My skin has been so dry since we moved to Bakersfield from Los Angeles in 2000.  My feet were the first things to dry out.  I started buying lotion and would slather that on my cracked big toes and my heels and the backs of my ankles.  Unfortunately, it was never enough.  I would literally use lotion made specifically for dry skin the whole day and my skin would still be dry.  I have spent a lot of money on lotion for dry skin over the years with barely any relief.

I started making keychains and earrings with this stuff called Rexlace and Craftlace, and naturally it took that to dry out both of my index fingers.  My right index finger in particular has been so dry that the hair literally broke off and has not grown back.  All I see in the dryness is stubble that won’t grow.

My doctor gave me an ointment that I was supposed to use 2 to 3 times per day, but naturally it didn’t help at all.  Yesterday we went back to the doctor’s office and he told me to use the ointment he gave me during the day, but to use petroleum jelly at night before I go to bed.  Well, we went to Walgreens to fill our prescriptions and I bought some petroleum jelly.  We came home and despite what the doctor said about using it at night, I decided to just start applying thin amounts of it to my finger throughout the day.  It would sit on my finger until it dried up and then I would spread some more on it.  It’s actually helping.

I didn’t think to take a before picture because of how horrible it looked.  I was too embarrassed to do that, but here is an after picture.

You can see that my finger is still dry, but what a huge difference from yesterday anyway.  I did apply the petroleum jelly to it last night, a well as to my dry feet, my arms and legs and my face, even though those parts aren’t dry, preventative maintenance.  My mom did that, and I think I should too.

I didn’t know how well this stuff worked at helping dry skin, but I do now and I will continue using it from now on.