Since I claim my skin type is "oily skin" and "acne prone" in every other product review, me writing about dry skin might seem a little odd, but I have quite the mad skin - oily-combination skin for the face and crazy dry skin everywhere else! In fact, that's how I started using Lush products - nothing else worked for my dry skin. A bit wiser now, I thought I would list what I learned on dealing with dry skin.
The main reasons for dry skin (specifically for me, others could have a million other reasons):
- Love taking long hot water baths.
- The tap water supplied is hard water.
Some things that work for me, and I think would work just as easily for most other people:
- Avoid hot water baths - but I cannot do that - so try to at least avoid long baths :)
- Before a bath, give your skin a deep conditioning treatment like you would do for your hair - lightly heat up an oil like coconut oil/olive oil/sesame oil and massage into skin - wait for at least 20-30 minutes before washing off.
- Use milder soaps - ideally just use glycerin-based soaps or soaps that use natural ingredients. Read the labels - the oils and other good stuff should be at the top of the list and not a part of "key ingredients." There is no point buying an overpriced soap if the "extracts and oils" add up to less than 10% of the total ingredients. It doesn't need a lot of brainpower or money - just pick up the transparent looking soaps even if you are shopping at the drugstore :)
- Avoid soap-based cleansers and opt for cleansers such as gram flour or powdered moong dal. This is not something I follow, but I have seen it recommended by doctors for a lot of people with dry skin problems. Kama makes one - I bought and haven't tried it :|
- Once a week, use an oil-based scrub or a gentle gramflour/dal based scrub to exfoliate the skin and remove any dry flaky skin. Follow with a generous rich moisturizer. At least in India, there are a lot of brands that make ubtans (herbal cleanser/scrubs), that are gentle enough to work great for dry/sensitive skins.
Kama Ayurveda Ubtan - bought but haven't tried yet :P |
Try a DIY oil-sugar-coffee scrub :D |
- Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize - a good moisturizer (again, read labels) applied immediately after patting the skin dry with a soft towel - applying the moisturizer while the skin is still damp helps seal in the moisture present in the skin as well as helps the moisturizer spread better :) If you aren't stepping out of the house and don't mind the smell, a light oil like the TBS Monoi Miracle also works great. If you use an oil-based scrub, you can skip the moisturizer part :D
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I prefer using a heavier body butter like the ones from TBS or the trusty Nivea cream for the winters (and for my hands and feet all through the year). For summers, a lighter lotions would work :) |
TBS Monoi Miracle Oil |
- A healthy diet helps fight dry skin from inside out. Include a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts like almonds and walnuts, olives/olive oil, and fish (if you are the fish-eating kinds :P - but my granny gets skin inflammation with eating fish, so I suppose with diet at least there is no generalization) to help keep the skin healthy.
- A brisk 30-minute walk a day apart from the very obvious benefit of keeping you thin also helps keep the skin healthy because of the increased blood circulation - I preach but am terribly lazy with doing it, might as well confess before the finger-pointing and snickering starts.
- I find it helps to use cotton clothes rather than synthetic materials - keeps the skin less irritated.
So these were some things I found useful in solving my dry skin problem...do you have any helpful ideas?
I found a very useful comment from a blogger in one of my DIY trial/failure articles - an easy way to get the benefits of oats without the messy cleanup:
- leaving oats as it is is a better idea instead of making them into a fine powder...milk and oats do make the skin fairer by removing the tan...even tomato helps... a better idea to use oats is to tie a handful of oats in a muslin cloth and soak it into hot water for half hour or an hour...the water would turn milky by then...squeeze the muslin wrap once to squeeze out all the liquid....add it to your bath water...it makes the skin extremely soft and no mess too...
Nice tips Rads. And I loved the oats tip at the end :)
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really nice of her to leave that tip, so copy pasted it here...The blogger's name is Swati :) :)
ReplyDeleteWow RAds, you just described what i do for my sensitive skin....as i have backacne yuck but true, this is kind of routine is what keeps them at bay....only thing is that i use a blemish fighting scrub, like ST Ives, tried the gels one in TBS but didnt quite like them...
ReplyDeleteAlso i cant help the hot bath, or its hot bath or no bath for me :P
Ohhh I walk daily also, which has a good side effect, as i can see the muscles on my legs and calves :D
Debb..me have to get back scrubs too..is more of dry skin problem rather than acne..but that's just as irritating!! I do have a problem reaching around to the back though...is so much easier if I can get another hooman to do the scrubbing :P :P :P
ReplyDeleteerrrrrr...me hav back ance tooo...deb how to avoid it???? i hav heard u shud not use scrubs on acne...does that hold true for back acne????...Rads i have been planin to start walkin since a year....errr 2 years...one day...one dayyyyyyyy i will...
ReplyDeleteand me loveeee hot waterrr baths..can u imagine..is around 40 degress in surat..still i hva hot waterrr bath....
ReplyDeleteI also heard, dear Farha, that you bought Lush ke bath bombs :angel: :angel:
ReplyDeleteYa Deb...what do you do for the pesy back problem???
ReplyDeletepesy = pesky! Me become typo rani now.
ReplyDeleteThis is just the post for me Rads,my skin has been so dry dry since a few weeks.I dont want to use too much moisturizind stuff in summers coz it might give me that chip-chip feel :D But will try that deep conditioning thing,my almond oil is just siting idle in the cupboard for no reason
ReplyDeleteOh I will also get back scrubs,me also want a sexy back :smug:
hawwwwwwwwwwwww...this jomo ke pet me kuch nahi rehta...*spank*...*spank*
ReplyDeleteMe want sexxxxy back too..but me no getting a volunteer scrubber...me cant reach back :|
ReplyDeleteJomol didn't tell me anything..the news was so scandalous it came on Aaaaaj Takkkkkk :P
ReplyDeleteFarha..you do what I do..walk and talk :D Whenever I am on a long phone call I put on my headphones and start walking in the balcony xD
ReplyDeleteYou bought bath bombssss o_O
Jomo izzz the only perrrson i told it abt...grrrrrrr me spank herr asss off now...err and Rads u want me to volunterr for backrubbing *vampire*...buahahaaaaa
ReplyDeleteRitika...me whole day in office na..so i cannot do that...and i get up reaalll late and in the evening to i m dead tiredd...soooo many excuseess...but i hav been planning to start it...
ReplyDeleteYou volunteer for whoever you bought the bath bombs for...waise which ones did you buy ??? :P :P :P
ReplyDeleteerrrr i dnt rember the name..izzz bilooo color ka...and i got it nicely gipphht wrapped too..hehehe even if i buy thngs for me na..i like gft wrappings...i had got for my SIL na and they did it so beautifully that i asked mine also gipphht wrapped nxt time...hehehe sick i knw...
ReplyDeletehehe..Rads,get those bathing brushes(or whatever they are called) which have a longggg handle..me use those
ReplyDeleteBilllloooo one??? Oh me go see next time..so did you use it finally? We tho no have bath tub here, so I never buy their bath bombs...have to break it up and use as foot soak or something only!
ReplyDeleteRitika - Me get those :D :D :D Me keep staring at them but never buy..I will be doing all kinds of acrobatics instead :|
ReplyDeleteI also wantttt gift wrapped bath bombs
ReplyDeleteOh wait,I need a bath tub also :x **why do i live in a hostl**
dry skin.... :( sighhhhhhh........!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLol....Gals today i feel like writing :P
ReplyDeleteSee my back acne story goes like this....
I had long curly hair, that i always wanted straight straight :D Sooooooooooo I went some like 4 years back and did a rebounding on my hair, that made it long long and straight straight :D
I had never had any difficult problems with back acne in UK or Brazil cause there i was always in tank tops or so, the i realized in India that the lack of sun on me....means cause me no goes nakedii na cause me foreigner and marwari toh foreigner no married to marwari + tank top = sluts :angel:
what ij a bath bomb radhika :|
ReplyDeletehehehe Rads...u reaalyyy love Lush na...even willing to break up and use them..nopes havent used it yet..me gareeb no have bath tub...have kept smbhaal ke..until we go on a holiday*angel*
ReplyDeleteHeheheee...you wear one of those scandalous backless cholis and go stand on the terrace in the afternoon sun...no nekkid - no scandal :D :D :D Oh so you started getting the acne because of the hair...ohhhhh...no wonder my back not so pestered now...I have shoulder length hair na!
ReplyDeletelolllllll Deb...me loveeeeeeeeeeee uuuuuuuuuuu!!!!! muahhhhhhhhh...loolllll...frm ur description it seems the cure for back acne is ...go nekkiddd....hehehehe
ReplyDeleteNoooopur - A bath bomb is a big round ball - you drop it in a bath tub and it fizzes and makes a whole lot of popping crackling hissing noise and then melts away into the water...you get in and soak and get yourself all clean and pampered... In case of Farha - me have no idea what she has planned :angel:
ReplyDeleteWenever i use it na Rads..me make a video and send to u...badle me give me ur Chanels...
ReplyDeleteFarha - I got free once...rather, friend and me we two gareebs shared and bought a face mask...and a very generous SA gave a free bath melt or bomb or something....we two ..ultragareebs had to show our true colours...we made her cut that also in half...and took half half bath bomb and used for foot soaking so many times :D
ReplyDeleteYou send to Jomol - you can buy lifetime supply of Chanel after that :D
ReplyDeleteContinued.....
ReplyDeleteThen i realized my hair was making my back worse due to dandruff, which i couldn't even see, but stayed on my pillow or bedsheets and that made it worse, and i changed them very often...
Oh :|
ReplyDeletei was planning a private preview phoorrrr u...coz u sooo importannt to me na...
ReplyDeleteYeahhh..i hav heard is coz of dandruff...par kya upay hai guruji????
ReplyDeletehaaa reee...then after 3 years my hair went for a FRICKING TOSSS then i cut it chin lenghth...then half was growing curly and rest was straight *ghost* then I got converted *angel* to the Curly GIrl MEthod....so i went for the Big Chop and cut all the hell of straight hair i had...back acne stopped....
ReplyDeleteradss u r sooo lucky..ur friends share in garrebi..my frandsss thnk i m crzyyyyyy wenever i buy stuff like that...:(...share karna to dur ki baat hai...can u imagine my frnd who had gone to us..didnt buy a single makeup/skin care item for herrself...i forced her to buy burts bees lip balm for herrself...
ReplyDeleteDeb - Me never getting my hair straightened..me never growing my hair...:jaiho: Oh and me always walking around nekkid :P
ReplyDeleteFarha - I have a sister like that..she go phoren..come with nothing :D She read this comment..she kill me :|
ReplyDeleteohhhh...me to cut my hair..short short..but back acne not stopeedd :(
ReplyDeleteEven now with the curly girl method as my hair is on neck length and all curly and i dont use shampoo to wash my hair...I have no dandruff nor the wish of straight hair anymore.
ReplyDeleteTo keep it that way, i use a scrub daily, best used at night as the level of oil secretion are higher...sleep with clothes...i dont...but its good if you do :P
or if you have long hair, beware that it shouldn't touch your skin, tie it and while sleeping put it in a bonnet or sock or something...
yyyyyyy radssssssssss yyyyyyy do such ppl go to phoreennnnn yyyyyyyyyyyyy....i have 3-4 eggjjaamples like that...another frnd..sent to us company ki taraf se for 3 months..came back in 1 month..coz she was missing home...i wanted to killl her!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHUH????????? Missing home..came back :me died:
ReplyDeleteDebb - what is this curly girl method you keep telling?? And no shampoo..then hair kaise washing cleaning..????????????????
ReplyDeleteTeri tonhhhhhhhhhhhhh this ppl shouldnt go then haina...give us the trip pleeshhhhhhhhhhhh :D
ReplyDeletehaaannnn me also wonderring no shampoo...u use avla ritha shikakai kya...my mom used to use it for me in scoool days...and i had such longgg shiny hair...me cut it in college...i still regret doin it!!!
ReplyDeleteHa Rads, the curly girl(CG) method is one of the ways that a CG can be satisfied with their own natural locks without resort to chemical manipulation. Be it straighting, perming or anything that changes the natural texture...meaning the hair that grows from your head.
ReplyDeleteI told herrr..u shud hav called me..i wud have enterrrtained u!!!!! She knew my lid wud blow jab pata chelga..dar ke maare she didnt call me for a week after cumin back!!!
ReplyDeleteHehehe..Farha...she tho better be scared...I don't even know her..and if I meet her I would have some bhaaashan to give her :P
ReplyDeleteDeb - so you just water it? Me tho hate hate hate not washing..I need to shampoo and hear the squeaky clean sound :|
oh...ohk.... ummm...achaa... i thot bath bomb is some bath time toy :) hiihihhi... u knw something lik thoz squuezzies n ducks babies play wid wen thy they bathe :P :P
ReplyDeleteSee as i speak from experience, the most frustrating for a curly girl, is the lack of length, and definition on the curls...so this method tries to teach you that in a world of straight girls, you have to work harder to find what you actually is good for your curls....
ReplyDeleteSo they teach you to avoid Sulfates(shampoo), Silicones or cones in general, as they only seal the hair and as curly hair is highly porous it doesnt allow moisture in...and also moisture(conditioning)...thats when the CoWash comes in picture...means you wash your hair with conditioners instead or shampoo...as long as you are not feeding your hair with silicones, the harsh sulfate will only damage it...
was i clear? :|
A very useful article.. so how many do u follow? ;) Me love the tip :) Thanks for sharing Rads :)
ReplyDeleteThe ones I don't follow, I very wisely specified, Aaarthi :P
ReplyDeleteYa that makes sense, Deb...so do you do this conditioner wash daily..me very tempted to try :D
ReplyDeleteRads, me still get squeaky clean scalp, that is no problem only you have to get used to it, if your hair is straight and you are using silicone based products then by all means use it, otherwise your scalp get flaky and dandruff....
ReplyDeleteThe point for this method it that if you hair is out of silicones, therefore you dont need the harsh sulfates from a shampoo, or also can use a no sulfate shampoo....then you curls get formed more easily and you stop getting much frustration of frizz and all, then you start liking the curls and enjoy the learning as well...start reading the products list and judging by yourself knowing what works for you and what doesnt....
That is the first step to stop damage...you get nice curls...therefore you take more care to keep them nice...so you ditch the iron...you ditch the chemicals...and in time you get to see your hair attain length that you never had...
I ditched silicone-based shampoos/conditioners for this very reason - I get itchy dry scalp. I like the Lush ones I am using now..but I like this conditioner wash idea :) It makes a lot of sense...and I love natural curls. I don't really straighten that often...just very rarely when I have the time or my hair is looking really messy :D
ReplyDeleteme write write an article to you and you try and how cool it :D
ReplyDeleteOkay..me try and tell you :D
ReplyDeleteDeb, I remember reading in some magazine article - Preity Zinta saying she does something similar - washing only with conditioner on most days :)
ReplyDeleteohhh... i know the hair oil which PZ uses !!! :)
ReplyDeletesachi :|
I didn't know about her using any specific hair oil..me only read ke she prefers conditioner washing..what does she use????
ReplyDeletereally?? i love her curls, i thought they were fake :D
ReplyDeleteohhh..its a long story how i knw which hair oil she uses n all*....i ll cut it short ..its this brand k2..its popular in mumbai..
ReplyDelete*ok , the people who maunfacture it= our family frends..= thy live in mumbai= pz 's mom= best frend of the lady who manufactures it :P :P :) :D
Ohhhhh...K2? Me tho never heard also of it...me liked your story :D
ReplyDeleteThis is so funny..me immediately googled K2 thinking me see what it is kinds....I go tthis site
ReplyDeletehttp://www.k2oil.com/
is a bike oil I think...language problem..no translate :D
hehhe...i have a story to tell even on the nanoest thing i see/hear/experience... :P :P :P
ReplyDeletehahahha...bike oil :P :P
ReplyDeletei wonder y thy hav such poor web visibilty..
very nice article rads.... :)i liked the transparent soap idea..... and the final oats tip a lot:) walking..... :( should start doing it.... and will check out the tbs oil... thankies :)
ReplyDeletei had back acne too... when i had long long hair! then i chopped the tresses off and acne cleared up... radsssss, same pinch! i have oily combination face and dry skin elsewhere... :(
ReplyDeletewhat coincidence is it tht i tried your coffee scrub yesterday and u wrote abt it again today :) i tried it with almond oil instead of olive and lubbbbbbbed it... i followed with a chcolate mask and so ended up smelling like a mocha!!
me likes all your tips on this post... will copycat all... actually, all ur skincare tips are worth copycatting!
Anks - I have never tried a chocolate mask..sounds really tempting..coffe-choc smell would just make me terribly hungry :D :D
ReplyDeleteRamya - I haven't tried the oats tip myself, but it seemed so useful I posted it here :)
Noopur - they probably rely more on word of mouth kind of advertising..
try it rads... it is a real test of self control...!! lol.... i took milk powder and added cocoa powder to it.... made a pack with rose water... i think u call also add normal milk, but i had milk powder to finish or it wud expire.. ur UB city pics are bootiful... that place looks so nice... Mr Rads was with you in the pic that u cropped off?
ReplyDeleteYes..Mr. Rads got chopped off :D :D Me gave him option of getting chopped off the pic or getting a black/white/yellow anda over the face and stay in the pic..he wisely picked chopping off :D
ReplyDeleteMe try cocoa powder and milk some time..is too easy to not try :D
ReplyDeleteLOL Rads, he feel good good na u protecting him coz him so sexy u all J we say mr Rads cutie :P
ReplyDeleteBTw i posted abt the method...makes no sense i guess go read if u understand anything :P
Me go read :D
ReplyDeletehee hee... wise man, Mr Rads is... try it and tell us if u like it... and keep posting ur skincare articles... love them!
ReplyDelete:D Sure will do that, Anks :)
ReplyDeleteDebbbbb... me can't access ur profile by clicking on ur name in the comment.. any idea why?
ReplyDeleteerr...try again :D
ReplyDeletenice article Rads!! :D :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Cali :)
ReplyDeletenice tips rads..loved swati's oats tip..
ReplyDeleteNever got around to trying it, but I thought it was awesome :D
ReplyDeleteMorning... :D :D :D I dont like to take hot baths.. it's either warm or cold.. I think I stopped taking baths in quite an early age because I used to feel itchy and I guess I never liked that feeling.. :(( Bt my body is dry as it is.
ReplyDeleteI mostly reply on body butters , as you mentioned or Johnson's baby oil. But last year was the first time I tried body butters and guess those would be my long time love.. These days just using a body cream and it's working just fine for me.
I dont know why I sound so serious.. :P Have a super long day ahead so woke up early.
*puchhi*
Heheee...why long day ahead...you doing something horrids whole day? Me sure! :hunterwali: Baby oil?? Me never tried that!
ReplyDeleteme dry skin all over !!! and the only thing i religiously follow is moisturise, moisturize and more moisturize !!!! rest all in moderations :P...but oats i have been using it for past 2 weeks mixed with yogurt and all and it does make a difference..i love it
ReplyDeleteYou mix oats and yogurt and use like a body mask/scrub is it?
ReplyDeleteyup make a lot of it and apply on face, hands, legs and let it be for some 10 mins and scrub....it removes tan slowly for me but makes skin really smooth and nice :)
ReplyDeleteand i hv taken chuttiiiiiiii...i was so stressed out and bored of work am in mood of taking a small break :D :D
ReplyDeleteWont the bathroom get dirty??? Me hate the sight of soggy oats :|
ReplyDeletecompletely...it looks horrible and like someone puk.....so i close my eyes and clean it :D
ReplyDeleteYa..is exactly what it looks like :| :| Me tried na that stupid tomato milk oat concoction...was awful...:|
ReplyDeletehehe..ya i read that story :P
ReplyDeletesuperb tips!!! I shall follow for sure as i have extremely dry skin!!! :)
ReplyDeletethanks Radhika for publishing the tip :) I hope you get around trying that too :P its a little work...tying in the muslin cloth and even I didn't try it after the initial excitement wore off...recalled it after reading it...would do it again sometime soon...
ReplyDeleteHii Swati :) :) Most ppl who got around to reading the comment loved it when you had typed it the last time, so I thought will add it in the article this time - thanks for sharing it :) Ya...is gentle reminders for everyone to stop being lazy and try the tip :D :D
ReplyDeleteNice tips :)
ReplyDeleteso very true :D
ReplyDeleteoh you try johnson's baby oill. it's nice and non sticky. :D :D
ReplyDelete