I know that my family is not the only family right now that is struggling with dry skin. It is part of winter, but I am determined to try to find some sort of a solution so that my hands and my girls’ hands are not so sore. So, in my search the find something that works for us, I am going to share what I have learned.
First, dry skin is when the skin does not have enough moisture and can be caused by a variety of things. The most common cause of dry skin is due to a change in moisture in the air from cooler outdoor temps and heating our homes. But there are other things that can cause dry skin like fungal infections, allergic reactions, stress, and environmental irritants.
Most of the time, dry skin is pretty mild, but it can lead to cracked skin, itching, peeling/flaking/scaling, redness, rough texture and tight feeling. There are a lot of different products on the market to help restore the moisture content to your skin and lessen the symptoms but if it gets too severe you may need to reach out to your medical care provider and see if they have any recommendations or an underlying condition that is causing this.
Today I want to share with you a few natural options to help reduce the cause of dry skin and to help alleviate it when it is present:
· Wearing gloves while doing certain household chores can be beneficial because anytime your skin is in water for a prolonged period of time your skin may become dried out. This is also important when cleaning with harsh chemicals to protect your skin.
· Keep your body properly hydrated! With colder temps I feel that most people do not drink as much water as they do not become as thirsty. Check out this blog post all about water and proper hydration!
· Add coconut oil to your diet as it has essential fatty acids that can help hydrate and protect your skin.
· Try to remove all dust mites from your home… do this my making sure to vacuum floors and carpets often and to wash your bedding at least weekly.
· Moisturize your skin immediately after a shower or bath. But what are good things to moisturize your skin with?
o Sunflower seed oil- has been shown to improve hydration when use as a moisturizer.
o Coconut oil- so it is not just for cooking and consuming, coconut oil has been shown
to be as safe and effective as petroleum jelly for treating dry skin! It significantly
improves skin hydration and increases the number of lipids (fats) on the skin surface!
o Honey- what? Well, a review of research has shown honey to be beneficial for many
types of skin diseases… who knew? It works to moisturize, heal and decrease
inflammation! (We have not tried this one yet and not sure how sticky it may be…)
o Aloe Vera- this is a great option when things have gotten pretty intense. For hands
and feet, it is good to apply aloe vera gel and then cover the body part with a glove or
sock and go to sleep.
By doing some or all of these items, we can hopefully get through the rest of winter with ease, well at least in the skin department 😉
I would love to know if there is anything that you do to help relieve dry skin for your family! I am always looking for new natural ways to solve our common issues!