Easy Natural Beauty

Image by Chad Horwedel via Flickr

If you’re like me and have dry skin, you know that it’s not just annoying and unsightly, it can be just plain painful. You’ve probably been trying different dry skin remedies and moisturizers for what seems like forever . . . and you still haven’t found one that really does what you need. Well, it might be because what you’ve been trying is simply making your skin oily or irritating and aggravating your problem.



What can you do? The best thing you can do for yourself is to go natural. (Well, what did you think I was going to say? This is the Easy Natural Beauty blog afterall.) To get you started, here are some easy, natural tips and treatments.



Drink Plenty of Water

This one is really simple and ought to be obvious, but it’s often overlooked. Your skin needs water to stay soft and smooth. Putting water on your skin will dry it out, but putting it in your body is absolutely essential for keeping it hydrated. As a bonus, you’ll probably find that drinking enough water will make you feel less tired and just generally better, too!



Avoid Soap

If you were trying to get dry, itchy skin, one of the best things you could do to get it is use soap. Over cleaning your skin is usually unnecessary and can really dry it out. Another thing to avoid (with or without soap) is long baths. Baths, particularly with very hot water, are extremely drying to the skin. Quick showers are the better option for both your skin and the environment. Cleanse with a mild solution or – if you feel you must use it – a mild natural soap. Follow with an all natural oil (e.g., coconut) to seal in the moisture.



Use a Non-Drying, Natural Face Wash

Sometimes the skin on your body is okay, but the skin on your face is overly dry. For a great natural face wash, mix equal parts yogurt and cooked oatmeal with some cucumber juice. Yogurt and oatmeal help moisturize and soothe the skin, while the cucumber juice closes up your pores. Be sure to remember that natural washes aren’t foamy like soap, but they are still cleaning. (See my posts of April 14 and April 17 to get some information on the “dark side” of foams and why you might want to avoid them.)



An Easy Natural Moisturizer

If you have especially dry skin on your face, one of the best treatments is also probably one of the simplest and least expensive: honey. Honey has been used for centuries to moisturize, and you probably don’t really need anything else. Use honey like you would a masque: Apply to your skin, let dry for 30 minutes, then rinse off.



An Easy Natural Body Moisturizer

When it comes to moisturizing dry skin, you can usually skip the fancy moisturizers and use good old-fashioned oil. Just massage some into your skin daily. Most oils will work, but coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil are especially good for moisturizing and treating a variety of skin conditions. If you like, you can even add some honey to the oil (heat the honey to help it mix with the oil) for extra moisturizing power.



Remember that natural remedies aren’t just about treating the problem; they’re about fixing the cause as well as. They’re a long-term solution. And remember that you can prevent a lot of dry skin problems by protecting your skin from dry, cold winter conditions with scarves and gloves and by avoiding long exposures to severe cold when you can.



In my next post, because simple is good, but so is variety, I’ll have some more recipes for those of you who have dry skin. I hope you’ll try them, but remember that if you treat your dry skin and nothing seems to be work, the cause may not be one you can tackle on your own. There may be an underlying condition or nutrition deficiency that is causing your problem. If these treatments don’t seem to help, try visiting your doctor or natural health practitioner.