Even unproblematic skins can become horribly dry in winter. Sore shins, flaky arms and greyish knees and elbows are, for many, as part and parcel of January as an extra 5lbs and persistent, low-level ennui. The latter makes me want to wallow nightly in a hot bath that, though temporarily comforting, exacerbates the dryness, and so we continue..
For many years, I’ve treated myself to the occasional oat soak. I scoop porridge oats into a muslin cloth, then tie it around the tap, so the bath water runs through it (some use supermarket powdered milk, but that works nowhere near as well and the smell makes me gag). It’s extremely cheap, and certainly softens and comforts dry, rough skin, as well as soothing eczema, ichthyosis and psoriasis, but it can be more faff than one can necessarily face. Worse still, natural spillage leaves the bottom of the bath seemingly coated in Ready Brek and in need of an unrelaxing session with the Cillit Bang.
Ameliorate, the maker of products for dry, bumpy skin (I do admire brands that do only one thing), is adding to its portfolio an oat bath of its own, Skin-Softening Bath Powder (£23.50). The dermatologist-approved blend combines oats with almond milk and other natural ingredients, and is ground so finely that all mess is avoided: just chuck a scoop or two into the bath (no muslin required) and watch it disappear down the plughole once you’re done. It works brilliantly at softening dry, cracked skin in preparation for basting oneself with emollient body cream, and is suitable for even highly sensitive and irritable skin. Pleasingly, the powder bubbles and foams, which is woefully rare in skin-friendly bath products (I adore bubbles, but they are usually down to sodium laureth sulphate, which is among the last things very dry skin will appreciate). Half the price, but available only as a US import via Amazon, is the wonderful Aveeno Soothing Bath Treatment (£10.97), which works in exactly the same way and is also suitable for kids.
For more moderate dryness, I cannot recommend Good Things bath soaks highly enough, and it’s a mere £3.49. I discovered them at the end of last year and am now as likely to choose them as I am my posh bath cremes. They smell lovely, give good foam, soften dry skin well and are cheap enough for abandoned extravagance.
