Winter Skin Soothers

Winter, snow, dry air, fires, heat, all things that can cause our skin to become dry and flaky. Our skin is one of our organs and has processes to protect and moisturize itself. Diet, environment and genetics can all play a role in how well this organ handles the onslaught of dry air and rapid temperature changes, but we can also help it work smarter instead of harder.

Love Body Butter

The babies cheeks turn bright red from her normal crawling about (even the tops of my crawlers feet were chapped, poor nugget) the big kids lips are cracked we are all feeling the weather. Keeping my hands washed to keep the colds at bay has also left the back of my hands with small cracks and inflammations. This is just in sunny Southern California, I am sure my friends and family in the states with much colder weather are experiencing the same if not worse. I don't remember having as much of a problem with dry skin growing up, but I lived in humid FL and I am sure that helped. Now I see my kids skin affected by the weather, from their chapped cheeks and lips to my rough dry skin on the extremities. I often moisturize when needed.

Water and diet also play an important roll in your skins appearance. In this article a journalist tracks her journey of hydration and how it changed her appearance, for the better. Food allergies can show up in skin irritations and eruptions, I haven't had the horrible cysts I used to on my face since giving up wheat. One of the simplest ways to improve the appearance of you skin is to moisturize it. Lotions are an emulsification of oils and water, a light application of moisture, while butters and oils are richer more heavy applications.

I love to eat well, and I do my best to drink lots of water but right now it's just not enough. I prefer to use a cream or butter on my hands that has a protective layer in it, for me that's Lanolin or Beeswax. These natural waxes are great at keeping moisture on the skin without washing it away too quickly. For the rest of my body I love anything with a base of olive oil or sweet almond, it seems to deliver the best moisturization. On my face just plain Jojoba oil a few times a week at night seems to boost my skins radiance factor, something this mom loves.

Wintertime has many challenges, dry skin doesn't have to be one of them. Mother Nature and modern science has provided us with many ways to moisturize and protect. Moisturized skin not only looks better but is more resilient and less prone to injury. 

What did you do today to protect your skin?