Great skin begins with nutrition. Proper skin care topically is great, but it doesn’t do much if your diet is poor. Increasing your intake of fish like salmon and nuts like almonds, along with increasing your water intake will help nourish your skin from the inside out. Fish and almonds that are high in omega-fatty acids are excellent for the skin. If you find fitting more fish and nuts into your weekly diet isn’t convenient, I highly recommend fish oil supplements, which are also very high in omega fatty acids. You want to consult with your doctor about the dosage you should take before starting a fish oil regimen.
There are several things you can do to your skin(topically), to keep it soft and moisturized.
Using a bath oil once a week is a great way to help moisturize the skin. A great product for this is my Dous Te Bath & Body Oil. Under warm running water, apply 1-2 teaspoons of oil in your bath and soak for at least 10-15 minutes. When you step out of the bath, instead of rubbing yourself dry with a towel, pat yourself dry. Rubbing the skin with a towel strips away a lot of the skin’s natural oils, which will lead to dry skin. Patting dry will help avoid this and if you’re comfortable, air drying is really your best bet!
If you can’t fit bath soaking in your schedule, after showering, apply the same principles; pat dry with your towel but you do not want to be completely dry. The best way your moisturizer is going to work for you is if you leave your skin a little damp. When the skin is damp, the pores are still open which makes it much easier for your skin to absorb whatever product you’re going to use to moisturize.
On damp skin you want to apply a butter or lotion (something heavy), especially during the winter months. I suggest my top seller, the Unyevu Butter or the Double Agent Butter. What makes the Unyevu Butter so great for keeping the skin moisturized is the use of what I like to call, “The Trifecta of Butters” (mango, shea and avocado butters). All three contain great moisturizing effects, but the soothing of dry skin comes mainly from the neem oil. This ayurvedic oil is great for severely dry skin, eczema and dandruff/flaky scalp. The Double Agent Butter has oils in it like camelina and cranberry seed that are high in omega-fatty acids which helps keep eczema patches at bay.
Our face is the most exposed body part that we have outside of our arms and hands. During the winter, the dry heat indoors and the dry cold air outdoors are the main culprits to dry skin. There are a few things that can be done to help soothe your skin: Oil washing/Oil cleansing method, exfoliating and using a daily moisturizer.
I have combination skin. I have an oily T-zone with dry cheeks and my skin is extremely dry around my mouth. I’ve been oil cleansing my face for 2 years now. Over time, this method helps normalize the skin where you end up with skin that is not too dry and not too oily. I currently use a half and half mix of sweet almond and grapeseed oils with a few drops of lavender essential oil. 2fl oz will usually last me about 6 months so a little goes a long way when oil cleansing. For a great video on how to oil cleanse from start to finish, I recommend Fran of HeyFranHey’s tutorial.
After cleansing, I pat my face dry and use my Mango Moisture Butter for Face only on the dry areas of my skin (around my mouth and cheeks). I do not apply it to my nose or forehead. The Mango Moisture Butter for Face is a simple 4 ingredient butter that I made that does not clog your pores and absorbs quickly into the skin and it lasts. Most moisturizers do a poor job of keeping your skin soft and moisturized for the entire day and need to be reapplied several times. This is not the case for the Mango Moisture Butter and it also doubles as a makeup primer! Like all things Belle Butters a little goes a long way, especially for the Mango Moisture Butter.
Lastly, exfoliating the skin with a scrub will keep your skin soft. Removing the dead skin one to two times a week is more than enough. It is possible to exfoliate the skin too much, which can cause irritation, so err on the side of caution. I like to use my Avo-Cocoa Facial Polish. Instead of salt or sugar, walnut shell powder is used to help exfoliate. I’ve found it to be more gentle yet effective. Other ingredients in the polish like avocado butter and honey also help to keep the skin soft.
