Hi, Forum Friends!

Just checking in with some discoveries which you may or may not have tried. First on the list is Eucerin's Calming Creme. It can be purchased at various drugstores for a reasonable price. It comes in a tube and is non-greasy, fragrance free, and noncomedogenic. This is a rich moisturizer which contains oatmeal. I use it as a body cream, hand cream, and even as a nighttime face cream on occasion.

Since we are now entering into cooler fall weather, handwashing products for those of us with sensitive skin are a big issue. Free & Clear Liquid Cleanser is a good option to try, but my Holy Grail for hand cleansing has got to be Lubrex by Allerderm Labs. It is a gentle cleanser for damaged hands and contains: purified water, cetyl alcohol, glycerin, sorbitol, glyceryl monolaurate, steareth-20, stearyl alcohol, poloxamer 123, steareth-2, and benzyl alcohol. That's it! No fragrance or irritants! The product comes in a 12 oz. pump bottle and costs $8.99 at Dermstore.com. It can be purchased at other websites too. This is a thick lotion hand cleanser that can be used with or without water. I was sceptical about using such a heavy product for handwashing, but it works like a dream! There is also Lubrex Hand Cream, which comes in 4 oz. tubes, costing $8.99. Same deal -- fragrance and irritant free. My hands feel like rose petals, sooo soft!

I've written to the folks at Shu Uremura, asking if they would consider developing a cleansing oil for those of us with sensitive skin. If you've used any of the Shu oils, you know that they contain various botanicals which can be irritating. Lo and behold, they are launching an anti-irritant cleansing oil in Nov.! I can't wait to try that one! Right now, their premium antioxidant oil turns my face flaming red, so I use the enriched oil for dry skin -- a strong smell of tea, but it works. Laventine Olive Forte Cleansing Oil is another good oil, but is not very cosmetically elegant. I alternate between these 2 products for twice daily cleansing. I've found that the oils are the only cleansers that are compatible with my hard well water.

I still like Lauder's Night Repair serum and eye gel. I use these a.m. AND p.m. Their Idealist Skin Refinisher is, in a word, fabulous! This product is made for ALL skin types and gets rid of pores, age spots, flakes, redness, etc. I use this OVER the serum in the a.m. only, and then follow up with a DW spritz and moisturizer.
(Daywear spf 15 cream for dry skin) The Lauder items are pricey, which I don't like, but they do work. Nighttime moisture creams are the Calming Creme or the Q10 Cream by Eucerin, followed by a drop of DHC's Extra Virgin Olive Oil, warmed on the fingertips and patted over everything. My skin has stayed CALM all summer and looks poreless now, everybody! Hot diggety! For any newbies out there, DW refers to distilled water which can be purchased at grocery stores.
NOT to be confused with spring water!

A HUGE caution is California Baby's Insect Repellant Spray for Babies, Kids, and Sensitive Adults. This product is loaded with botanicals, caused instant stinging and burning on my arms and legs (glad I didn't apply any to my face!), and the reaction lasted a couple of hours after washing the product off. Nasty stuff for me! A more tolerable pump spray is Off's Skintastic.

Last of all, Cetaphil is coming out with a new product in Oct. I don't know what this is yet, but I hope it will be an SLS-free cleanser! Beware products containing SLS and/or propylene glycol! I speak from experience here.

I hope everyone's summer went well, and that you are stocking up on good skincare items for winter. Take care, and best wishes for good skin!
Inky