Winter Skin Problems?

Mrs Everybody gets lots of questions which relate to winter skin care and she knows a thing or two having done outside events in the winter at temperature as low as -4°C in Medieval costume and slept in her canvas tent between February and October! If you have ... Areas of flaky skin on your face Insanely itchy legs A dry patch between the eyes Peeling lips Cold sores or A red nose after a cold then read our natural tips for supporting the skin in the winter...

Treating Flaky Skin on the Face

You can't go without heating or drive in a cold vehicle. Heating is important but it does dry the skin and the skin on the face can be covered in little flakes of dead skin. Most people just put on extra moisturizer but this isn't the answer and if you have ever tried to cover it all with foundation you will know that that doesn't provide a solution either. You can not moisturize dead skin - it has to go! Simply remove dead skin on the body as often as needed with hemp oil soap and a sponge. The 4- 4 1/2" silk fina sponges are best for face care. Remember the skin is supposed shed as it renews itself so you are just giving it a helping hand. Where the skin is extra sensitive, such as on the face, I recommend using the rhassoul clay after using the hemp soap to remove any soap traces. Massage the face briefly with the clay in a nice slippery consistency. The clay removes lots of residues from the skin which is why it is so famous for detoxing the skin. Wash the clay off. Now you can moisturize with argan oil and the moisturizing will work. Note that a lot of skin flakiness is caused by sensitivity to shampoos, shower gels, moisturizers, foundation etc as many of them contain artificial chemicals which provoke underlying irritation. Also everything mentioned on this blog is influenced by other factors such as general health diet and exercise.

Treating Itchy Legs in the Winter

A lot of people get itchy legs in the winter - perhaps it is the layers of tight clothing, reduced circulation, the chaffing of damp trousers, over the ankle boots, a change in diet, heat directed on the legs (vehicles, or where there is a single main source of heat in a room), decreased activity levels or a vitamin deficiency from reduced sunlight exposure? While you are working out the cause, use the naturally antimicrobial hemp on soap on those legs, leaving it on just for a few minutes and rubbing it off gently with a honeycomb or silk fina sponge. Then massage each leg for 5 minutes with a slurry of rhassoul clay. Finally moisturize with argan oil. You will hopefully be able to go to bed without itching!

Treating Congested Skin in the Winter

A good brisk walk in the winter is great exercise but the skin surface, especially on the exposed skin of the face is so cold that the circulation is still reduced. The skin on the face has not heated up in the right way and 'sweated.' Sweating is one of the skin's vital self cleansing mechanisms and it is important for healthy skin. A skin that does not sweat regularly is likely to become congested. The hemp oil soap also clears blackheads, blocked sebaceous glands and helps with uneven darker pigmented areas –it relieves general congestion of the skin. The action is enhanced if you start with warm skin or bathe in a steamy room. Failing that you could steam your face over a bowl - but do not let any of the hemp oil soap drip in your eyes. You can just use hot wet flannels to warm the skin before using the soap or just handfuls of hot water. This amazing soap will deal with skin at both ends of the dry-oily spectrum. If you have used the hemp oil soap on the face, next use a little of the rhassoul clay afterwards to remove every trace of soap. Soap is a 'rinse off' product and the rhassoul clay will remove all the final traces. Some customers claim the rhassoul clay removes congestion too and it does but in a different way. Mrs Everybody uses both and therefore she is completely impartial! The facial skin benefits from the use of both hemp oil soap and the rhassoul clay as does the rest of the skin.

Treating a Dry Reddish Patch Between the Eyes

Again hemp oil soap exfoliation, a mini-massage with rhassoul clay, then moisturize with argan oil, or even the argan lip balm which also contains beeswax and gum acacia. Mrs Everybody has found the argan lip balm very good for protecting from deeper wrinkles between the eyes above the eyebrows and the ones which like form around the lips but that is going off the point a bit! You can use the lip balm on very dry patches of skin.

Treating Sore Lips

While my van has a great heater, it dries my lips out rapidly. The dry hot heat causes the oils in the skin to evaporate. Dry lips are a ‘cosmetic issue’ but when your lips are drying out and peeling, it can seem like a medical emergency! Always keep a jar of argan lip balm in your vehicle! Again the same principles apply - of removing the accumulation of dry skin first. This should never be done by biting your lips as it exposes immature skin, it hurts and it doesn't look appealing. As an alternative to biting my lips, I tend to use rose water on my lips several times a day. It removes the skin which is ready to come off and no more than that. Total Gain and No Pain! Apply the rose water to the lips and rub with the finger or a little piece of muslin cloth. Just at the point when the rose water dries and become tacky, the dead skin which is ready to go, rolls off. Then apply the argan lip balm. All Gain and No Pain! The visual transformation is amazing and the lips will find smiling comfortable again.

To Treat a Red Nose After a Cold?

A red nose can linger for weeks after the cold has cleared up. It might be good for eliciting pity and getting your friends to offer you hot toddies, but really it is much nicer to have even looking and healthy skin tones. Give your sore nose a very gentle and brief massage with rhassoul clay slurry once a day and then apply argan lip balm as needed. The redness will soon go! You can also get a red nose when you are outside a lot and the air condenses in your nostrils, producing wet salty drips which take the protective oils out of the skin. When you blow you nose, the tissue aggravates the skin soreness. I prefer to use cotton or silk hankerchiefs, but you do need a lot of them! Of course don't tell your friends that you nose is red from condensing water vapour or you will be talking yourself out of that hot toddy!

Treating Cold Sores Naturally

Use the alum crystal! Cold sores are unsightly, embarrassing and difficult to conceal even with make up. They can last for a long time and even leave scarring. Unfortunately friends will not offer you a hot toddy to make it better. Don’t feel alone, team up with an alum crystal. Just wet the alum crystal any way (but not by licking it!) and rub it on the area frequently through the day. It is important to remember that the skin is not just influenced by whether it is hot or cold outside, it is a visual reflection how well we care for it, of our internal health and whether our diet and life style is right for our body. Only you or your doctor / naturopath can know.

Back to Mrs Everybody

It is unrealistic to expect to have perfect skin every single day of your life especially in the winter, but once you understand the very simple principles of good skin care, and how few products you really need, it is great to have comfortable and trouble free skin most of the time! Only when you can manage your own skin most of the time, can you recognize the difference between a patch of skin which needs some extra care, over a patch of skin that needs the care of a skilled professional. It is your call. I am sure that Mrs Everybody has only ‘just’ touched a few of the cosmetic issues for skin in the winter so do feel free to ask your questions below.