I realize this does not seem like a nursing-related question, but our personal hygiene routines before and after work/school can have repercussions for us professionally.
My skin has the tendency to be dry and itchy due to longstanding hypothyroidism, and the problem is heightened in the winter. So, I strictly use liquid body wash four months out of the year from early November until early March. St. Ives Oatmeal & Shea Butter body wash soothes and moisturizes my itchy, dry skin.
From March through late October I switch mostly to bar soaps because my skin is not as dry and itchy during warmer weather. However, I still use liquid body wash on occasion. I use Tone Bath Bars with cocoa butter for the moisturizing properties. I also like Caress Daily Silkening body wash (white peach & silky orange blossom scent).
I absolutely DO NOT use antibacterial soaps when at home. I strictly use plain bar soaps and body washes to minimize the potential of resistance to microbes.
Works great on my dry/ itchy skin. Cleans effectively. Has a subtle but very pleasant smell.
While the individual bars are more expensive than the options typically available at my local stores, it lasts so much longer when properly cared for (soap dish that allows it to dry out between uses). Since it's not available locally, I order half a dozen bars at a time. I think a bar lasts between a month and 6 weeks; I usually order one to two times a year.
With my sensitive skin I use dove or Olay sensitive and scent free. I moisturize with aveeno scentless or scent free babyganics lotion everyday year round right out of the shower. If I get an allergy flare up and my skin is the least bit dry I'm screwed and itching for days upon days (I can still get itchy even with moisturizing daily). I've scratched so hard before I've broken my skin and/or ended up with massive bruises.
For hands I don't use anything antibacterial. Over the winter I started using either Mrs. Myers Clean Day, 7th Generation, or my favorite so far- Say Yes to Coconuts. I was trying to find something a little gentler on my hands and less drying. I was using Eucerin hand cream, but I've just found the Say Yes to Coconut hand cream which I absolutely love! My hospital switched soaps about 2 months ago and the new stuff is horrible!! I feel like my hands are worse now than they were in the middle of winter
I have very dry skin and lots of allergies. What works best for me is Olay Ultra Moisture with Shea Butter body wash.
From October to March I add Olay Ultra Moisture In-Shower Body Lotion.
For hand soap, I will use an anti-bacterial - Dial Foaming. I have a problem with my hands cracking and bleeding from dry skin. I was almost out of soap and the store I was in only had anti-bacterial soap. I didn't want to drive to another store, so I bought the Dial. It was the best for my skin of any hand soap I had tried. No more bleeding, so I keep using it ...
I am allergic to one of the more commonly used fragrances and have pretty oily skin, so I have gone through many shampoos, conditioners and soaps. The one that I currently use that I LOVE is Nexxus shampoo and conditioner for my hair (It is the only thing that I have found to control the oil for 24 hours) and Dove Sensitive Skin for my body.
I have a bit of a body wash addiction. Icurrently have 3 bottles open in the shower.......they are all different brands just what ever is on special at the supermarket in a variety of scents.
The handwash is a refillable generic soap and the dishwash is the same
I use any vegetable glycerin soap (face and body). Right now I have a giant box of assorted ones from Crystal. Regular soap is too drying and moisturizing soap is too "slimy".
I actually mostly just rinse in the shower except for my face, armpits, and genitals. Nothing else gets soap unless I have a reason to feel dirty. I love showers so I take one every day, but I probably lather up all over once a month or less (usually it's after I've cleaned up a C. diff patient frequently). I have a gentle vitamin C cleanser I use for my face, and I think it's Dove I have for the other parts right now.
I use whatever generic soaps I have for my hands. I am not a very clean person at home unless I'm sick. I will wash my hands if I have touched raw meat/eggs, after a bowel movement, and after cleaning my cat's the litter box, but that's about it. On my days off I probably wash my hands twice a day or less, and I don't clean my house with sanitizing products very often either. The last time I called out sick was in 2014, so my immune system clearly thinks I'm doing something right.
vampiregirl, BSN, RN
824 Posts
Blackberry Creek Farms Oat & Honey soap.
Works great on my dry/ itchy skin. Cleans effectively. Has a subtle but very pleasant smell.
While the individual bars are more expensive than the options typically available at my local stores, it lasts so much longer when properly cared for (soap dish that allows it to dry out between uses). Since it's not available locally, I order half a dozen bars at a time. I think a bar lasts between a month and 6 weeks; I usually order one to two times a year.