This may be my answer to dark spots (aka, age spots) on the backs of my hands. I've tried so many creams over the years I could have bought a couple of laser machines with the $$ I spent. I've heard of Hand Spa but cannot find a salon that has one. I think that may be laser, but I'm not sure.

Dancey sorry to hear about your skin troubles. I cannot speak to the menopause and hormone issues (though I remember my older sister telling me her skin became super-soft following hysterctomy hormone therapy) - but I have lived with dermatitis, exzema, and fussy skin allergies all my life and over the years have found these helps: 1. To the extent you can, try to reduce the total chemical load in your environment - do not use dryer sheets, fabric softener, room fresheners, hair creme rinse (or minimize it at least); put your clothing through a double rinse cycle; use gloves/other barrier to protect your skin from harsh detergents, etc. 2. Add evening primrose, flaxseed, tocotrienols, and more fish to your diet (the inside-out approach). 3. I have fussy impossible skin, and my red-head spouse has his own set of skin troubles (sun damage, pre-actinic keratoses, etc.). We're both in our 50s now, and though we're fit, free of health problems, and comfortable with our ages, we wondered if we might improve the appearance of our sun-damaged faces. Together we read Perricone's Cosmeceuticals book, and decided to try some of his recommendations. We found the author's products to be way beyond what we considered reasonable to spent, but we have had stunning results with similar products we found online through Amazon.com from Reviva Labs: Alpha Lipoic Acid Vitamin C Ester and DMAE Cream (for the face and neck day and night); Firming Eye Serum (night-time eye cream); and their hand lotion from the same line (sorry my bottle is out in the car so I can't give you specific name). My skin responded immediately (thank god I was getting a little worried about lip creases and papery eye and throat). We're both looking a lot clearer and more well-rested, with much-improved skin texture - that's as much as we can expect because we'd never go for elective surgery - only a natural approach... and no, we have no financial interest in the above-noted products. 4. Two other creams that settle my skin, as well as seeming to change the texture, are Nivea Skin Firming Lotion with Q10 plus Biotin, and Aveeno Stress Relief Moisturizing Lotion with Natural Colloidal Oatmeal, Lavender, Chamomile and YlangYlang. You can find these at any of the larger drugstores (I am on West Coast) - they're a bit more expensive than, say, Jergens, but I have been thrilled to find them. Sorry for the rambler, but I hope you'll try any or all of the above. So nice to have happy skin. Good luck!

My SIL's Shar Pei had very similar skin issues. Sweet dog. Anyway they were able to minimize the hair loss using allergy meds and a special diet. They never were able to completely get rid of all the bald spots. Sometimes her coat would fill in and look nice, but then you could tell when her allergies were acting up, and she have those tiny bald spots all over her body... In the summer time she would get considerably worse on her hind quarters and the Vet figured it was grass or bugs on the grass that were irritating her allergies. I know they spend a lot of money on various tests for skin diseases and allergies. They were able to make significant improvements with food changes and some other changes (minimizing exposure to household cleansers on the floors - stopped their lawn service - no lawn chemicals etc.) As she got older, she lost most of her wrinkles and if her allergies were acting up she'd loose a lot of hair. When they moved into a new neighborhood, with an old bald dog, they were known as the family with the weird dog. With no wrinkles and no hair, her breed was unrecognizable. And she would sit on guard, like Shar Pei's do... and she would look like a statue in the yard. If you hadn't loved her for years, you would think she was very scary...

Be very cautious with Witch Hazel⦠many cats will develop intense allergies to that product⦠but peroxide is not a good choice, either as it can damage the sensitive skin of a pet. There are many more gentle products you can get at vet that will help control that disease. Most bowls that historically have caused skin reactions have been taken off the market. Can be a tough disease to completely eliminate, but in most cats it is more annoying than serious. Gentle cleansing soaps following by mild antibiotic or antiseptic creams (applied very thinly) are what I have found best for chin acne in cats. Some Benzyl Peroxide products work well (just note Benzyl peroxide is not the same as Hydrogen peroxide).