Anyone know of at home recipes for dry skin care?
I have a skin condition that causes my skin (particularly my face) to be extremely dry, red and sensitive.
When I say “sensitive”, I really mean it. Products designed for sensitive skin tend to irritate my face to no end. Luckily I don’t have trouble with blemishes, so I normally use baby oil to wash my face and I have found a face cream that does not irritate it. The cream that I am using now is really nice, but it only seems to be heavy enough for the summer. With the additional humidity in the air I am usually able to keep my face from looking like I’m morphing into a lobster.
However, winter is coming soon.. and I know that means that my hyper flushed cheeks and itchy dry skin will be returning in the next few months. I’m planning to continue searching for a product that works for me in drier months.. but does anyone have recipes for moisturizing face masks? Something that I can whip up at home that is rich enough in the moisture department, but relatively gentle.
I would even appreciate exfoliating/moisturizing mixtures that can be used on the body, rather than the face.
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Have you tried sleeping with a humidifier?
I would recommend coconut oil. It has done amazing things for my skin and hair. And you can cook with it as well!! Olive oil is very nice, too, and it soaks in quicker than coconut oil.
I heard on T.V. that something like honey or dry honey nut cheerios could be used as a facial. That might help you. All you have to do is put them in a blender and rub them on your face. Btw I saw it on the Doctors
@Austinlad I used to sleep with one in my bedroom without fail, but it never seemed to have the same effect as the air in Ohio during the summer.
@faye I did try coconut oil for a long time.. but it did nothing for my skin at all, unfortunately. I haven’t tried olive oil, though. I should do that.
@TheOnlyNeffie Have you tried using Aloe Vera Gel?
I used to have recommendations for things like this on hand. I’m having memory trouble. I’ll get back to you if I can think of anything else.
@muppetish I have tried aloe, yes. Aloe directly from the plant and products containing aloe vera tend to irritate my skin. Everything does, I swear.
Have you tried increasing your dietary fat? Try being generous with the olive oil in your cooking and salad dressings, etc. Have you ever seen a Sicilian woman without lovely skin, despite the hot arid climate there?
Vaseline in the crows feet area before you go to sleep at night.
Do you want home made, because you don’t want chemicals, or because you want to try and save money? Because Chanel treatment products are fantastic, but expensive. It is a statistical fact that people are more likely to be allergic to a particular natural botanical ingredient than chemicals. I have that problem. If a product boasts about some plant thing in it, I have a 50% shot I am going to be allergic. I am not saying the chemicals are good for you in the long run, I am only commentating on being irritated. Also be sure to stay clear of anything like an AHA or serum that is suppose to rejeuvanate by revealing younger skin, chemically exfoliating.
Lastly, if you have never had your thyroid checked you might want to if you have other thyroid symptoms. Thyroid out of whack can make your skin, eyes, and hair very dry.
I don’t know how well exactly this works but blue bonnet butter always makes my hands nice and smooth.
@TheOnlyNeffie Super sensitive skin is so frustrating. I found out the hard way that my skin did not like Grape Seed Oil or Tee Tree Oil (I wasn’t using pure oils either – diluted amounts in super-saponifed soaps.) My skin turned bright red and broke out due to the grape seed and even touching soap with tee tree oil would turn my hands red. That wasn’t going anywhere near my face. Yikes.
I’m hesitant to recommend any fruit or yogurt masks because I wonder whether those would irritate your skin, too. Chagrin Valley has a Face & Eye Mousse for sale. I haven’t tried it, but it should be gentle enough for sensitive skin. It might be too light a moisturizer for dry skin though.
Have you tried Mario Badescu before? I’m not sure whether they still offer it, but they used to send customized free sample kits (of generous sizes.) Some of the products I received worked quite well. If nothing else, maybe you can steal the ideas they recommend and find them cheaper elsewhere ;)
I’m still trying to find a perfect all-natural skin care regime.
ditto @faye Olive oil is the oldest remedy and probably the most effective. And it is cheap compared to fashionable products.
Have you tried baby lotion. I mean a baby skin is delicate matter and sensitive. I would go to the baby isle. Try one with NO perfumes.
@JLeslie hypothyroidism runs in my family and I have had symptoms for years, my blood work comes back in the safe zone, but borderline low.. so my doctor is always keeping an eye on it.
@Frenchfry I live for baby products… I probably smell like a diaper bag. lol.
Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone. :)
Have you tried Bag Balm? It’s great on really chapped hands.
Please, don’t waste any more time trying other people’s remedies. Ask your doctor for a referral to a skin specialist. They will help you experiment to find the one that works best for you.
1
Take a bath. Dry skin is due to a loss of water from the skin. The best way to replace that water is to take a nice soak for about 15 minutes in a lukewarm—not hot—bath.
2
Moisturize your skin after you bathe to retain hydration. Gently pat dry your skin, leaving it somewhat damp. Then apply mineral or baby oil. Even petroleum jelly works fine. You do not need to spend tons of money on high-priced moisturizing products.
3
Catch some ZZZs. Your body repairs and regenerates its skin cells during sleep. If you aren’t getting enough good sleep each night, your skin will become dull and dry.
4
Avoid soap—or at least soaps that are high in lye content. So-called “superfatted” soaps, such as Dove or Neutrogena, have a higher fat content than lye content, which is less harsh on your skin.
5
Skip a day. Americans are so preoccupied with cleanliness that we are literally washing our skin health down the drain. Under normal living conditions, it is not necessary to bathe every day. So skip a day. Take a sponge bath every other day and spare your skin the aggravation. You’ll save your skin and some natural resources in the process.
6
Control your environment. Dry, warmer air tends to make skin dry out faster, resulting in tight, flaky, itchy skin. Humidify your home if the air is dry, and turn the heat down a couple of degrees.
7
Eat a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Try to eat foods that high in vitamins A and B, which contribute to skin health. Avoid processed sugars and caffeinated beverages. Caffeine is a diuretic, which dehydrates your skin.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2121923_treat-dry-skin-naturally.html
@TheOnlyNeffie Ok, here is my lecture, if you have not heard it before. The normal range for TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is something like .5–5. Endocrinologists generally think anything above 3.5 is high (which would mean HYPOthyroidism) but your GP would probably only care that you are in the normal range according to the lab. From what I understand there has been discussion in the medical world of changing the parameters for normal. Most endocrinologists like to keep their patients between 1 and 2 (although, for me I try to stay just above 2, because lower than that my blood pressure gets too low and my heart races).
For me personally, if I get above 3, I lose hair, and everything starts to get very dry, and I get a lot of muscle pain, cramping, and weakness with little exertion. If I am near the uppermost limit, like around 5, I can barely open my eyes in the morning they are so dry, my hair comes out like crazy, I am extremely unmotivated, my blood pressure goes up, and my heart rate goes way down. Do you know what your number was?
@JLeslie I forget, but I know that I have the paperwork upstairs from my last blood workup. If I remember correctly, my numbers were good last time. I will look for the paperwork but I want to say my TSH was something like 1.15 – however, it has been quite some time since I’ve had my blood drawn.
I have KPRF, which is why my skin behaves the way that it does. It’s hereditary, and not at all uncommon, but the majority of my family members that have it only get a little irritation or bumps on their arms. I was the “lucky” one and I get the hypersensitive skin, the very inflamed cheeks and my skin gets extremely dry. Luckily I don’t get a rash on my face, but I’m not all that thrilled about always looking like someone has just slapped me.
@JLeslie yep, they are commonly confused since the symptoms are similar, but I have KPRF.
If I remember correctly the primary difference is that rosacea causes blemishes, where KPRF does not. You may develop a keratin rash (which I do get on my arms and thighs), but not acne blemishes.
@TheOnlyNeffie I find that diagnosis interesting. I knew very little about it, I just read a little, and looked at some photos, and I think I know someone who possibly has that, but has never had it diagnosed correctly. He uses Ahava lotion with no problems, and Cetaphil liquid soap for his face. The reason I know is because I was the one who helped him figure these out, it took a few months of trying different things.
Oh, it’s definitely possible.. as I said it isn’t uncommon.
Most people never even bother to have it looked into because it isn’t bothersome, they might get a little bit of a rash on the backs of their arms and that is the full extent of it. For people like me, where it spreads to the face, that’s usually when people start to worry about it.
I always think back to when I was in my early teens and my grandmother used to tell me that “15 years from now you’ll be so glad to have that extra color in your cheeks, it keeps you looking young!” and here I am still frustrated over my rosy cheeks 15 years later.
I like cetaphil for my body, or I buy Dr. Bronner’s soaps, or soaps that do not have SLS. I do not use any kind of cleanser on my face, I gave that up years ago. I like to coat it with baby oil and then wipe it gently with a damp cloth. Sometimes even that is too rough for my face. It doesn’t look nearly as bad as I make it sound, I’m just self conscious. But the sensitivity is a genuine issue… it doesn’t take very much for my cheeks to turn into a bright reddish purple splotchy mess if I’m not careful.
What is “Ahava” lotion, can I find that anywhere? Is that a brand name or something else?
Ahava I carried it in Bloomingdale’s, I assume they still have it, and probably other department stores also, or you can order it online, but you might want to try a sample before purchasing, the department stores whould have testers.
I just looked up your condition and there was a letter from someone on one site who got good results with evening primrose oil capsules. He did say too much and he’d have erectile dysfunction, though!
@faye thank you, I hadn’t heard that before, but a quick google search brought up a bunch of hits about the evening primrose oil. I’ll definitely try it.
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