Home Remedies for Curing Dry Skin

Seconding the coffee grounds idea: I learned about using coffee grounds in a spa class. They are great to exfoliate with, especially since you can consider it recycling to use them after your coffee is brewed. They are said to help with cellulite because of increasing circulation in the targeted cells. That's from caffeine plus the action of rubbing your skin. Not sure if proven.

FYI about exfoliation: Exfoliation is for removing the surface layer of dead skin cells, polishing off excess build-up and any flakiness. It also really helps to increase cell renewal. Never exfoliate inflamed or cracked skin. Never exfoliate without moisturizing after. If you don't moisturize, you may see results at first but later your problems will be worse. The reason is that you're abrasively removing the outer protective layer, including good oils, and possibly causing damage to living cells. If you don't replace the oils to help protect and nourish your skin then it will dry out again, more quickly this time. Also, do be gentle.

Moisturizing: There are lots of great oils out there you can use right on your skin. Try to go as natural as you can and avoid anything with mineral oil, petroleum, alcohol or plastics. A few good oils: sweet almond (less greasy), emu, avocado, coconut, jojoba, olive, sesame.... Whenever I'm cooking with olive oil I like to rub some on my hands and elbows. It soothes and prevents drying too badly from washing dishes.

A cure for dry skin is to exfoliate. There is no need to buy a product from the store. Use the grounds left over from your daily cup of coffee. Keep the coffee grounds in a container with a lid and store the container in your bathroom. Apply the coffee grounds in the shower. It's messy, but the grounds will not clog your drain. Use the grounds all over your body, including your face. Coffee grounds are full of antixodiants. It's a great cure for cellulite as well.

02/05/2008: Jolie du Pre from Chicago, IL writes: "A cure for dry skin is to exfoliate. There is no need to buy a product from the store. Use the grounds left over from your daily cup of coffee. Keep the coffee grounds in a container with a lid and store the container in your bathroom. Apply the coffee grounds in the shower. It's messy, but the grounds will not clog your drain. Use the grounds all over your body, including your face. Coffee grounds are full of antixodiants. It's a great cure for cellulite as well.

I have had problems with skin that is either very oily in the day, or very dry at night after washing my face. I seem to be sensitive to many face creams so I went searching for natural ways to help this problem. I saw an egg white or egg yolk facial online and just went for it. I have had very good results using this daily.

Here is my method:

Beat one whole egg and place in a small covered bowl or jar. Apply to clean face. I usually apply 2-3 layers of the egg. I leave it for around 10-15 minutes then wash it off when I take my shower. I do this daily.

While my goal was to moisturize, I have noticed other benefits. I see a reduction in fine lines, as well as less blackheads and my pores seem to be tightening up. I had very large pores to start. I am very surprised by these results after using tis mask daily for a week. I am going to continue using this as it has been the best thing I have ever used. Also at night I pat my face down with rice water and leave it to dry. I do not rinse this off. It makes my skin feel very smooth and I do not need to moisturize when I use this. Maybe this will help someone else who is also at their wits end.

Empsom salt soaks gets rid of dry feet:). I just take a usual bath & put in about 2cups of empsom salt I do this 3-4 days a week!!!

All of this extra hand-washing is important to help contain germs, but it can sure be hard on the hands! My hands were getting really dry. At home I switched over to glycerin soaps. I have a bar of glycerin soap in the shower and a pump soap at the sink with glycerin for handwashing.

I do also use a lotion bar, especially on my heels. It contains cocoa butter, beeswax and coconut oil.

If you are inclined to make such a thing it is simply the following:

• 4 ounces beeswax
• 4 ounces coconut oil
• 6 ounces cocoa butter

You can add a teaspoon of peppermint essential oil and it will smell like a peppermint patty. :)

I melt the beeswax and coconut oil in a double boiler. Then gently melt in the cocoa butter. Add the peppermint oil once you remove it from the heat. You can pour it into soap molds.

You hold lotion bar in your hand and it melts a little off. It can also be placed in lip balm tubes to make a lip balm instead.

Enjoy!

~Mama to Many~

Dry skin: I used all posible lotions, creams, oils even lard nothing helped much. Someone said to buy glycerin soap wich helped, then I started to read ingredients of all these lotions and creams and all of them contain glycerin. So I went to wall mart and bought pure glycerin (first aid section) diluted with equal parts of water. Rub it in than rinse it because its sticky. Its also great for lips. If you can stand sticky part apply it and sleep with it (use pajamas, it won't stain) that would be great, at least once a week. I am off lotions and creams for a year now and I feel great. Good luck!

I've always had dry skin all my life, but now that I'm going through menopause in my 50's it's worse. I stumbled upon something that helped. I have yeast issues so I avoid fruit because the sugars in them make it worse. So when I got the flu about 2 years ago I searched the internet for info on foods that have alot of vitamin C. Hibiscus Tea popped up in that search as being high in vitamin C and my local store had it in stock! I only drank 1 cup of it a day, and after some time, I noticed that my skin both face and body wasn't as dry anymore. In fact, I could skip a day putting body and face lotion on after my daily shower and I could never do that before!

After my flu was gone I stopped drinking the Hibiscus tea and my skin went back to being dry again sometime after that. So I went back to drinking 1 cup a day and my skin became less dry again. No doubt about it now, it really does help my dry skin.

Word of CAUTION: Hibiscus in general can cause low blood pressure and diuretic effects. It can also cause an imbalance of hormonal levels in the body. This is because of the presence of phytoestrogen which is a plant based estrogen naturally present in Hibiscus.

Winter 2010/11 was my fourth using honey to keep the back of my hands smooth. To test whether I still needed it, I waited till after the weather got cold to see if my skin got dry and rough and it did. I again used cheap grocery store honey for several nights and quit. My skin was fine for the rest of the winter without treatment. I did get two small cuts that I couldn't attribute to any event, daubed them with honey and had no further problems--till today, the first of May, when the weather was slightly chilly in the morning. I again noticed a minor tear but didn't treat it until late afternoon when I saw some blood and applied honey.

It's odd that colder weather a couple of months ago didn't affect my skin yet it couldn't take milder dry wind today.

After reading a post about honey, I've decided to give it a try. I use raw honey to wash my face every day. Have been doing this for almost a year now and will continue to use it forever. I love the way it makes my skin feel, cleansed, and soft, not tight. I also use Borax (about 2-3 times a week) as a scrub. It works great. My skin feels smooth and soft. Thank you for sharing.

Dry skin on face: Wash your face with raw honey. It will make your skin nice and soft also. Just rub the honey all over face, let it dry and rinse off with tepid water. I love it.

Taking a bath in honey will heal dry skin. My cousin's 18 month old daughter had cronic dry skin since birth and I suggested this remedy(I read somewhere that Ancient Egyphian Queens took daily baths in honey). The baby no longer has dry skin, from just one bath in honey and it's been almost 3 months since the remedy was used. When my cousin took her daughter to the pediatrician for her regular check up, the doctor was surprised by the results b/c she (the pediatrician) had prescribed several remedies, all of which never worked.

Hello,. if you have dry skin on your face from wind or what ever, put some 3% drug store Hydrogen Peroxide in a spray bottle and when your in the shower spray your face real good and let it set a few minutes, make sure you keep your eyes closed, and it may burn a little at first but let it stay and then rinse it off and keep doing it at every shower and your face will be real smooth after the first time. Dave

I love this website. The thought of losing so many loved ones recently makes me very sad. Had I known about earth clinic, perhaps they would still be here. I have been using several different remedies. I tried the hydrogen peroxide method first. I use it in my water mostly, but sometimes i use the spray pump. I smoke heavily and my breathing has changed so much for the better. I have much more energy and overall feel good. I am diabetic and have very dry peeling feet. I soak my feet in enough water to cover the top of my feet and add about 1/2 c. Peroxide to the water and soak about 30 minutes or longer if i have the time. After 2 times, i could see my feet start to heal. Also, i found 3% peroxide without stabalizers at the family dollar. I can taste the difference. Thank you so much.

The lemon juice remedy for dry hands is fantastic! I now buy lemons and cut a piece off during the day and rub on my hands and face. Within 30 seconds, they are baby soft. Best remedy ever. Great when you are out at a restaurant and they serve lemon with your water. I use the lemon slice to cleanse and soften my hands.