Remedies for Dry Skin

Everyone seems to be having problems with dry skin in different forms, places on the body, and stages. I have been surprised this year, it seems to be everyone. I have tips used by my grandma and experiments I use that work. I hope these will help you.

The aisle at all drug stores, groceries, etc. are empty of the "dry skin" products which shows companies are unaware of this problem. If you look at the ingredients in dry skin products, you'll see you can DYI most of it at a much cheaper price.

Add Olive Oil or Vitamin E to Lotion

Add a drop of olive oil or vitamin E to face creams from the dollar store. Depending on jar size and if you use if to remove makeup (near eyes), you may not want to do full jar. You may want to have two separate jars, one with added "moisture" and one without.

Same goes for body lotion. Buy inexpensive lotion, usually these are generic names and add olive oil, mineral oil, or vitamin E to the lotion. Give it several days and that flaky skin will be gone or at the very least showing signs of improvement.

Add Vitamin C Capsules to Lotion

I love finding the Vitamin C capsules made by beauty companies. Recently we found them at the back of TJ Max. The cost of these are way out of my budget. However at that marked down price, adding it to lotion either for face or body put a smile on my face. One capsule is what was on the instructions on the jar, and I think there were 30 in this particular container. When I added it to what I already use, it will last longer than 30 uses, doing the job just perfectly for me.

Keep in mind you can put olive oil and mineral oil directly on your skin, however adding it to a lotion will help your skin absorb it, holding it in for longer periods of time. Dry elbow and feet in any winter is a problem. This winter, the wind, early low temperatures, and even snow has made it so long sleeves, socks, even boots started early. Make sure you don't always have these areas covered so they're not getting fresh air.

Moisturize After Washing

Making sure the area is dry also is very important. After doing dishes, if you don't use gloves (like me), always dry your hands well. Try having hand lotion right by sink, then anyone has it there to remind them to use it. Using hand sanitizer with alcohol is something I have to do, and it is very drying. Using lotion more often, helps avoid cracking skin on your hands. My lotion I use after sanitizer has much more added olive oil.

Vaseline for Cracked Heals

Putting Vaseline on your feet with a pair of socks helps those dry, cracking heels. If you can't stand sleeping in socks, rub in the Vaseline as much as possible, doing it right before pulling up the covers.

Wax for Dry Cuticles

I have an experiment that I actually did discover on my own - wax around my nails helps with dry, hardened areas around nails, even hangnails. I love candles burning especially in the winter months. When the candle has burned down, just dip your tips of finger in wax. I just dip my nails in the melted wax, let set before it completely hardens, then I rub it into my finger tips.

Works great! If you don't like candles, you can still do this. Wait until the candle has a puddle of wax, blow out flame, and dip in your finger tips. Rubbing the wax protects your nails from the cold air, also from water. I have noticed how it helps with hang nails caused from dryness.

Do It Yourself Paraffin Dips

You can do your own salon type treatment by buying paraffin, melting it in slow cooker, then dip hands (or feet) into melted wax. Once covered, take out your hand (or foot), put into plastic bag, and then put into an oven mitt. If you are lucky enough to have large rectangular slow cooker, you can do same thing with feet, use plastic bag, and wrap in towel afterwards. I do this all year long, in winter months it's amazing how it helps moisture stay in your skin. You can buy paraffin at the market, where canning jars usually are. Reuse over and over again. You can buy a slow cooker at a thrift store, yard sale, or if you are lucky enough to have an old one, bring it new life.

Steam

Giving your skin a steam over hot water helps big time in dry, cold air. While it helps your face, boiling the water also puts moisture in the air. Don't burn yourself! I just place a towel over my head staying far away from hot water. Let the steam do the work. You can do this in bathroom also if the door closes tightly, using the bathroom sink. Keep in mind this doesn't help saving on water or electric bill. I suggest using bowl and towel.

Look in the store where they sell skin and body products, you too may find those special capsules on sale. If not, no worries. Vitamin E and olive oil go a very long way toward helping you have smooth, beautiful skin all season long.

Source: Olive oil is the source for so many things (used in hair also). It even saves money if you buy this at the regular price, I just couldn't afford it. I can afford to follow my grandma's ways. Salons do wax and steam treatments, so I found ways to do at home.

By Luana M. from San Diego, CA