6 Natural Dry Skin Remedies

Winter time for many people means itchy and dry skin, which can be very uncomfortable and look bad. If you’ve tried out every over the counter dry skin cream you could find, but still haven’t been able to solve your dry skin problems, you may want to try some more natural remedies instead. There are a number of great all natural dry skin remedies that may help alleviate your skin problems. Here are a few natural remedies that can help you get smoother, more moist looking skin.

Raw Honey

Honey is truly a gift of nature. Raw honey can moisturize dry skin and also has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Manuka honey is even used by medical professionals to treat wounds. Just apply some raw honey to dry spots on your skin and let it set for a few minutes, then rinse off.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Many moisturizing creams contain olive oil as an active ingredient. Using it pure just cuts out all the chemicals that are often added that you may not want to put onto your skin. Olive oil contains a lot of antioxidants that help fight free radicals that can damage your skin, helping treat irritated, dry or inflamed skin. You can use olive oil as your daily moisturizer, applying it to any dry skin spots on your body. If you are very acne-prone, you want to be careful using it on your face because it may cause your skin to break out.

You can also combine olive oil with other ingredients, such as lemon and sea salt to create a great body scrub.

Aloe Vera

Another great natural skin moisturizer is aloe vera gel. You can either buy aloe vera gel at your local drugstore or just buy a plant and squeeze the gel straight from the plant’s leaves. Just break or cut off a leave and squeeze the green gel out onto your skin. After cutting off a leave, the plant will heal itself and just keep on growing like nothing ever happened to it.

Coconut Oil

Besides being a healthy oil to cook your food in or use in salads, coconut oil is also a great moisturizer. It’s antibacterial and smells great too. Just apply it straight to your skin or mix with other natural ingredients.

Yogurt

Yogurt works great as an exfoliator, removing dry skin and the uncomfortable feeling that comes along with it. Especially if you have very dry skin yogurt is a great, mild exfoliant that doesn’t further aggravate the skin.

Great Food

It is also important to moisturize your skin from the inside, meaning you should drink enough water during the day and eat plenty of nutritional foods to keep your body and skin in good shape. Try to incorporate more Omega-3 fatty acids into your diet as well as beta-carotene, vitamin C and magnesium. Try to eat fatty fish at least a few times per week (for Omega-3), plenty of brightly colored vegetables and leafy greens and some fruits. If you can’t get enough nutrients through your diet, supplements may be the solution, though you should see your physician before taking any.

Zane Schwarzlose is a writer at the Kansas City Skin and Vein Center. Zane thinks that yogurt sounds like a great facial treatment.