Dry Skin Remedies
I don’t know about you, but now that the weather is cooling down, I’ve noticed that my face is getting drier than it’s ever been. I think there must be several factors causing this, besides the drier air. I came up with one – aging – and decided to check into it a bit. I found some great information from one of my colleagues, Alice Hammermeister of Moose Creek Bath & Body:
It is the way we treat our skin – not the aging process – that “ages” our skin the most, especially delicate facial skin. The intrinsic (internal) process is compounded considerably by extrinsic (external) influences.
Negative contributors such as stress, sun exposure and other climatic extremes, harsh soaps and detergent based products including some moisturizers, air pollution and other environmental toxins, poor and rough treatment, chemical laden facial products, smoking and alcohol consumption, poor nutrition, sleep deprivation, hormones, illness etc. One only has to compare the skin on their face to that of the inner thigh to prove that point~
This is excellent information, but there are several on the list that I can cross off immediately. Ever since I started making my own soaps and lotions, I haven’t gone back to any of the “chemical-laden” cleansers, moisturizers or makeup.
I always use a mild, handmade soap on my face, and I highly recommend my Creamy Castile soap for all faces.
I have made my own facial moisturizers, but have never sold them. I’m still trying to find that “perfect” formula! This fall since my skin has been so dry – flaky even – I have tried using some of my Whipped Shea Butter on my face. When I was a teenager with acne, I never would have dreamed that my skin might be this dry.
I switched to handmade Mineral Makeup from Herbal Natures about a year and a half ago too. It has definitely been nice to my skin.
I don’t drink or smoke, I eat smart and sleep well, no change in hormones or my “normal” exposure to environmental toxins. So what else has changed this season?
There is one other simple thing in addition to the information Alice has provided: proper hydration. You know, the recommended daily dose of 8 glasses a day (ideally ½ your body weight in ounces of water)*. I know a lot of people struggle with this, including me – and especially during the colder months when my body isn’t telling me that I need it quite as often. Water.com agrees:
Cold winter air can pull the moisture right out of your skin, making it feel dry and flaky. In order to combat this problem, you can carry moisturizer and lip balm with you at all times, and you can also run a humidifier in your home, which will keep the air – and your skin – moist. But most importantly, staying hydrated in the winter months by drinking water will help your skin maintain its moisture.
So how can we all remember to drink more water in the wintertime? I think we need some tips! Here are a few of the better ones that I found:
–If you are cold drink warm water instead of dehydrating coffee & tea.
–Set a timer to remind yourself to establish a habit of drinking water and keep a bottle of water with you at all times.
Add your comments too! How do you stay hydrated in the winter?
November 15th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
A great moisturizer treatment that I recently found and that has helped my skin tremendously is Avocado. You can make a mask for your face. Take a whole avocado, remove the skins and seed and smash up. Make sure to use a cold avocado if you have really dry skin, this will sooth your skin. Apply all over your face and lay back and relax for 10 minutes….more if you need, the avocado soothes and repairs flaky dry skin and you are radiant and glowing when you wash it off. I love it and do it once a week. I have acne prone skin and I was afraid of this at first but my skin texture has actually improved and I have fewer breakouts. This isn’t to replace water intake, but it does help during the winter months with dryness, or to just add back that glow to our skin that we are lacking.