re cure for dry skin jlecher pbs org writes in article rmn c v morrow stanford edu mou nova stanford edu alex mou writes hi all my skin is very dry in general but the most serious part is located from knees down the skin there looks like segmented the segmentation actually happens beneath the skin i would like to know if there is any cure for this as a matter of fact i just saw a dermatologist the other day and while i was there i asked him about dry skin i d been spending a small fortune on various creams lotions and other dry skin treatments he said all i needed was a large jar of vaseline soak in a lukewarm tub of water for minutes only minutes then massage in the vaseline to trap the moisture in that is the standard advice in dermatology texts the soak part greatly increases the inconvenience don t bother unless it doesn t work otherwise the hard part will be finding the time to rub in the vaseline properly exactly but it adds to the ritual aspect which is important for us suggestible patients posters don t bother to repeat the rationale for the soak if it s not done right you remain greasy and stick greasy no matter what vaseline generically petrolatum is famous for that one text states that the more greasy a dry skin cream is the more effective try it it s got to be cheaper then spending for oz of natural lotion try usp lanolin at least for maintenance preventive therapy usp lanolin is natural and much less greasy and cheap don t buy the more expensive perfumed lanolin mixture as i ve commented before petrolatum is a poorly characterized mixture of hydrocarbons which are not found in biological systems that is not inherently bad but smell it up close even on your hand are partially absorbed into the body and remain there for months or more and have associations with cancer don t panic but also don t believe it s god s gift to the human skin oren haber schaim
