TIPS FOR DRY SKIN

by: Beverly Johnson

Ahh yes! It's a winter wonderland! Holiday spirit abounds, along with miserable weather, extreme cold, and skin-chapping winds!

And, that means bad news for your skin.

So, what's a gal to do to keep the big bad weather from drying out her skin.

Try these dry skin care tips, and soon you'll be seeing a real difference!

1. Shower only once daily if possible, using warm and not hot water.

While it's tempting to luxuriate in a steamy bath (or shower), the high water temperature can zap your skin of moisture, making it feel tight and itchy.

2. Use a mild bar soap.  Avoid germacidal liquid hand soaps or those that contain deodorizing properties as they may strip away skin oils, causing  severely dry skin to crack and peel.

Avoid commerical or store bought soaps  as most contain harsh skin drying ingredients like detergent and alcohol.

Instead opt for an all natural hand made soap  enriched with natural skin nourishing oils (like olive oil, apricot kernal, shea butters) that will gently cleanse, while healing and soothing dried out skin. This is the best stuff I've ever used!

3.) If you live in a cold or dry region of the country you may consider a humidifier that adds warm moisture back into the air. No humidifier? No problem.  Fill a small pan (minimum 3-4 inches deep) and place on the back eye burner on your stove. Cook on low heat, replacing wate frequently.

4.) Exfoliate skin at least once a week.  Dry skin, means flaky skin!  It's important to slough off the dried out skin cells, to expose fresh, beautiful healthy skin.

All natural ingredients like white sugar, brown sugar, oats (great for dry skin) jojoba oils, vitamin E and shea butters keep my skin silky smoothe in the worst weather.

5.) Hydrate your skin from the inside out. Think of your skin as a plant that receives most of it's moisture from the roots (inside)

6.) Wear kitchen gloves whenever working with common household products i.e. dish detergent, clothes washing detergent, etc. as these  will contain chemicals that can dry skin further.