HOME REMEDY TREATMENTS FOR DRY SKIN

HOME REMEDY TREATMENTS FOR DRY SKIN

©2007 Publications International, Ltd. Oil can serve as a great homeremedy for dry, itchy skin.

The home remedies found below are easy to locate in your own home kitchen, and will relieve you from some of the discomfort that comes from dry skin.

From the Home Remedies Cupboard

Baking soda. Instead of using an abrasive dishwashing cleanser, try sprinkling skin-friendly baking soda in your dishwater. Baking soda is also a skin-friendly alternative to jumping in a hot shower. Try a sponge bath using 4 tablespoons baking soda to 1 quart water. A baking soda soak is a folk remedy to relieve itching. Add 1 cup baking soda to a tub of hot water. Soak for 30 minutes and air dry.

Cornstarch. You may think cornstarch can only be used to thicken your gravy, but it's also useful in easing itchy, dry skin. Sprinkle a handful in the bathtub and have a soak.

Oatmeal. Adding instant oatmeal to your bath will soothe your skin. The oats are packed with vitamin E, a nutrient vital to healthy skin. Oatmeal is also used as a folk remedy for treating dry, chapped hands. Rub your hands with wet oatmeal instead of soap. Dry your hands with a towel, then rub them with dry oatmeal.

Salt. Massage a handful of salt onto wet skin after a shower or bath. It will remove dry skin and make your skin smooth.

Vegetable oil. Coating yourself with vegetable oil may make you feel like a French fry, but your skin will love you. In fact, experts say that any oil, from vegetable to sunflower to peanut, offers relief from dry skin.

Vinegar. Try this folk remedy for chapped hands: Wash and dry hands thoroughly, then apply vinegar. Put on a pair of soft gloves and leave them on overnight.

From the Home Remedies Drawer

Vinyl gloves. Whenever you wash dishes, clean the bathroom, or dust the furniture, wear vinyl gloves to protect your hands from chapping, chaffing, and harsh chemicals.

From the Home Remedies Stove

Water. Put some water on for a slow boil to raise the humidity in your house.

Do Remember

Be cool. Take lukewarm or cool showers. This may not sound very appealing if you like lounging in the hot steam, but your skin will thank you. Hot water draws out skin's valuable oils, which will dry out your skin.

Be selective about soap. Pretty, perfume-laden soap may look and smell nice, but it can leave your skin screaming. Try soaps with fat or oil in them, such as Dove or Basis. Liquid soaps tend to be milder than bar soaps.

Douse while you're still damp. Slathering lotion on damp skin is your best bet for retaining moisture. When you get out of the bath or shower, pat, don't rub, to get rid of just enough water so you don't leave a wet trail to the sink. Then spread on your lotion while you've still got droplets clinging to your skin. This will help seal in the moisture.

Avoid alcohol. That means both the kind you drink and the kind you use to cleanse. Drinking alcohol can cause your body to soak up water from skin. Limit yourself to no more than 2 ounces a day to keep your skin healthy. Alcohol-based cleansing products (such as astringents) dry out your skin, too. It's best to skip them altogether.

Watch the sun. You put your wet tennies outside to dry out. Well, just as the sun evaporates moisture from your water-soaked shoes, it evaporates moisture from your skin. Though a little bit of that evaporation is healthy (sweat evaporating keeps you cool when you exercise), too much can be a problem. So protect your skin by wearing sunscreen and moisturizing lotions if you spend lots of time in the sun.

Rehydrate your skin with lotion after using any degreasers or solvents when painting around the house.

Just a few simple home remedies could have you feeling smooth in no time, and ready to take on the worst the sun and wind can throw at you.

For more information on other dryness issues you might be suffering from, try the following links:

• To see all of our home remedies and the conditions they treat, go to our main Home Remedies page.
• Itchy scalp?  Put moisture in that mop with some Home Remedies for Dry Hair.
• Have the opposite problem of dryness?  Learn about Home Remedies for Oily Skin in this article.
• Oily hair can make it look like you haven't had a shower in days. Learn how to treat it in a few simple steps and read Home Remedies for Oily Hair.

David J. Hufford, Ph.D., is university professor and chair of the Medical Humanities Department at Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine. He also is a professor in the departments of Neural and Behavioral Sciences and Family and Community Medicine. Dr. Hufford serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine and Explore.

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.

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