Really dry, itchy skin

When I first had this wild itching, I went out and bought Aveeno and had a lovely relaxing bath. Got out, toweled off, happy at not itching.
Twenty minutes to a half hour later, the itching returned.

Maybe it's a palliative, but I figure the mad itching thing involves other stuff going on.

In my case, benedryl helped, but that is just a fixer, not a complete solution.

Quote Ossobuco:

They got that at WalMart too. I don't think it was all that expensive, compared to other places.

Tangent warning

Thanks for that. I'm into my second wood cutting board, don't now remember the wood. Presently c. twenty years old.

I got it after my bro in law was showing my niece how to slam something on the first wooden cutting board (I forget what and why, but it was a hard object; the board flew apart. My bro in law was and still is very construction smart, but tended to break furniture by mistake. That first one was from the Hawaiian Islands via a friend, the board at the time of breaking maybe thirty years old; I'm guessing teak.

Yay for cutting boards.

Thanks! Now that I'll be going there (I'm a fraidy cat, I could get run over in the parking lot, or by the fast shopping cart people racing out, or turning a corner in the store..), I'll make the best of it - I almost like the place. I'll check that out.

My skin doesn't itch now, after itching for years, and as I said, I don't know why. But I like tea tree oil anyway..

I recall it as having been fairly reasonable from Swanson Vitamins, though don't remember the exact price for a 4oz bottle. The mystery is why it sat on the shelf for several years unopened.

My, but the stuff is fragrant.

We're waiting with baited breath to hear how itchy your ankles are with the Tea Tree oil on them.

But I'm the person with anosmia...

What is Swanson's? I don't do online, unless and until I get book cravings, and then I get nuts.

Guessing, didn't Swanson's used to do t.v. dinners?

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/?SourceCode=INTL097&CAWELAID=530002460000088563&CAPCID=115049836927&cadevice=c&agid=9935343607&catci=kwd-16137812&gclid=CKmy79nW88sCFQUMaQodeb8PoQ

Ah, I didn't know of them.

The last two times I ordered, or tried to order, their ordering system was Fouled up beyond all Repair. Hopefully, they have gotten their problems sorted out. Good selection; weak search engine.

sigh

I don't know how much you do in terms of vitamins, but I can vouch for these four sources as being very efficient with high quality. Three of them have money saving "store brands" which I use a lot. Their ordering system is very effective:

www.vitacost.com
www.pipingrock.com
www.puritanpride.com
www.vitaglo.com

Thanks. Swanson is overdue for a replacement, so I'll look into at least one before I order from them again.

PS:
They say that essential oils, like tea tree or lavender oil, should be either mixed with a lotion or mixed with a "carrier oil", like olive or better still, grapeseed oil, before applying to the skin. To prevent irritation. They recommend 4 parts lotion or carrier oil to one part essential oil, (in this case, tea tree oil).

I just recently discovered about the healthful use and application of essential oils. I found a good source to purchase, but still hadn't understood what ratio was needed to balance out the expensive pure essential oil (e.g. lavender) with a good carrier oil and which ones were preferred. Thanks so much for shortening my research.

Funny thing is, I got the ratio off the Tea Tree oil container I bought from WalMart. I too had been told of the need for a "carrier oil", but the ratio was rarely given. I tried using the essential oil directly but it was clearly not a good idea. Grapeseed oil is the best type of carrier oil because it is so thin, it penetrates much quicker. It's cheap and available at the supermarket. I saw some tests on this but I don't have the website handy, grapeseed is the best way to go.

Most lotions, even the cheap type, have lecithin in them, which seems to join water and oil together. Lecithin is used as a delivery system to make many substances more absorbed by the cells, again I don't have the websites but scientific research has been done on lecithin and it does help the absorption of some substances. I don't know if it will make tea tree oil more cellularly absorbed but lecithin is used extensively in such things as salad dressings, it's harmless.

Quote ossobuco:

LOL-when I first saw Swanson vitamins a few years ago, that's the first thing I thought! Wondering, then as now, if it isn't some kind of offshoot of their food business. Who can forget the commercials?

I've read that almond oil is also used as a carrier oil, as well.

Clearly, I've got some 'sperimenting to do, Lucy'!

Almond oil is popular, but I usually avoid it. Here's the reason: I just found out I am slightly allergic to vegetables of the Nightshade family. These are South American vegetables, and include, besides tobacco, Tomatoes, Potatoes, (sweet potatoes are a different family and not Nightshade), and Green and Red Peppers, (not peppercorns). I cut them out and found out my digestion improved a bit. I can have them now and then, even for a week or two, but if I have a steady diet of them eventually I'll feel an effect.

One thing to understand is that Nightshade vegetable all used to be poisonous, but the Native Americans down in South America bred out the poison, and these vegetables feed a good portion of the world now. After my experience with Nightshade veggies, I decided that I didn't want to use any food that once was poisonous but the poison has been bred out of it. Because in most cases, the poison has not been completely bred out, it has just been reduced to the point that it doesn't bother most people. When it reaches that point, then they stop trying to breed the rest of the poison out and start breeding for resistance to pests and other things.

Almonds used to be poisonous, but again, the poison has been bred out. Or bred down. Since there are alternatives to almond oil, I use the alternatives which are as good or better. Just a personal thing, but I thought I would relate it.

Here's a list of the densities of oils, the lower the better. Almond is fairly low, grapeseed is one of the lowest. The list is on pages 26 & 27 of the pdf. Different color text means they got the number from a different study-but most studies are fairly consistent.
http://www.dgfett.de/material/physikalische_eigenschaften.pdf
http://www.dgfett.de/material/physikalische_eigenschaften.pdf

I don't think I ever saw those..

just as well, just as well.