Monday, January 28, 2013

Beat Winter Skin


I live in Utah now, which is maybe one of the driest places on earth. With extremely hard water and the weather being anywhere from 0-17 degrees these past few weeks it has definitely taken a toll on my families skin. It's depressing and painful!


I'm sure many of you are in the same boat! You've tried lotion after lotion, spending a ridiculous amount of money on beauty products to help your dry, scaly skin, but NOTHING works!


For the first 2 1/2 years of my sons life his allergies and dry weather left him with dry, itchy skin ALL the time. It was so sad, he'd shake his whole body, rubbing his back across the floor to try and scratch. We called it the "Truffle Shuffle". Anyway, a few weeks ago I decided it was time to find the perfect solution once and for all.

I've run across a few methods that I've L.O.V.E.D so take your pick and find what works best for you!
Here are a few things to try that have worked great for me and my poor, itchy 3 year old.




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Camp Wander's All Purpose Healing Salve




First of all, if you have not tried this recipe yet, it is a must-have! I've already raved about it before on this site, but it is heaven in a jar. The smell is amazing and the stuff works incredibly. 

This healing salve is great for dry, cracked heels! Place it on your feet with socks on at night and wake up with smooth skin, especially after using it for a few days!

It's SUPER easy to make, so head on over to Camp Wander for the recipe, you won't be disappointed.


Click Here For The Recipe

Also try her new recipes for more specific skin problems HERE.


Camp Wander also has many allergy and skin relief methods if you suffer from anything. Lemon, Lavender, and Peppermint have helped my son immensely!



One other quick tip, for those of you in the essential oils world, for a less greasy, more of a lotion feel, I started putting lotion mixed with 1-2 drops of Frankincense on my hands at night. If I've been working in the garage that day my hands usually get destroyed, so with this I've found I go to bed with alligator hands (yikes!) and wake up to smooth skin again!


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Olive Oil





I have a friend who is allergic to way too many things, including soaps. She recently started using Olive Oil in the shower instead of soap. 

I did a little research on this and came up with a few things...


In addition to being a natural, hypoallergenic way to moisturize skin, extra virgin olive oil has the added advantage of providing strong antioxidants, like Vitamins A and E that help repair and renew skin that has been damaged from overexposure to sun, air pollution, and other modern-day environmental hazards – like cigarette smoke and fast food. These antioxidants have the natural ability to stimulate cells and return skin to a firmer, smoother, and healthier state.



In my own experience ...


I've been using Olive Oil for about 2 weeks now and my skin is AMAZING! 

After the first few days I noticed some clogged pores so I decided to start washing with Olive Oil every other day, using a scrub in between. I don't think this is absolutely necessary, but it can clog pores so just watch for it. Homemade brown sugar scrubs are some of my favorite by the way! I'll have to post a recipe soon!

This may sound crazy, but I also started doing an olive oil rinse on my hair every two days. I rub it in really well, let it sit for 5 minutes then wash with shampoo afterwards. And no, it doesn't leave your hair greasy, it washes out great. Utah is so dry and I don't have dandruff, but my head has been so itchy so I started this and ever since it's been great! 


More Olive Oil Resources





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DIY All Natural Moisturizing Cream

My mom made this for me a few months ago and I can't say enough good things about it. People tend to think putting oil on your face is a BAD thing, but actually that's not the case. It doesn't cause acne, first of all, and the all natural ingredients are great for your skin. You apply at night and wake up with a perfectly smooth face, especially after using it for a while. Plus the smell will make you want to eat the entire jar. Apparently I have a thing for smells, but it smells like pure chocolate and you'll end up licking it just to make sure... not that I've tried it or anything!






All Natural Face Cream

1/2 C. Coconut Oil
1 1/4 C. Cocoa Butter
4 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Melt jar of coconut oil in warm water until liquified.
2. Add all ingredients to small pan and heat on low-medium until dissolved.
3. Remove from heat and let cool a little.
4. Pour into containers and seal the lid tightly. Shake vigorously. Let rest and shake again.
4. Wait for it to cool and solidify. If it's colder it will solidify quicker. I put mine in the refrigerator for a bit because I was too impatient to wait :)


Once the cream hardens it liquifies very quickly in your hands and absorbs into your skin easily too! For added benefits you can also add essential oils of your choice to the cream. I've used Melaleuca, Frankincense and Lavender so far!
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I hope this helps you fight the winter dryness! 

Like I said, I have ridiculously hard water, so that along with winter has killed me until now. Not to mention the endless brands of lotions we've tried to fight these problems. These really are the only things that have helped me and my son. Try them! Let us know what you think! :)

21 comments:

  1. Great Post! I can't wait to try your Mom's recipe, thank you :))

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  2. Interesting! Thank you for sharing this great information (:

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  3. I use this and it is great however I didn't use a fragrance and that will probably help. But it didn't stop me from using the concoction because it just transformed my body into a youthful softness. No more store bought lotions for me! :)

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  4. I use this and it is great however I didn't use a fragrance and that will probably help. But it didn't stop me from using the concoction because it just transformed my body into a youthful softness. No more store bought lotions for me! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I use this and it is great however I didn't use a fragrance and that will probably help. But it didn't stop me from using the concoction because it just transformed my body into a youthful softness. No more store bought lotions for me! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I use this and it is great however I didn't use a fragrance and that will probably help. But it didn't stop me from using the concoction because it just transformed my body into a youthful softness. No more store bought lotions for me! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I use this and it is great however I didn't use a fragrance and that will probably help. But it didn't stop me from using the concoction because it just transformed my body into a youthful softness. No more store bought lotions for me! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I would like to make this..can you tell me what is a t. oil? is this a theaspoon or a tabespoon?

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  9. I would like to make this..can you tell me what is a t. oil? is this a theaspoon or a tabespoon?

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  10. I use coconut oil on my hair a couple times a week, just rub it into scalp and on ends, then leave on for an hour or overnight, and shampoo. I live in Arizona, so heat and the dry air require extra moisturizing for sure, I am looking forward to trying this mixture!

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  11. What do you mean by Cocoa butter? Is it a beauty product or a grocery product? Where should I look to find it? Can't wait, thanks!

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    Replies
    1. I'd love to know this too!

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    2. I third this question!! Store-bought cocoa butter (if so, what kind) or a cocoa butter base or what? :)

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    3. It's just straight up natural raw cocoa butter. You can get it in any health food store :) Or Amazon has it too!

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  12. Will definitely make this up! :)

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  13. What about using almond oil instead of olive oil? Someone suggested it to me? What do you think?

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  14. Thanks for sharing the recepie I made this but I wish there was a way to make it smell better! if anyone has any ideas please share

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    1. I think that the smell is the Cocoa butter. I didn't like the smell either. My mixture is solid and difficult to remove from container to apply. I thought it would be creamer. Any suggestions?

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  15. Try adding in pure, organic lavender oil to help smell better:) go to youngliving.org/vickiesturgess

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  16. I made it and a bit dissapointed. Hoped it to be a nice white creamy - like in a picture. And it is very misleading. Because it looks nothing like that. More like candle wax. I do not like it so hard. Smell is cacao butter, and I hate it. Same as hate levander essencial oil. I guess I'm just not a fan of these so called natural smells. Really killed my enthusiasm for dyi cosmetics...

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