Dry and itchy skin can be caused by the plethora of detergents that are present in your home. Dish-washing and floor washing detergents, fabric cleaners, they all carry serious dry skin-inducing agents. Just cleaning your home or washing the dishes can cause itchy skin.

Some people are more susceptible to this condition; they can even end up suffering from eczema and dermatitis if their skin is not treated.

Detergents are strong lipid dissolvers. They have a natural tendency of dissolving your skin’s healthy oils, as well.

Even air fresheners, laundry detergents and floor polishes are included on this list.

With regular use, these can even cause irritation and cracked skin.

Tips To Protect Your Skin

To ensure that house cleaning is not the biggest problem in your skin care regime, we will advise you to follow a few tips regularly everyday:

1. Wear Gloves: Hands tell the age of a person; to ensure that your age is always predicted a decade younger than reality, use gloves! Gloves protect against harsh materials and fight skin irritation. We would recommend using non-latex rubber gloves while scrubbing. Wear a double layer of gloves when scrubbing, i.e. rubber gloves and soft cotton gloves that you use to scrub.
2. Chlorine Water: Chlorine in the pool is a serious skin hazard. Take your swimming regime seriously. Chlorine water dries your skin, burns your hair and leaves your skin in shambles. Use a shower cap for your hair and shower immediately when you come out of the pool to clean the chlorine burned skin. Clean your skin with chemical-free water every time you come out of the pool by taking a shower. Make sure your kids shower right after they come out of the pool with a mild soap and apply generous amounts of glycerin-based moisturizers on their skin.

1. Oily Fish: [easyazon-image align=”right” asin=”B000FFQATA” locale=”us” height=”2500″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41QXhVMW2gL.jpg” width=”144″]Omega-3 fatty acids – found in oily and fatty fish like trout or mackerel – have natural anti-inflammatory properties, and there is anecdotal evidence that psoriasis has a low incidence in countries with high intake of omega-3 in their diet. It has been suggested that increasing the levels of omega-3 can have a beneficial effect for existing itchy skin sufferers. Oily fish moisturizes your skin from inside and also provide your skin internally with essential anti-aging fatty acids that hydrate your skin and help to alleviate the skin-damaging effects of the outdoors. So ask your doctor for information on how to incorporate oily fish into your regular diet. This way, you will ensure that there is an effective anti-aging mechanism in effect that fights your skin aging problems.
   Editor’s Note: If you have problems digesting oily fish, there are many excellent supplements on the market like the hugely popular Coromega Omega-3 Supplement (pictured above)
2. Petroleum Jelly: Petroleum jelly has only one ingredient and so it is very gentle on the skin. It is an American Academy of Dermatology-recommended soother of skin. You see, when the skin is exposed to household detergents, it is already sensitive. Applying a strong chemical-based moisturizer may aggravate the condition. So perhaps it’s better to use a natural moisturizer that contains only one chemical and is very mild on skin.
3. Oats: Oats are the best natural moisturizer you will find in your kitchen cabinet and it is proven to cure itchy skin. It has been utilized to cure dry skin for generations as it contains avenanthramides, which fight inflammation and redness. To ensure maximum moisturizing capacity of oatmeal, take an oatmeal bath. Grind oatmeal in a blender and sprinkle it into the tub with running water. Soak for at least 15 minutes and rinse.
4. Hand Sanitizers: They are essential in this day and age. With viruses like H1N1 roaming around there is a real reason to use them regularly. But still, these alcohol-based germ killers automatically dry up the skin. So make a point of buying only hydrating hand sanitizers.
5. Use Less Soap
   

With a few tips, you can save your skin from permanent dryness and constant deterioration. Use these tips and tell us how well they worked.

This is a guest post by Kevin Kerfoot who writes about health, nutrition, oral hygiene and skin care for Trusted Health Products’natural health blog and newsletter.

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