How to rub lotion on your back

April 8, 2005 6:00 PM

DrySkinFilter. How do you spread lotion on your back when you're by yourself?

I've got dry skin on my back. I can reach down to mid-shoulder blade, and reach up about half-way up my back. How do you take care of the in-between area?

posted by BigVACub to Health & Fitness (9 answers total)

I would go here before anywhere else. They have a variety of remedies for various regions, and as far as dry skin is concerned you cannot beat Clinique. Other than that use a towel with some moisturiser on it, and rub it back and forth over the area.
posted by fire&wings at 6:17 PM on April 8, 2005

I think what you need is a Long Reach Lotion Applicator or a Lotion Puff. Another idea is that some moisturizing oils come in spray form, which might enable you to get fuller coverage.
posted by xo at 6:42 PM on April 8, 2005

I spread the lotion on my skin or else I get the hose again.

...

Okay but seriously, there are brushes and such made for this. Anything spongish but firm and on a stick should work relatively well. Have you tried a loofah? (Ed: I see xo has already posted some links.)
posted by Justinian at 9:25 PM on April 8, 2005

When my friend got a tattoo on his back, he would tape a piece of saran wrap to the wall, spread lotion on the saran wrap, and then rub his back against the wrap kind of like a cat. Best done when there is nobody who can see you. Of course, if there were someone there, they could probably apply the lotion for you.
posted by matildaben at 9:30 PM on April 8, 2005

This appears to be the way to do it if you have cash to burn.

Otherwise, check out the loofah (like the above folks said) section of Wal-mart or Target for the less expensive version.

Alternately, if you don't want to spend any money and have a detachable shower head, maybe put some of the lotion on that and just rub it in via the same way you would do for the applicator. (I have no clue if this damages the fixture..)
posted by tozturk at 9:33 PM on April 8, 2005

Consider a small paint roller with a sponge head on it.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:17 PM on April 8, 2005

Just keep doing it yourself by hand until your flexibility increases. Given regular stretching, it usually takes about 6-8 weeks for your range-of-motion to increase by about an inch (though eventually you'll reach the point of diminishing returns.)

Some schools of thought, however, suggest that the more we use things like skin moisturizer, hair conditioner, lip balm, etc. the more we are dependent on them. And I can personally attest that if after I weaned myself off soap, moisturizer, shampoo and conditioner, I eventually didn't need it at all. My hair never gets dirty, itchy, flakey, or oily so long as I rinse it thoroughly with water every other day or so.

Apparently shampooing & soaping strips oil out of the hair & skin and stimulates over-production of oil, which is is the cause of most problems. If you just let nature take its course then you eventually reach the right balance of oil covering the skin and the hairs from root to tip, which lets it naturally shed all dirt. No-one has ever complained about the smell of my hair (maybe they're just being polite.) I still can't live without underarm deodorant, though.
posted by randomstriker at 1:34 AM on April 9, 2005

How do I spread lotion all over my back? I reach back there and do it. I've got the flexibility to reach all of my back with my hands.

How will you do it? Beats the hell outta me.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:17 AM on April 9, 2005

Go to a kitchen store and get a rubber bowl scraper. Put the lotion on the scraper then spread it on your back. Works for me. (Around here we call the rubber bowl scrapers "spatulas" but I don't think that is really common. So to clarify -- the wooden or plastic stick with a rubber flange for scraping icing or batter out of a bowl)
posted by Rumple at 4:33 PM on April 9, 2005