5 Natural Remedies For Dry Skin Relief
Has your skin been looking like the Sahara Desert lately? Severely dry skin is a pretty common skin condition – especially this time of year.
Diet, UV damage, genetics, aging, stress levels, hormonal imbalances and overall health all influence the integrity, strength and hydration of our skin. And of course, as seasons change and temperatures drop, so do our moisture levels.
With these 5 dry skin remedies, you’ll be able to rebuild moisture levels and hydrate your skin naturally.
1. Start with your cleansing routine.
Rebuilding hydration starts with the first step of your skincare routine – cleansing.
Harsh cleansers + surfactants and harmful ingredients + detergents can seriously damage the skin’s natural moisture barrier. These common chemicals found in conventional cleansers are irritants and allergens which strip skin of its own natural (and very beneficial!) sebum production. Cleansing everyday with these kinds of products + ingredients disrupt the skin’s delicate acid mantle and is not only damaging to the skin, but dangerous to your health.
That’s why we’re completely obsessed with the Oil Cleansing Method for strong, healthy and hydrated skin – and why we believe truly hydrated skin comes from more than just your moisturizer. Using a cleansing oil deeply cleanses, purifies pores and dissolves buildup + blackheads – without over drying the skin.
Beginning your nightly beauty routine with a cleansing oil properly formulated for your skin type will help to balance the skin, leaving it purified and properly hydrated.
Tip: A clean canvas is essential for the effectiveness of your other superpower skincare products – including your moisturizer!
2. Prep skin for moisture.
Think of a desert. Dry, cracked soil doesn’t easily absorb water – or anything for that matter. The water ends up just sitting on top of the soil unable to penetrate the ground.
Our skin works in a similar way.
Applying moisturizer to dry, dehydrated skin isn’t actually the most beneficial way to boost hydration. It’s important to prep the skin to receive moisture and nutrients.
The best way to boost the absorption (and the benefits!) of your Beauty Cream is by spritzing a hydrosol beforehand. These floral mists are pure botanical extracts created from steam distilling plant materials that offer multiple beauty benefits in balancing, restoring + rejuvenating skin.
Unlike harsh astringents and harmful alcohols, hydrosols hydrate and stregthen the skin’s protective barrier. A simple spritz of Complexion Mist after cleansing and before applying your moisturizer allows hydration to soak even more deeply into the skin and provides much needed dry skin relief.
Tip: Hydrosols aren’t only reserved for your full skincare routine. Take a travel size bottle along in your bag for a midday moisture pick-me-up.
3. Hydrate from the inside out.
To deeply rehydrate dry skin, start to pay more attention to what you’re putting on your plate and what your sipping on. Being intentional about your food + drink choices can powerfully help to rebuild your skin’s moisture levels from the inside out.
Caffeine and alcohol can often be our beverage go-tos during this festive season, but they are also key culprits in dehydrating + depleting the skin’s moisture levels. Swap out your flavored latte or evening nightcap for the healing benefits of herbal teas. Power-packed with the restorative benefits of plants and adaptogens, herbal teas help to replenish hydration, plus provide several other benefits for the body and mind. We love sipping this tea to start our day with it’s skin-loving properties and this one to wind down + replenish the skin after a long day.
Make your meals more moisture-rich by focusing on foods with high water content, such as cucumber slices, strawberries, a salad full of leafy greens, fresh herbs (both cilantro and basil have skin-healing benefits), squash and other seasonal root vegetables.
Tip: Even with a hydrating diet, sometimes skin still needs a bit of boost and adding in a supplement that helps to improve moisture levels is a must. This supplement is a staple for us during the dry winter months and seriously enhances hydration with hyaluronic acid.
4. Fats are dry skin’s best friend.
As you’re choosing skincare products and meal prepping this season, if you forget every other dry skin remedy, remember this one: healthy fats = hydration.
A low-fat diet actually deprives the skin of much needed nutrition since the skin – and our cell membranes – are made up of almost entirely fats. It’s essential to feed your skin with healing, high quality fats and oils, inside + out. Simply put, full fat is where it’s at.
To treat dry skin topically, look for skincare products made with a beautifying blend of responsibly sourced animal fats + organic plant oils that work together to deeply moisturize and nourish the skin. Our skin needs these nutrients + fats together in order to stay strong, healthy and hydrated.
The make up of animal fats, such as tallow from grass-fed cows, make it compatible with our cell biology and deeply nourishing for our cell health. It also helps to retain moisture + water levels in skin, rebuild strength of skin cells, and repair tissues. Research has even proven grass-fed tallow helps to rejuvenate skin and help to heal severe dry skin conditions such as dermatitis and eczema.
Tip: Fill up on avocados (you don’t have to ask us twice!), wild-caught salmon, seeds + nuts (we love walnuts and brazil nuts!), sprinkle extra virgin olive oil on everything, and cook with ghee or grass-fed butter. Try to find ways to add in a healthy fats for a boost of hydration at every meal.
5. Moisturize naturally.
Now that we’ve looked at the foundations for healthy and hydrated skin – from the first steps of your skincare routine to the food you put on your plate – now it’s time to actually apply your moisturizer.
But while several conventional lotions + creams may claim to make all of your perfect skin dreams come true, their ingredient lists prove otherwise. Conventional beauty creams are often filled with chemicals that appear to be hydrating, however, these products often coat or clog (i.e. suffocate) your pores. Or if they do penetrate the skin, harmful ingredients are potentially headed straight to your bloodstream.
Moisturize your dry + dehydrated skin with real, vitamin-rich ingredients that are similar to the make up of your skin (i.e. oils and healthy fats!) so that healing properties can actually penetrate into the deeper levels of the skin to rebuild + retain moisture. Our favorites include tallow from grass-fed cows, organic essential oils and potent herbs + plant-based oils to leave your skin truly glowing with health and hydration.
Tip: Don’t forget your lips! We love applying lip balm before bed and waking up to smooth, moisturized and plump lips – even during cooler temps.
We hope these tips help your skin say goodbye to dry desert days, and hello to deeply hydrated skin this season. Do you have any natural dry skin remedies? We’d love to hear in the comments below!
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