Tips / How to keep your skin moisturized

A dry skin problem can be uncomfortable and even maddening. Your skin might feel tight and painful; it might look dull or red or flaky. Worst of all is the itchiness -- the sort of overwhelming itchiness that makes you feel like you're infested with fleas, that keeps you awake at night, miserably raking your skin with a back scratcher. -webmd quote

Inside Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Women's Health magazine, I've found a very informative article on keeping skin moisturized! Here is a brief summary of what I've learned:

• Put away the gritty, abrasive scrub and gran baby's washcloth. Just wet it and massage your face in small circular motions.
• Most cleansers contain sodium lauryl sulfate which can suck away moisture. Instead, look for fragrance-free moisturizers, or swap your regular product for milk twice a week to give your skin a break.
• Use whole milk. The lactic acid in milk acts as a mild cleanser, and the fat is moisturizing.
• Eat foods rich in Omega-3s such as walnuts, almonds, and salmon.
• Swipe hydrocortisone cream over your eyelids to help hydrate and reduce redness.
• Spike your lotion by adding drops of pure glycerin to a bottle of your favorite moisturizer.
• Flaky skin? Look for moisturizers with lactic acid to help smooth and de-flake.
• Go for oats. Body washes and soaps with oatmeal have anti-inflammatory properties that help soothe irrtated skin.

Good for you ingredients: ceramide, glycerin, antioxidants, dimethicone.


I was also looking for some home-made facial masks recipes, and found a few that are good for dry skin! via eHOW.com

Oatmeal Yogurt Facial
Oatmeal has been clinically proven to heal dry, itchy skin, and combined with yogurt and honey it can make a wonderful dry skin remedy. Try taking about ½ cup of finely ground oatmeal, and mixing in honey and yogurt until it's creamy. Spread the mixture on your face and leave it for about 30 minutes.

Avocado Mask
Avocado is rich in healthy fats, and those fats can help make the skin on the face more radiant and healthy. Mash an avocado until it's creamy, add half a teaspoon of honey and a little almond meal. Be careful not to add too much almond meal: you want it to be creamy, not doughy. Spread it over your face and leave it on for 15 or 20 minutes. Use 3 to 5 times per week for best results.

Banana-Honey Mask
A banana-honey mask is made the same way as the avocado mask, but substitutes banana for the avocado. The almond meal can be left out, but leaving it in will make the mask slightly easier to work with, just be sure not to add too much. Spread on the face and leave it for about 10 minutes, then rinse with cool water.