anyone ever used coal tar soap?
my skin has been so itchy lately. i do have eczema and overall very sensitive skin, but the areas i shave have been SO itchy the past couple months. i looked up the problem and coal tar soap was recommended.
i'm thinking of trying a natural health goods store to see if they have any. does it stink? i'm a little offput by the name and appearance.
Coal tar soap doesn't stink, but I have the EXACT same problem, I itch like CRAZY after I've shaved and sometimes even when I haven't. It feels like ants biting me and I will tear up my skin.
Things that have helped me:
Cutting down on shaving altogether. I shave when necessary, and only when necessary. That's really been the biggest help, unfortunately.
I use an electric razor on my legs. It doesn't waste water, it's cheaper, and it cuts close enough to be smooth for a day (only) but not so close that it causes ingrown hairs and issues. I can use this more frequently than I can a straight razor (more than once every 2 weeks with a straight razor drives my skin bananas. I've given up on it entirely except in rush-hour emergencies and just use straight razors on sensitive areas like the underarms now. Legs? All electric now-a-days, and it helps a LOT.) + moisturizing after shaving.
I use apple cider vinegar, full strength, on my legs sometimes.. about 5 minutes before I get into the shower, I just rub a cotton ball all over it and let it sit on the skin until I jump in--usually while I'm pinning my hair and brushing my teeth.
Cooling menthol spray when they itch. I use biofreeze when it's real bad, and a cooling spray from avon that is FANTASTIC and usually goes on sale cheap
Avon - Moisture Therapy Calming Relief Anti-Itch Spray Lotion customer reviews - product reviews - read top consumer ratings It smells fine and it isn't invasive and I use it weekly at least. Hydrocortisone creams are stupid and do NOT work on my skin anymore, I use those tubes up like candy. Making the skin cold, and covering it so I don't itch are the best and cheapest.
Moisturize!! LIKE CRAZY! Before you shave, after you shave, daily... Everything. Aquaphor when I shave with a straight razor, Curel's anti-itch lotion daily, and baby oil or baby oil gel when I remember.
Light exfoliation. I use a microfiber cloth in the shower now, and I scrub my body with that, and it works pretty well for my legs.. it's soft but still abrasive enough to scrub the dead skin away, and you want to keep sloughing off the skin to keep ingrown hairs from forming.
Also, hot hot water isn't the best for the skin.. I never listen to that rule, I love hot showers, but cooler water is best for it. I find running some cooler/cold water over my legs when I am done in the shower helps.
A mild anti-inflammatory non-steroid drug like Zyrtec or Aleve depending on what I have on hand. Just something to stop inflammation.
Distractions are powerful. If I shave before I like go to work, for example, I'm less likely to think about it and itch even if it is itchy.
Long socks if I'm getting really bad to cover my leg and protect it from myself mostly--and other things brushing up against it.
what didn't help me:
Changing the type of soap I used. At all. I don't use those frouffy beth bath and body works soaps, but liquid soap, dove moisturizing soap, soap bars, et.c etc... It didn't matter. I still itch no matter what. So I stick to my bars of soap and dove now.
Detergent switching. It's an issue with the skin and an auto-immune inflammatory response to shaving and gods know what else. The detergent is fine probably. (But then again, I make my own detergent and have for years so.. i dunno.. but the times I need to use regular detergent I noticed no difference in my skin.)
The type of cloth/clothes I was wearing.
Topical steroids of any sort. They DID help me for a while when it was SUPER Bad.. a couple years ago.. but they were a temporary band-aid to a problem I didn't want to address--that I needed to stop shaving as frequently as most women get to.. When I cooled it off on shaving, I also stopped using the meds.
I didn't find changing the temperature of my shower helped THAT much in comparison to just a rinse of cold water when done.
Special cute-sy soaps and creams and shit. None of it truly helps and it's more expensive than the stuff I mentioned up above. I wish they did. But anyone that says, "this soap blah blah blah saved my life!!!" doesn't have eczema or was allergic to the soap they were using before. Eczema doesn't go away unfortunately. You just manage it.