Overcoming Winter Skin Drought

Ever get cracked and dry skin on your hands, arms, or legs? Does your skin look like a desert? Do you experience itching, redness, or rawness?

Yowzas, I hear ya. California air gets SUPER DRY come November, and this year I really had to kick my butt into gear and take extra care of my skin.

Plus if you have any skin conditions such as eczema or psorasis, the cold dry air could exacerbate your breakouts.

Emphasis on "could." I truly believe that if you feed your skin proper nourishment both internally and externally, that you can have radiant skin all year long, no matter what nature brings.

Firstly, are you getting enough water? Most people definitely aren't getting the recommended 8-10 glasses a day. And with dry weather and exercise, you're gonna need more. So pump up the H20.

Second, are you getting enough healthy fats in your diet? Low-fat diets and overconsumption of toxic fats (transfats in fast food and processed goods) are equally bad for your skin and mood. Stick with olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocadoes, and best of all, coconut oil. It's saturated fats are medium chain fatty acids, and very easily utilized by the body for energy and repairs, NOT stored as fat and NOT harmful.

And remember, high allergy foods such as dairy, gluten, sugar, and soy can stress out your body, and cause internal and external inflammtion. So belly aches, skin rashes, breakouts, redness, itching...try eating more veggies, healthy fats, and protein, and cut out or reduce dairy and grains.

Thirdly, are you getting enough sleep and relaxation? Lack of sleep and excess stress can throw off your hormones and deplete your body of nutrients, which means you can look ugly and dried up if you don't take care of yourself. It ain't worth stressing over, believe me.

And lastly, are you taking care of your skin externally? What kind of lotions or creams are you using, if any? Most products have alcohol as one of the first ingredients, which means it's just going to dry out your skin. And most products have parabens, which have been linked to cancer. If you're going to use a skin care product, try to get one without alcohol or chemicals. Almond, joboba, and olive oils are fantastic, as well as shea butter. But the king of the oils? Coconut oil!! As mentioned before, it's medium chain fatty acids are rapidly absorbed by the body, and will moisturize and firm up your skin in no time at all!

Massage oils or lotions into skin after showering and toweling off. Your pores will be open, making the oil more easily absorbed, and your skin will be damp, making it easier to spread the lotion/oil.

Check out this article online that I was interviewed for. It talks about taking care of the skin, particularly for those with eczema.
http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/12/ease-winter-eczema-flare-ups-with-internal-and-external-changes/