Showing posts with label skin care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skin care. Show all posts

January 8 - National Winter Skin Relief Day

Posted on January 8, 2020


The temperatures are dropping outside. More and more of us are heating our homes inside. And both of these things rob the air of its moisture...

And so many of us have chapped lips and cheeks, cracked skin around our fingers, dry "scaly" legs and dry reddened hands and dry breaking or split-end-ing hair!



Especially if you are experiencing a very cold winter...
Especially if you are having to use the furnace every day...
Especially if you have experienced dry, chapping, cracking skin in the past...

Work hard to moisturize your skin and hair.

Avoid long, hot showers, because the heat removes your natural oils. Instead, take shorter warm showers. Use gentle soaps and cleansers, and use gentle touch and lather and running water do the cleaning rather than scrubbing your skin. Pat your skin dry with a towel rather than rubbing, and use a moisturizer or lotion to rehydrate your skin.



Dress for the weather - whether you are staying in or going out - so you don't have to run the heating system quite as much. Use layers to create warmth, and use soft natural fibers (like cotton) closest to the skin. 


When going out, concentrate on keeping your torso and head warm as well as covering your extremities with mittens and waterproof boots or...? Remember, a long fluffy scarf can wrap up and around things like ears and necks to keep your body heat in and keep chilly winds out.


When washing dishes or doing other cleaning tasks, wear rubber gloves!

At night, try to pile on the comforters and duvets so you can turn down the thermostat. Wear fresh socks to keep your feet warm. Use moisturizers and lip care and lotions again, maybe even locking in the hand lotion with nighttime gloves. Consider using a humidifier - which can not just up the moisture in the air, but can also provide white noise to help you sleep!




July 3 – Stay Out of the Sun Day

Posted on July 3, 2018

When I was a kid, nothing was more healthy than being outdoors as much as possible, on nice sunny days.

Or so they said!



And it was super healthy to camp out and sit around a campfire...

...and to drink water straight from babbling mountain streams...

All of that stuff was seen as nature, and natural - and therefore healthy.

But just because something is natural, that doesn't mean it's healthy. Mosquitoes carrying malaria are natural, and definitely not healthy. Even if water in streams looks pure, it can be contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, or other pollutants and should be filtered or boiled or treated. Campfire smoke (or any wood smoke from cooking) can cause lung damage and cancer.

And that brings us to the sun. You probably do NOT live under a rock, and so you probably know that skin cancer is a very real threat, especially to light-skinned people but even to dark-skinned people. About 9,500 people in the U.S. alone are diagnosed with skin cancer....EVERY DAY! Luckily, most of these are not deadly melanomas, but about 9,000 people in the U.S. die from skin cancer each year. So...yeah, it's important to:



(1) Stay out of the sun.

(2) UV radiation gets to us even on cloudy days, so use protection even then!

(3) Use sun lotion, hats, sunglasses, long sleeves, and other cover ups to reduce exposure.

(4) Use trees, parasols, tents, canopies, tarps, patio roofs, and beach or patio umbrellas to reduce exposure.


Stay Out of the Sun Day is not just about fear and what NOT to do - it can be so nice and relaxing and cool to have out-of-doors time in the shade:






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