Scrub-a dub

I called and made an appointment with a dermatologist, because seeing a specialist is my solution for virtually everything, but he can't see me until October, by which time I hope the rash will be gone.

Anyway, for the time being, I'm off soap. That means that bath and shower gel are out of the picture, which makes me a little grumpy. You see, I'm a huge fan of bath products because I was raised with extremely sensitive skin: you guessed it, I had to avoid soaps and detergents. Actually, I remember having this same rash every year until I was about 10, but I hadn't seen it since... until now.

So I've taken to using the various left-over facial cleansers that crowd for space on my bathroom shelves. I'm using the Clientele soy cleanser on my face and of the facial cleansers I think Neutrogena's Pore Refining Cleanser is the best body scrub.

I never really liked its namby-pamby exfoliating beads on my face, but if you squirt some on a puff (pouf? those colorful nylon things we all have in our showers now) it makes a decent lather and smells nice. Besides, it leaves my skin feeling great.

I may actually buy more of this stuff, which amazes me. It sells for about $6 for a tube that's been hanging around for at least two years. (It's not that I never throw anything away, but I hadn't yet ditched that particular thing.)

I think the rash has improved since I got rid of the soap. I already switched away from foamy laundry detergent in favor of those enzyme balls, so we'll see how the next few weeks go.

For right now, the Neutrogena and the feel of my non-affected skin is making it easier not to grieve for shower gels.

before - after