Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Why oh Why am I so Damn DRY?!?!

Winter weather may be nice for those of you who love a good ski or a simmering cup of hot coco (or even a ski-apres), but for moi, all this weather offers is DRY SKIN and depression.

My hands, feet, elbows, knees, stomach, back, butt, lips, face, hair, even my eyes, are all dry. And it's like, no matter how much lotion I put on my skin, or how much conditioner I use on my hair, I still feel like a dry, decrepit, old prune! Sure, there are certain products that can help, but the truth is, nothing gives ultimate relief.

People swear by shea butter to help combat really dry skin (even hair). Tons of my lotions have shea butter listed in the ingredients, but I wanted to look it up so that I knew exactly what it is.

From Wikipedia.org:
"Shea nut butter is a slightly greenish or ivory-colored natural fat extracted from fruit of the shea tree by crushing and boiling... Shea butter absorbs rapidly into the skin without leaving a greasy feeling... known for its skin softening effect."

  • Try de~luxe Shea 25% Shea Butter Body Balm. They also have a 100% shea butter, but I like this one best. It's creamier, thus easier to apply, yet it still does the heavy duty job of effectively moisturizing dry and cracking skin. And, the best part about it is that you get a giant tub (8 fl oz) for $8.99 (order today, and it's a mere $6.74)!



Another ingredient that people swear by is petroleum jelly. Most likely, you have used petroleum jelly at some point in your life. Vaseline, that's 100% petroleum jelly!

From Wikipedia.org:
"Petroleum jelly, vaseline, petrolatum or soft paraffin is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons (with carbon numbers mainly higher than 25), originally promoted as a topical ointment for its healing properties."

  • I'm obsessed with Aquaphor, although it's not as potent as Vaseline (it's not 100% petroleum jelly), Aquaphor is a serious skin saver! It's not only for dry, cracking lips, I spread Aquaphor all over my hands, feet and elbows. You can purchase this product, in a tube or jar, at your local drug store. P.S. I also used this on my tattoo to keep it hydrated... it's the real deal!



Oils are also fabulous for dry, winter-worn skin. Try adding oils into the bath, or use an oil in lieu of a cream. Apply the oil (like Johnson's Baby Oil... oldie but goody) right after bathing, before you've completely dried your skin. This way, the oil will absorb into your skin, leaving you hydrated and smooth.

  • I also love the Paradise Potions Lip Bling. It contains shea butter (of course) and sweet almond oil. It's an awesome lippy for chapped lips (and comes in a variety of tropical scents)!
Keeping with oils, I am a true fan of Vitamin E oil (from your local drugstore). I use the pure oil on my lips and cuticles. It not only moisturizes, but adds incredible shine (better then most lip glosses).



I hope these tips come in useful as you embark on these brutally cold Winter months!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

surprise, surprise I am LOVING this post! los angeles weather just can't seem to make up its mind these days....

Anonymous said...

thank you SO much for this post! They dry, cold weather is killing my skin! I'm excited to try the de-luxe cream! Sounds dreamy. Does it have a fragrance?

xx

abbagirl said...

thanks so much for all this information! i HATE winter for this very reason!! great tips here!

Beauty Banter said...

Nope, the DE~LUXE cream is fragrant-free!

Grayburn said...

I love Karin Herzog's chocolate creams or their oxygen ones. Also try this one from Suki made with camomille etc. It's so soothing!
grayburn.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

great post. gonna need to try that vitamin E trick!

xx Kim

Anonymous said...

You mentioned it briefly as an ingredient, but I need to plug almond oil. It works so amazingly well and it's dirt cheap! Just pick it up at the grocery store and you can put it on you skin, your hair, or make your own salad dressing! There are lots of products that have it as an ingredient, but I tend to go for the real thing because I don't know what those extra ingredients that I can't pronounce are. Plus you avoid the price markup.

Anonymous said...

Love the tip about the Aquaphor and your tat! I thought that I was the only one that found this great product to use and low and behold I am not. It is a great product that has multiple uses. Just a few are Lip Balm, slather on your feet at night and slip on a pair of cotton socks and your feet are soft as can be in the morning without the greasiness of Vasaline, and it makes a great makeup remover for 12hr+ products that usually don't come off without using sandpaper!

Anonymous said...

You should give organic Coconut Oil a try. I have extremely dry skin before and since I been using Coconut oil my skin is much smoother and softer.

Joanne

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