Battling Dry Skin

      Winter is in full swing now, and with it dry and itchy skin.  Combating dry skin is fairly easy; all you need are a few tips and a good lotion.

     First thing is to make sure you’re drinking plenty of water.  Water helps hydrate your skin; drinking water is good no matter what season it is.

     Limit the hot water in the shower.  I know it feels really good, but it strips your skin and hair of its natural oil, leaving it dry.  It can also be a good idea to get a moisturizing soap for your body.  I just use Ivory soap since it’s mostly natural. 

      An obvious fix to dry skin is to apply lotion throughout the day.  I put lotion on my hands all through the day to keep them soft.  Apply lotion on your hands before you go to bed, that way it has a chance to sink in while you sleep and it won’t get washed off.   It’s also a good idea to apply lotion after you shower.  Lotion will help replace the oil that has been stripped from your skin.  I apply lotion all over my body right after I’ve taken a shower and my skin is still damp.  That way the lotion locks the moisture into your skin.   If you need extra moisture, after you take a shower and dry off, spray yourself with a spray bottle of baby or body oil.  

  If you deal with dry skin on your face, there are lots of great moisturizing masks and scrubs you can make.  Honey is great for moisturizing your face and it gives you a silky complexion.  Make sure you apply face lotion every morning and night after you wash your face.  I also put face lotion on after I shower since my face is usually dry.  Michelle Phan made a great video showing how to make a sugar scrub.
  For your lips, buy a good lip balm.  Eos Sphere Lip Balm is my favorite and Chapstick also has some good ones.  Using petroleum jelly instead of a lip balm is also very moisturizing and it’s less expensive.  If your lips are dry, licking them makes them worse.  If you have dry lips, it could also mean you’re thirsty and you need to drink water.  Apply lip balm throughout the day and especially at night so it can sink in. 
  Use your richest and most expensive moisturizer for your hands and feet; they take the most abuse and need lots of moisture.   If your feet are super dry and crack during the winter, rub them with a pumice stone after taking a shower, and then follow with lotion or a special formulated foot cream.  Putting socks on after will help lock in the moisture. 

Some good lotions:

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula

Baby lotion (any brand)

Jergens

Bath & Body Works

eos

 I hope this helped some of you guys!  Have a great week!

Becca xxoo

Sugar

     I love exfoliating because I love soft skin.  So this post is all about sugar exfoliants.  You can mix sugar with extra virgin olive oil or olive oil for an exfoliant.  It exfoliates and moisturizes your skin at the same time.  If you want to use it on your face only use extra virgin olive oil, not olive oil.  Extra Virgin Olive Oil won’t clog your pores; the molecules are too big. 

     If you exfoliate with it before you shave like I do, it makes your legs and the hair on your legs soft and it’s easier to shave.  When you mix it together make sure you use more sugar than oil; just use as much as you need.  After you wash it off, it makes your skin so soft! You can add extra virgin olive oil (or you can use olive oil) and sugar to your bath instead of applying the mixture directly on your skin.  You can also use it on your lips!  Just put the mixture on your lips, rub it with your finger or use a toothbrush, and then wash it off.  Your lips will be so amazingly soft!   (You don’t have to use the oil to do this stuff; you can just use plain sugar if you want.)

     For another exfoliant you can use plain sugar.  To exfoliate my face I usually use plain sugar.  Take some sugar in your hand, add some water, gently rub it all over your face (minus your eyes), and then gently wash it off.  Or you can just add a little bit of sugar in your cleanser, which works really well. 

The 411 on Shaving

       I have switched products a lot when it comes to shaving.  First I used Skintimates Shaving Cream and BIC Disposable razors; then I used Suave conditioner; next I switched to an electric razor (REMINGTON Smooth & Silky electric razor for about $40); and now I’m using Gillette Satin Care Shaving Gel for dry skin and Wilkinson Sword Classic Twin razors.  I really like the shaving gel; when you first squirt it out its like gel, but it becomes a cream when you rub it.  It’s really moisturizing and it makes it easier to shave; I actually think I like it better than conditioner.  It wasn’t that expensive, only about $2.  I still think that conditioner is great for shaving (definitely better than just soap), but I’m finding that shaving gel works best for me.   

     I almost always shave after I’ve just taken a shower; I don’t like shaving in the shower.  I don’t have very good light in there, and the shaving cream gets rinsed off.  If I didn’t just get done taking a shower, then I soak my legs in warm water for a couple minutes to soften the hair.  I find that the softer the hair, the easier it is to shave.  If you want super soft and smooth legs, exfoliate your legs before you shave.  I usually fill the tub up with a little bit of water when I shave to rinse my razor off during shaving.  That way I don’t have to turn the water on and off every 5 seconds or leave it on.  I sit on the edge of the tub and I raise whichever leg I’m shaving against the tub.  It makes it easier, because my leg is more at eye level, and I can see if I missed any places.  I start at the base of my ankle and I go all the way up to my knee.  I don’t go all the way up without lifting the razor up; I do little strokes all the way up.  Then I rinse my razor off.  I keep doing that until I’ve done my whole leg.  Sometimes I have to shave sideways on the back of my legs, or I just have to go over certain places on my legs till all the hair is gone.  I usually shave my knee, my toes, and the top of my feet last.  Be very careful when doing your knee and the back of your knee, actually be careful everywhere.  Just take your time, and don’t rush.  It’s easier to cut yourself with a dull razor; make sure you get a new razor when the old one gets dull.  I usually change mine every couple weeks.  You’re supposed to change it every 8-10 times shaving.  I don’t count when I just shave under my arms, haha.  After I’m done shaving, I rinse my legs off and then I pat them dry.  If I’ve cut myself and it doesn’t stop bleeding pretty quickly, then I use a styptic pencil to help stop the bleeding.  After that I apply lotion to my legs.

     I have trouble with getting a razor rash if I shave with a regular razor and then a day or two later I shave again.  So if I’m going to shave every other (or every) day, then I have to use an electric razor.  If my hair gets a little longer, I can use a regular razor, and I like using a regular razor better because you get a closer shave.  I usually have to go over my legs more with an electric razor, but it seems to go faster.  I don’t have to be quite as careful with an electric razor because you can’t cut yourself as easily.  I find that the only place I usually cut myself with an electric razor is on my knees, the back of my knees, and on my feet.  So I usually use my disposable razor for those places.  It’s also nice that you can shave wet or dry with an electric razor. 

     How often you should shave depends on the person.  I know some people that shave every day because they like to be super smooth.  I’m not really picky about how smooth my legs are, I’ve gone a week during the summer without shaving my legs, but I was only at home.  If I want smooth legs, I shave about every other day.  During the winter I usually only shave once a week, and I don’t usually shave above my knee. 

    

                                             A few things you can use conditioner for…

     Conditioner can be used as a makeup remover.  I personally don’t like using it as one, but it can be used.  Take a cotton ball with some conditioner on it, and wipe it on your face to remove your makeup.  Then wash the conditioner off with your cleanser.

     You can also put conditioner all over your body in the shower, leave it on for a few minutes, and then after you wash it off your skin with be soft. 

Petroleum Jelly

      You can use petroleum jelly for so many different things.  You can use it as a makeup remover, but I only use it as an eye makeup remover when I do use it, because petroleum jelly is sort of oily so I don’t know if it would make my skin oily or not.

     Petroleum jelly can be used as an under eye moisturizer; I use it for that a lot.

     You can also use petroleum jelly as natural mascara.  I’ve only done this a few times when I was going to go somewhere before I went swimming.  It doesn’t harden or dry like mascara does so if you touch your lashes it will come off and it’s a little gloppier than mascara.  I would curl my lashes before I apply it so if you blink it doesn’t get petroleum jelly under your eye.  I would also separate my lashes before I apply it because it will make your lashes look like they’re all stuck together if you don’t.  Use a disposable or an old clean and washed mascara wand, put the petroleum jelly on the wand and apply.  Or, you can just put a little petroleum jelly on your finger and apply it.  I hardly ever do this because regular mascara works so much better.  Even if you’re going to go swimming, waterproof mascara works 100% better.  I thought I would just tell you about using it as mascara since you can.

     It works really well as a lip balm.  I use it almost every night, and whenever my lips are dry.  You can use it as a lotion, but it makes your skin feel a little greasy so I usually only use it on my hands when they’re really dry.

     On the back of my petroleum jelly it says it can be use to temporarily protect minor cuts, scrapes, and burns.  When I’ve gone skating before the ice skates rubbed on my ankles so I tried putting petroleum jelly where it was sore and it did help a little.  Plus, petroleum jelly is hypoallergenic.  I usually get the flip-top one because then you can just squirt it out instead of digging it out of a container with your finger.

     Also, this isn't that beauty related, but you can use petroleum jelly to get scuff marks off your shoes.  I use it to get dirt off the rubber part of my Converse.

Myth: Toothpaste Dries Up Acne

     I was on this website that sells facial products and I saw this article, so I wanted to share it with you guys.  Here it is.