge hang up about this, usually its the people with the most severe dry skin problems) then just use your swimming or bathing towel to wipe off the excess, enough of the oil or vaseline with get into your skin anyways.

If your skin is really dry, after about 20 minutes, most of whatever oil you might have noticed on the surface of your skin would have been completely absorbed.

Also, dont use harsh soaps like Dial, Ivory, liquid Castille soap or Irish Spring. Instead, use mild soaps like glycerin based clear amber bar soap, unscented dove soap, almay or some other mild type of soap.

Also, keep in mind that people with a dry skin problem tend to get worse problems in the winter for various reasons. So , unless you live in australia or south american, chances are that your dry skin problem will also get better over the next couple months just due to seasonal change.

Finally, if you are swimming outdoors, and totally separate from moisturizing above, its a good idea to use an spf 30 or above waterproof sunscreen.

hope this helps

Pete
 
I find Clinique's moisturizer moisturizes well, leaves a smooth, non-tacky finish, and is completely fragrance free and unscented. It's a little heavy for my liking for use as an all-over facial application when my skin is in good shape, but if/when I have dry skin problems, it's what I use.
 
@ everyone:

Yup I shower after my swim, mostly b/c that's my shower for the day. Unfortunately, I'm relegated to using either the soap my gym provides (which is some crappy kimcare stuff) or the irish spring that I bought the other day. If I have the time tonight I'll go down to CVS and see what they've got.

Thanks for the advice.

-ice
 
If it's chlorine itch that getting on your nerves you should google for swimmers soap. It supposedly neutralizes the chlorine that cause the misery itch. I can't vouch for it but I would have paid far more than you could imagine to try it when I was in a pool for 6 hours a day.
 
It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.

It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.

It places the lotion in the basket.

It places the lotion in the basket.

Put the freaking lotion in the basket!
 
+1 on the vaseline. I only cover my hands and face but it helps. Some pools use chlorine and others use salts; another pool in your area might be better. Also ask your club to show you their maintenance schedule; if they can't it's a bad sign. My doctor said different skin lotions have different pH so you need to try different brands. I have good results with Suave (a bargain at Target), much better than Vaseline brand skin lotion but YMMV. Use skin lotion every time, it makes a big difference.
 
Hi gents,

Title says it all. I go swimming every so often but get maddeningly dry skin once I'm outta the pool. What's good to fight this?

I do have a bottle of lubriderm lotion lying around somewhere... If I can find it.

-ice

Every time you put your skin in water, oils from your skin are left behind and thats what dries your skin out. You need to replace the oil in your skin, not the water. Thats why, as a general rule of thumb, the more oil thats in a moisturizer, and the less water, the better it works. So when it comes to moisturizing, ointments are superior to thick creams, which are superior to vanishing creams which are superior to lotions.

Lubriderm is way too watery for people who really have dry skin and its chock full of preservatives which can cause contact dermatitis. If you don't have really dry skin and want to put something on to make yourself feel like you are doing something, lubriderm is fine. But it you really have dry skin, you need to use something more powerful. Vaseline blue label petroleum jelly is my recommendation as the best moisturizer. It is pure oil, no preservatives, nothing you could react to. Its also quite inexpensive. If you want a natural alternative, use olive or another vegetable oil instead of vaseline. The only contraindication for vaseline or vegetable oil is acne vulgaris, so if you have tendencies towards acne, don't apply it in the areas where you break out, typically the face, neck and upper chest/back.

Some people wrinkle their nose or have a mini tizzy fit about putting something greasy on their skin. So if you are too stubborn to consider putting something greasy on your skin, think again about it and try to find a way to incorporate it in your lifestyle, you won't regret it. Here are some practical tips for using it that may help.

Apply your moisturizer daily after showering or bathing (or after you rinse off from swimming). If it feels too greasy or you are worried about getting it on clothing, just wipe off the excess with your bath towel or a paper towel/kleenex. Enough will stay in the skin to moisturize far beyond what lubriderm or other lotions would.

Also avoid harsh soaps, and use only a mild glycerin based clear amber soap or unscented dove bar soap. If you get in the habit of bathing at night, then you can apply your greasy moisturizer more liberally, and you won't have to worry about getting it on nice clothes.

nb. (This is advice that was taught to me by my very wise dermatology mentors many years ago, and what I have recommended to many thousands of patients and the hundreds of medical students and dermatology residents I've taught over my past 15 years as an academic dermatologist. It works quite well if you try it).

+1 on the vaseline.
+2
 
My wife's naturopath recommended baby oil. So, we got the baby oil from Arbonne, and it works really well to keep her skin moistened. It soaks into the skin better than any of the grocery store shelf baby oils.

I often use baby oil in the winter, also. I just buy the cheap drugstore brand, rub some on after I've washed in the shower, let it sit for a minute, and then rinse off. You have to be VERY careful to either have a bathmat, or regularly clean the bottom of the tub though, as it can make the floor pretty slick.
 
Hi gents,

Title says it all. I go swimming every so often but get maddeningly dry skin once I'm outta the pool. What's good to fight this?

I do have a bottle of lubriderm lotion lying around somewhere... If I can find it.

-ice

I get maddeningly dry skin most of the year, to the point of itching in the winter. One solution I have found the past few weeks is Mama Bear's soaps, which leaves the glycerin in. A bar is expensive, but lasts a long time if you take it out of the shower when finished and set it on a rack (they have one for sale).
 
Hi gents,

Title says it all. I go swimming every so often but get maddeningly dry skin once I'm outta the pool. What's good to fight this?

I do have a bottle of lubriderm lotion lying around somewhere... If I can find it.

-ice

Almond Oil... 100% Pure. You can get it at your local whole foods store. Soak a cotton ball in it and rub it onto your face after you sim.
 
I've tried several lotions with success, but after reading a thread here on soaps, tried Pre de Provence Milk soap and no longer need moisturizers. It's a bar soap, and rinses clean very easily.
 
I don't have dry skin, but CeraVe seems to be very popular with dermatologists and nearly every review on drugstore.com is positive. It is cheap and available in drugstores - CVS, Duane Reade, Wallgreens, etc.
 
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