What are your best skin soothers?

June 9, 2021 7:18 AM

I’ve got a double whammy of heat rash where my bra band lies and shaving irritation in my pubic area. I know what to do to get both irritations to go away eventually, but I would appreciate suggestions for the best ways to soothe them in the meantime. What makes your skin feel better when it’s irritated and angry?
posted by ocherdraco to Health & Fitness (23 answers total)

Hydrocortisone cream might help (I mainly use it for insect bites but it acts by reducing inflammation in general).
posted by mekily at 7:27 AM on June 9, 2021 [3 favorites]

Soak oatmeal in warm water (maybe 1/2 cup of oats to 1 cup of water) for 5 minutes or so. Pat the water onto the rash & let dry.

To be clear, you're only using the water, not putting the actual oats on your skin. You can also buy packets of "colloidal oatmeal" at the pharmacy that are basically the same thing.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 7:27 AM on June 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

When I had a mysterious rash a few summers ago, the thing that helped over everything else was coconut oil.
posted by carrienation at 7:30 AM on June 9, 2021

Yeah, oil or oil-based balm is great for this kind of thing. Coconut oil, olive oil, whatever you’ve got to hand.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 7:37 AM on June 9, 2021

I break open vitamin E capsules. I have no idea if this makes sense, but it seems to help.
posted by FencingGal at 7:40 AM on June 9, 2021

When I know I'm going to do something sweaty and irritate a heat rash, I use gold bond powder (the one for feet). It does seem to prevent it getting worse while I'm being active, then I can wash it off and go for the oatmeal to soothe.
posted by buildmyworld at 7:44 AM on June 9, 2021

I find the combination of 1% hydrocortisone cream and a thick cocoa butter-based lotion (I like Palmers Fragrance Free) helpful with irritated skin. I've also recently been using La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Balm B5 on both my face and body and found it to be pretty effective.
posted by neushoorn at 8:00 AM on June 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

Layer of cotton or silk fabric between the irritated skin and the elastic. Beeswax based body butter.
posted by effluvia at 8:03 AM on June 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

Aloe vera gel. Holika Holika makes a good 99% one.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 8:06 AM on June 9, 2021

organic shea butter helps me quickly in a pinch
posted by Dressed to Kill at 8:27 AM on June 9, 2021

I wash the area, let it dry and then apply Desitin. Or you could try some of the "natural" diaper rash pastes out there.
posted by cda at 8:29 AM on June 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

I use cornstarch as powder an all the places where things tend to bind.
posted by theora55 at 8:29 AM on June 9, 2021

Chamois butter and colloidal oatmeal baths
posted by brookeb at 8:33 AM on June 9, 2021

Seconding La Roche Posay.
posted by ellieBOA at 9:16 AM on June 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

There’s only one lotion that worked as well as desitin on my family’s eczema and rashes. It’s Aveeno Eczema Therapy with colloidal oatmeal. I’ve never found it in stores, I have to order it online, which I do, and by the bucketful.
posted by bq at 10:57 AM on June 9, 2021

I break open vitamin E capsules. I have no idea if this makes sense, but it seems to help.
posted by FencingGal at 3:40 PM on June 9

This absolutely does work. When I had hand surgery years ago, to heal the skin quickly and prevent keloid (white raised) scarring, I was told to do exactly this. The Vitamin E in skin oil isn't concentrated enough, but the nutritional supplements contain a much higher concentration of Vitamin E. I've not tried it for bra rub, but I can imagine it would work really well.
posted by essexjan at 11:17 AM on June 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

I think this is slightly more preventative but applying Lady Anti Monkey Butt Powder has helped me dry skin that needs help getting/staying dry. (They have other versions--Original and Baby--and I have just written them to suggest less gendered language.)
posted by emkelley at 12:14 PM on June 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

I use white vinegar for bra itch on UNBROKEN skin and dump a pint of it into the machine when I wash my bras.

JASON used to make a tea tree oil gel without olive oil but it looks like they've discontinued it.
posted by brujita at 12:37 PM on June 9, 2021

Best answer: Oh oh oh! I was literally just this morning extolling the virtues of BodyGlide under my bra line. I run, have big boobs and some extra weight around my torso, so the combination of tight sportsbra + sweat means that the bottom of my bra band rubs hard against my skin. I'm often red and sore under my boobs, and on a couple of occasions I've actually been rubbed raw. I've started applying BodyGlide before every run and it is MAGIC. I recently went back to work for the first time in a year and wore a regular underwire bra to work and got seriously chafed, to the point where I didn't want to put on even a comfortable bra the next day. BodyGlide to the rescue again! I've now started putting it on under my bra line every day as a matter of course. It's cheap - my $6 stick has lasted well over a year, has no side effects, so why not?

It won't help cure the heat rash, but it will make wearing a bra over it a completely different experience. You can also use it on chub rub and blisters - super useful!
posted by widdershins at 2:47 PM on June 9, 2021

Domeboro Soaks. I put it on a cloth and leave over the site. It's amazing.

https://www.amazon.com/Domeboro-Astringent-Powder-Packets-Count/dp/B073P8B89D?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1
posted by dpx.mfx at 2:59 PM on June 9, 2021

Response by poster: I didn’t know that bodyglide could be used after irritation developed! I had some already, and I’ve been comfortable all day! Hooray!
posted by ocherdraco at 4:39 PM on June 10, 2021 [1 favorite]

Glad to see you got it sorted! In the UK, I have found this chamois creme indispensible for nearly all skin irritations.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 1:21 AM on June 11, 2021

Response by poster: I will also add that although it doesn’t cause healing directly, the body glide has prevented irritation and therefore allowed my skin to heal more quickly than it usually would.
posted by ocherdraco at 3:01 PM on June 13, 2021