Sunday, April 18, 2010

Blame it on the doona

I've just finished reading a book about skincare by Hugh Molly & Garry Egger, called Skin Fitness Safe and healthy skin care. I borrowed this from the library because it looked current and sounded sensible and down to earth. But now that I've read it, I get the feeling these guys are veering into crackpot-dom.

Basically, the authors - both Australian doctors - say that many skin problems are caused by overheating and over-cleaning of skin and hair. This appealed to me, because it suggested that I could save money on heating, soap and shampoo and improve my complexion. The before-and-after photos are promising - and all those people had to do was stop using their doona (that's Australian for duvet or comforter) and wash less often.

What's confusing though, is that the authors constantly refer to the Australian climate - which most of us think of as being hot and dry (except for Sydney and Darwin which I know can get hot and humid). What about people in far more temperate New Zealand, especially those of us who are living in uninsulated wooden houses and need to drape ourselves over the column heater night after night in mid-Winter?

There is nothing in the book which allows for non-Australian climates, which is a real shame. They suggest that you go to bed with just one blanket and maybe add a second one for winter. If I had to get through Winter with just two blankets, I'd never sleep (and my feet would freeze off). And nowhere in the book does it say what the ideal temperature is for one's bed.

So, while the ideas are worth thinking about, I won't bother trying to implement them. Unless I move to Australia.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are they saying to get rid of the doona/duvet because of mites? Cause I always get told to put mine in the dryer for about an hour to kill the mites... or is it just a heat thing? I've been finding it hard to sleep lately cause the temperature has been so unpredictable - like today is 27 degrees!!!

Everyone in my family is a bit eczema prone and we were always told to wash less and don't use soap except if 'you've got dirty bits'. And we used to use special unscented washing stuff (can't remember what it's called). Apparently taking probiotics is supposed to be good if you're eczema prone... I'm not really but haven't felt very itchy lately so maybe it's true?

Violet said...

No, it's an overheating thing. And they weren't primarily talking about eczema either. Most of the cases illustrated looked a lot more like acne.

There's a lot of thing that are apparently good for the eczema prone, but I'm not very good at sticking to any of them!

Unknown said...

I am from Canada and found many things helpful but did have to modify as well since our climate ranges from 30 degrees celcius to minus 40 degrees celcius (in Saskatchewan).

Definately respected the non-commercial-attachment advice given. Also read the book from a library and have found myself less itchy and more moisturized despite winter's desert-like conditions.