Enhance Your Skin With Household Items

Winter time takes a toll on our skin. Luckily, there are lots of items around your house that you can use to cleanse, exfoliate, and moisturize your skin just in time for the spring thaw.

For dry skin:

First, drink lots of water, especially if you live in a very dry climate. H2O drives out impurities from our bodies and helps keep our skin supple.

Add almonds, olives, and olive oil to your diet. These items contain natural oils that will give your skin moisture from the inside out. Using almond oil and olive oil on your skin or your hair will drench both in moisture, and they assist in slowing down the aging process.

Oatmeal is also an excellent natural external moisturizer. When applied on the skin, it serves as a barrier to keep the moisture in your skin and the dry causing agents out. Eating oatmeal also has excellent benefits for the skin as it is a good source of soluble fiber, anti-oxidants, vitamin E, and silicon.

To make an oatmeal mask, grind oats finely using a coffee grinder or food processor. You can also use a mortar and pestle to pulverize the oats. Mix with an equal amount of water to make a paste. Gently massage and stroke the paste onto your face and body. Let the paste do its work for 3 to 5 minutes. Rinse with cool water to assist with firming your skin.

For dark spots:

Both lemon and orange peel are great for evening out your skin tone. They are also excellent gentle cleansers for the skin and they contain high amounts of vitamin C, a natural antioxidant.

Apply lemon juice to the areas of your skin that are darker than your skin tone. Apply a small amount, two to five drops onto the darker spots and leave it on your skin. It is recommended that you do this at night. In the morning, wash with your usual cleanser. Make this a nightly routine.

With the orange peels, first let them dry out. Scrape the powder from the backs of the peels to mix with water. Use equal parts orange peel powder and water to make a paste. Apply this paste to the darker areas of your skin and leave on for fifteen to twenty minutes. Rinse thoroughly. Do this daily.

For Razor Burns:

If you have razor burns, change your razor blade immediately. A dull blade will cause more skin irritation because we are going to press harder on our skin when using a dull blade. Use a shaving cream that has natural moisturizing ingredients in it such as oatmeal, olive oil, avocado oil, shea butter, or coconut oil. But don’t stop there. Make sure to use a natural moisturizer on the shaved areas. Any essential oil will do as well as oatmeal. You can even use plain old butter. If you are going to use butter, let it sit at room temperature and apply to the affected area in small amounts with gentle massaging strokes until it is absorbed into your skin. And, of course, this is one to use in the evening due to its scent.

For the oatmeal application, add ½ tablespoon honey to 2 tablespoons oatmeal powder and 1 cup of water. Mix until the consistency is silky smooth then apply in small amounts using gentle massaging strokes onto the affected area until it is absorbed. Rinse thoroughly with cool water and touch your skin to feel how smooth it will be.

Exfoliate:

To get rid of the dead skin cells on the top layer of your skin naturally, use one of the following items:

• Sea salt with warm water
• Lemon juice
• Egg whites
• Almond powder with warm water
• Raw sugar with warm water

The key with these items is to make sure you are using gentle massaging strokes on any area of your skin so that you are loosening the dead skin cells on the skin’s surface without damaging the fresh smooth skin underneath. If you fear you will be too harsh using your hands, use a makeup sponge as your rubbing agent. And as with all skin applications, rinse completely with cool water.

The Last Word

If you don’t want to use the food items as they are, another way to maintain healthy skin is to buy and use oils made from them such as avocado oil, olive oil, almond oil, and lemon oil. These essential oils are easily absorbed into the skin without the mess and the fuss, however, you will be paying extra for the convenience.

And, as with all things, sticking to the product of your choice with fidelity will keep your skin healthy. Make it a daily habit to address your skin. Once you incorporate skin care into your daily routine, you, and others will notice the difference.

Jannette is an administrator for the Edison Township Board of Education. After undergoing surgery, Jannette suffered from gastroesophageal reflux (GERD). Doctors prescribed medication but Jannette did not want to become dependent on such. She decided to start eating foods to assist in healing. Through this process, she discovered running, biking, eating right, and the use of natural products to assist in aging gracefully. Now, she runs, bikes, and swims with her 15 year old daughter and manages to outlast her on occasion. She is passionate about helping others do the same.

Main Photo Credit: Africa Studio/shutterstock.com; Second Photo Credit: Yeko Photo Studio/shutterstock.com; Third Photo Credit: Joshua Resnick/shutterstock.com; Fourth Photo Credit: Katerina Planina/shutterstock.com