Dry skin needs to be comforted and nourished at daily basis, especially in winter. Here is the collection of very simple one-step cures for dry skin that you can use right away.
Olive oil is an amazing multi-tasker for dry skin. Rich in essential fatty acids, olive oil instantly grooms dry cuticles when massaged into dry skin on hands and elbows; you can use olive oil to remove makeup: simply saturate a cotton wool ball and wipe off the makeup; you can use it to soothe and condition the itchy, dry skin all over the body. When your skin feels extra dry, you can dot a thin layer of organic extra virgin olive oil under your moisturizer for an extra dose of antioxidants and good fatty acids.
Sensitive skin does not necessarily mean you are suffering from allergies or bacterial invasion. Irritations can happen in all skin types. We are all prone to sudden episodes of sensitivity due to irritations, breakouts, itchiness, flakiness, or redness, but for some people sensitive skin is an everyday reality.
Natural ingredients and money saving benefits are main reasons why you should use homemade beauty products. The green benefit of making homemade skin and hair treatments is that you use readily available ingredients such as vitamin C, vitamin E, clays, juices, herbs, vitamins, and you do not add anything to the landfill because you don’t need any fancy packaging for your homemade beauty products.
For packaging of homemade beauty products, you can easily reuse your existing jars and pots or even find new creative ways to use glass bottles and
Hair oil treatments are gaining popularity during colder months when dry and cold air increase hair dryness. Oils can be used on hair to mend split ends, to massage into scalp, to revive hair roots and to add gloss to your hair. Lightweight hair oils are especially good for dry coarse hair. But with the right oil, all hair types can benefit from hair oils.
Which oils to use on your hair? From the cosmetic perspective, all vegetable oils can be divided into three groups: fatty, semi-fatty, and dry. Fatty oils have large molecule weight and they tend to sit on the skin or hair surface. This way, fatty oils coat the hair shaft and make it smoother and as a result, glossier and more healthy looking.
Semi-fatty oils are absorbed more readily by the skin or hair. Semi-fatty oils such as sweet almond, avocado, sunflower, and meadowfoam help moisturize and nourish the scalp with fatty acids and proteins. Argan oil is versatile oil so it suits all hair and skin types. It is rich in linoleic acid which helps the body to reduce inflammation by producing prostaglandins. But its popularity is mostly due to the exotic allure of argan oil rather than sound benefits. Besides, most products with argan (even the ones that are labeled as organic) contain only minute quantities of argan, the rest being silicones and other petrochemicals, so it’s hardly worth the money. In fact, much higher amounts of linoleic acid can be found in kiwi, borage, evening primrose, and baobab oils which I prefer to use in my upcoming hair serum.
Dry oils have the smallest molecule weight. They easily penetrate the skin and almost disappear in it without any greasy residue. Thistle, evening primrose, grape seed, and coconut oils are great for thinner hair types, as they do not weight hair down.
Jojoba oil is a popular choice because it is thin and rinses off easily. It works equally well on thin or coarse hair. Coconut oil is also great because it deeply nourishes without greasy after-feel, plus, it smells great. Castor oil is believed to assist in hair growth but it is too viscous to rinse off clear. I would suggest using it to improve lashes and eyebrows instead. Sesame oil may help protect your hair from dryness caused by sun exposure because this oil has natural mild sun protection factor.
Monoi is a type of gardenia found in Tahiti. Its petals are infused in coconut or jojoba or other unscented oil and then used on hair and body. So it’s the coconut or jojoba working on your skin or hair, not gardenia. But it smells really nice! Watch out for any synthetic additives to monoi oil, such as artificial perfumes, because if monoi has
Pretty much all hair types may look limp and heavy after using very viscous, sticky oils, so I would not recommend using castor, palm kernel, shea butter, or macadamia oils on hair. Neem is great to combat lice and dandruff caused by yeast but neem is really smelly, so reserve it for those very “special” occasions.
Coarse, wavy hair benefits from semi-fatty oils but thin oils will not make much difference on such hair type. Thin, blonde hair will benefit from thin oils such as jojoba, peach kernel, rice bran, or grape seed oils because they won’t weight hair down or make it too greasy.
Oils help regulate sebum production in the scalp much in the same way as face oils are helpful to normalize the sebum production in the facial skin. The theory is, the more oil you put on your skin, the less oil your skin produces. I believe that sebum production is a more complex process and depends more on hormonal balance and stress levels than oil application, still, putting oil on your skin helps it rebalance itself. That’s why applying warm oils is helpful for itchy scalps, dry dandruff, and non-hormonal hair loss.
Honey, Olive Oil and Fine Sea Salt Skin Scrub
This is the best thing to use on dried-out cuticles, flaking skin, and rough elbows and knees. Sea salt is awesome as exfoliating agent because it melts on your skin so there’s little risk of overdoing it, and it is also very tightening and anti-inflammatory.
Acne and Blemish Quick Fix
When your skin feels unruly, quickly whizz up
Acai berries, the super-antioxidant fruit, looks like purple grapes about twenty-five millimeters in size. It has a single large seed and less pulp than the grape. But the biggest power of acai berries is in their skin. The pulp of acai berries tastes like a mixture of chocolate and coffee but it is not the taste that makes acai so special.
Acai berries was widely used in Brazilian herbal medicine to treat skin disorders, diarrhea, and fever. The Brazilians also use the stems of acai leaves which are harvested as palm hearts and the bark and roots are used in medicine for a wide variety of ailments from anemia to muscle pains and worms. Acai berries are full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids, all of which are a vital part of a healthy diet.
Acai berries are rich in flavonoids which are powerful antioxidant compounds that help maintain skin health and reduce the appearance of wrinkles, blemishes and pimples. Acai berries contains twelve flavonoid-like compounds, including homoorientin, orientin, taxifolin, deoxyhexose, isovitexin, scoparin, as well as proanthocyanidins (12.89 mg/g), and low levels of resveratrol (1.1 μg/g). Freeze-dried açaí fruit pulp and skin was shown to contain anthocyanins (3.19 mg/g); however, anthocyanins accounted for only about 10% of the overall antioxidant capacity in vitro.
Acai berries are also a good source of essential fatty acids, which help the body to renew cells and produce more of them. to benefit from these acai properties, you must apply acai juice or oil directly on the skin. You can easily prepare acai toner by diluting acai juice (commonly sold in health food stores) with water. You must store such acai toner in the refrigerator.
But is acai really such an amazing antioxidant? French study in 2009 reported that açaí has intermediate polyphenol content and antioxidant potency among 11 varieties of frozen juice pulps, scoring lower than acerola, mango, strawberry, and grapes.
A study on freeze-dried acai product Opti-Acai reported that the formulation contained much lower levels of anthocyanins, proanthocyanadins, and other polyphenol compounds as compared with blueberries and other antioxidant-rich fruits.
The bottom line is: acai is really good as a source of antioxidants but familiar berries such as blueberries and dark grapes may benefit you even more.
Dry lips in winter time can be caused by dehydration which results from cold wind outside and dry heated air inside. Lips do not have sebum glands, so many people tend to lick their lips in attempt to relieve the dryness. This only makes the problem worse because saliva evaporates quickly leaving lips even drier than before.
Protective waxes can help protect dry lips by forming a pliable layer that prevents water loss from epidermis and also keeps the top layer of the skin elastic and supple, so that cracks do not occur. Avoid fruit or mint flavored lip balms because you’ll be tempted to lick your lips more often! Unscented balms are best for dry lips.
To hydrate your dry lips from inside drink plenty of water and consider supplementing your diet with foods rich in vitamins A, B, and C. Best foods that contain all these three vitamins include broccoli, spinach, and green leafy veggies. Omega 3 fatty acids help maintain the integrity of skin cells so that they do not lose water too quickly. If you suffer from dry lips and generally drier itchy skin in winter time, I recommend aiming for daily supplementation with 2g omega 3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, taken together.
Diet consisting of whole, simple, unprocessed foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, eggs, yogurt, nuts, tea, and water instead of whole milk, red meat, butter, potatoes, and sugar will help protect your skin from premature aging and dehydration.
Addiction to lip balms does exist. There’s also a theory that lip balm addiction stems from a hand-to-mouth reflex but, in fact, many lip balms contain ingredients that only make lips drier, so you feel you must apply them more often. Petrolatum, paraffin, peppermint, camphor, cinnamon and synthetic fragrance irritate and actually dehydrate lips, so you reach for a lip balm more frequently. Plus, people get used to the cooling, tingling sensation on their lips.
Synthetic lip balms provide only temporary relief. Instead, look for real skin conditioners such as cocoa and shea butter, coconut and olive oils, and vitamin E. This way, your lips will stay soft for longer, and you won’t need to reach for your lip balm too often.
Many ingredients of conventional lip balms are toxic and potentially carcinogenic. This includes parabens preservatives, aluminum-based colorants, phthalate-containing artificial fragrances and flavors. Switch to organic lip balms that do not contain any artificial flavour or menthol.
Taking care of dry skin during colder winter months isn’t easy. People with dry skin automatically switch for heavier moisturizers and cream cleansers which may soften the wrinkles and protect dry skin from the elements. People with dry sensitive skin switch to heavier products, too, but this often leads to
Organic full-fat milk is the ultimate gentle facial cleanser. Just pour some milk on a cotton wool ball and wipe off the eye make-up and refresh the skin. There is no need to wash the milk off. Top it off with your regular moisturizer or leave it as it is and enjoy a mild exfoliation as milk sours and gives your skin a natural glow.
As someone with less-than-pretty post-acne marks, I am constantly on search for products that may help erase them completely. I am seeing Bio-Oil everywhere, in pharmacies, online stores, and even in supermarkets. And of course, since it claims to be perfectly natural and preservative-free, I checked on its ingredients to find out whether Bio-Oil is a bogus or a blessing.
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