It's dry out.

This video is pretty funny (and I have to say, huge props to the backup dancers for strutting it, even though they don't have what the media would call "perfect" bodies. I'd be way too self conscious to put on a leotard and dance in a video.). But it also serves as a reminder to me.



Though, truth be told, I don't know that cream will totally prevent wrinkles. And the real reason I use the various moisturizers I am using right now is to prevent my skin from itching like crazy and then flaking off.

(I think actually, wrinkles are less an effect of moisturization and more a combination of genetics and lifestyle choices like tanning and smoking. As of yet, I really don't have any wrinkles (maybe a few tiny crow's feet forming around the eyes, but I doubt it's possible to totally avoid those). I think I got lucky, genetically; my mother looks considerably younger than her age, as did HER mother. I've also read - and I suppose this is one small consolation I can take - that women who are "heavier" are less prone to wrinkling. (My paternal grandmother didn't have many wrinkles, and she was built kind of like me.) I have avoided tanning (mainly because I was too antsy to lie in the sun for more than a few moments at a time) and smoking. I've also read that diet can affect it, that eating enough nutrients is important, that things like Vitamin C have an effect on collagen, which has an effect on wrinkling. (Of course, in its most severe form, Vitamin C deficiency leads to scurvy, which is essentially a breakdown in collagen production. But by that point you have more things to worry about than wrinkles.)

But yeah. Dryness is not good for other reasons; I know if I'm not careful to moisturize after showering at night I can be kept awake by agonizing itching/burning on my back or legs. Right now I'm using a "calming body wash" (which has the added benefit of being hypoallergenic). I think Eucerin makes it? It's very gentle and is unscented and doesn't have dyes in it. And then, after showering, I use a Palmer's brand oil, which seems to do a lot to stop me from itching. But the drawback is that it's kind of a heavy oil, and I have to wait a few minutes in the bathroom for it to absorb before I think about putting my pajamas on. And the other drawback is that because it's composed of cocoa, coconut, and almond oils, you come out smelling kind of like a giant Almond Joy. Though maybe some people might not find that such a drawback...