Mister's Mister - an Anti-itch Body Mist


Here's a peek at product I developed last year for a lovely gent. He presented me with a particularly uncomfortable problem: full body after-shower itchiness.

Not only did the itchiness 'start like clockwork' after his evening shower, it was impossible for him to find relief.

"I don't take hot or long showers. I've tried using baby soap, less soap, and even NO soap - nothing makes a difference. I itch so badly I can't fall asleep. I'm going crazy from all the twisting, turning, and scratching."

Initial Thoughts

The first thought that came to mind as he described his situation was pH. A product that could rebalance his natural pH after exposure to soap and water might be a good place to start.

Knowing this fellow was not going to be interested in any kind of body lotion or anything else that 'feels greasy, sticky, or fatty', I decided on a skin mist.

The mist for this mister was promptly named Mister's Mister (sometimes a product name just pops right up and says 'hello, this is going to be my name' without any involvement on my part).

Batch One - Yeah, We're Done

Batch one of Mister's Mister was a combination of sensitive-skin-friendly ingredients designed to rebalance the pH and soothe away discomfort. Star ingredients included aloe vera, panthenol, and chamomile.

A tester portion was delivered with instructions to mist over body immediately after showering and allow skin to air dry.

His feedback after the portion was finished
"this has pretty much made the problem go away. I'll get maybe a real mild bit of itchiness, but it quickly fades. I can actually fall asleep now. How fast can you make a big portion of this stuff?"

After 6 Months

Our itchy gent is still enjoying a post-shower itch-free life and is quite happy with Mister's Mister.

What Science Says About Itchiness

Science hasn't been in the habit of taking itchiness very seriously, so there aren't really a lot of studies on it. Luckily, that is beginning to change. Dr. Gil Yospiowitch is a leading scientist on pruritus (itchiness). Here's an interview and podcast about his work.

Do Tell

Do you struggle with constant itchiness? What do you do to find relief?

Comments

Signe said…
That product sounds interesting! I definitely suffer because of itchiness in winter time. Using only home made soaps, lotions ans creams have helped a lot, but few weeks ago the situation went really bad. I was desperately looking for some help from internet, and found it. I know this will horrify you, Lise - but the solution was baking soda, mixed with body lotion. I used it few days, and all the itchiness was gone.

An other thing that will help, but I cannot get it right now, is sunlight. That solves all my dry skin problems.
LisaLise said…
HI Signe - thanks for your feedback. It worries me a bit that you would think I would be horrified about using baking soda for itching - it's often recommended to add to the bath water for itchy and sensitive skin. I am a little curious how you came to add it to a lotion? Was this recommended for itching? I look forward to your reply!
Tina CPH said…
No problems with itching skin here but I really like the story and it sounds like a great product - chamomile is on the top of my list of favorite ingredients.
And the name is simply spot on as always :-)
María said…
What a fabulous thing! It's an amazing sensation when you create something bespoke and it's spot on at first attempt. Congratulations :)
LisaLise said…
Hi Tina - I guess with all those fabulous soaps you make that your skin is constantly pampered and soothed just by washing…
Hugs coming your way for the lovely compliment.
LisaLise said…
HI María - Thanks so much. You are quite right that getting it right first time is really a good feeling. It's almost too good a feeling. I try not to let it go to my head, but gosh darn it if it doesn't make me feel a little like I could walk on water when this happens. :)
Bex said…
You just got a case of successful brain formulating! It is truely a wonderful thing ��

Are you familiar with the itch-scratch cycle ? As someone that is very familiar i know that if I could stop scratching I might stop itching. When my skin is burning and itching all that works are thick gloopy balms that are purely occlusive. I find calendula, chamomile and chickweed are good ingredients.
LisaLise said…
Hi Bex -You know exactly what first-vbatch success feels like too, don't you? It's so satisfying! As for the scratch itch cycle - you are right on the money there. It's a bit hard to fathom that science hasn't studied this more…
Signe said…
Hi, it's me again - I only thought you might be horrified because I know how you are feeling about using soda as deodorant. :) But in my situation ( my legs were itching so badly, that there were already long scratches on them and nothing helped, not shea butter or any oils and I was getting crazy because of the itch) I was ready to try anything and I found this Finnish page (http://ukkram09.puheenvuoro.uusisuomi.fi/136433-ihottumat-ja-kortisonivoiteiden-teho) and there soda was mixed with basic lotions from apothecary. I, naturally, haven't any that kind of lotion, only my home made versions, so I mixed soda with them. And it really helped in few times.

If I've understood it right, lack of moisture and oils causes itchiness. And in winter time we don't get any natural vitamin D from sunlight, so that makes situation even worse. We still need to wait few more months until we can enjoy sunlight and use less thick winter clothes. :)
LisaLise said…
Hi Signe- thanks for getting back to me on this! That was an interesting read (I went thru Google translate). I think you are right about lack of moisture being a possible cause of itchiness. It's surprising to me that it would help adding baking soda to a lotion and using as a leave-on ingredient when the recommended use of baking soda for itching is in a bath or as a poultice---
Signe said…
Yes, I agree, I was surprised too, especially because some people get itchiness when using soda in deodorant. I don't know the mechanism in this, and I certainly hope someone will study it more. I've been suffering this winter time itchiness all my life, and it can be really awful sometimes. I wish I would have heard about this soda trick decades ago, it would have make my life so much easier. Need to try next winter, if I could combine soda to my body butter when I'm making it...
Unknown said…
Wow, way to nail down a solution to his problem on the first try! Love the name "Mister's Mister" too. :) I have all over itchy problems at times too but it's caused by my nerves firing randomly from multiple sclerosis. I describe it as an "internal itch" because it's not really my skin that's itching so scratching does nothing to alleviate it even for a second. It's hard to describe and it's extremely frustrating. Fortunately I haven't had a recurrence in several months. Anyway, nice work!
LisaLise said…
Thank you Michelle - I wonder if it is at all possible to make a topical product to help ease an 'internal itch'--- good thing it hasn't been bothering you for a while now. Let's hope it is something that does not return!
Gramma Connie said…
I found that I was allergic to chlorine added to our water supply. So showering made me dry and itchy. A simple filter in the shower solved the problem for me. Just found your blog and love it! Thank you!
LisaLise said…
HI Gramma Connie - Great input! Thank you for sharing this! I'm guessing you are in the USA, as it has indeed been my impression on visits to the USA that there is a generous use of chlorine in the water supplies of some areas. Thanks for your kind words about my blog :)