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Green Your Beauty Routine: Dry Skin Solutions

by Rebecca Casciano

Sustainable beauty is a result of what we eat, drink and think, as well as what we apply to our skin. Just as our food can nourish us from the inside, the skincare, makeup and personal care products we use can nourish us from the outside. The good news is we don’t have to compromise the health of our bodies or our environment to look and feel our best. We also don’t have to compromise glamour, luxury or style to live in a more natural and organic way. In this monthly feature, we will explore what’s in our beauty products. Please join me in my quest for the most natural, yet effective cosmetics!

Is winter weather affecting the way your skin looks and feels? The chilly air outside and dry heat inside can take a toll, causing dry, itchy skin and even exacerbating painful skin conditions, such as psoriasis and eczema. While a warm, toasty refuge certainly feels good, indoor heating eliminates moisture from the air and in turn, from our skin. Whether you experience the tightness and discomfort of dry skin or something more severe, you’re bound to need a winter weather-approved body moisturizer!

Most of us are all too familiar with the popular “dermatologist-approved” moisturizers that can be found in any drugstore or supermarket. While some of these products include beneficial plant-based ingredients like oats and cocoa butter, many contain more of the not-so nourishing ingredients such as petrochemicals, alcohols, parabens and fragrance. This is unsettling because dry, irritated skin needs only simple, pure ingredients to replace moisture, soothe inflammation and restore its healthy glow.

Body moisturizer is at the top of my list for a green beauty routine, because it is a product we use daily (or at least should, in the winter!) and apply all over our body. It’s also an easy one to add in, since there are a nice range of options that affordable, readily available and effective. Here are a few of my top picks, created from the most basic ingredients, to the some of the most unique and exotic:

Shea Butter 

SheaButter

Photo by Aquarian Bath

Pictured above: Raw, unrefined shea butter from aquarianbath.com.

This rich butter, created from from Shea tree nuts from West Africa, has been used for its moisturizing and healing properties for centuries. Shea butter’s benefits are believed to deeply moisturize the skin, help soothe irritated and chapped skin and even help prevent wrinkle formation. I love it because it seems to add an extra layer of warmth and protection to skin  during cold months! Look for raw, unrefined and fair-trade shea butter in health food stores. You can also add your own essential oils if you’re not a fan of it’s nutty scent.

Nourish Organic Skin Softening Body Butter

Nourish

For a nice blend of excellent plant-based moisturizers, this lightweight, organic Body Butter is a great choice. It contains the lovely shea butter, along with coconut oil, olive oil and Vitamin E and is available in various natural fragrances, as well as unscented. It goes on really smooth and keeps skin feeling truly nourished all day long. I love the fact that it’s organic, available at Target and costs just $10, which makes it easy to stock up! 

CVSkinlabs

CV Skinlabs Body Repair Lotion

Body Repair Lotion features CV Skinlabs’ Tri-Rescue Skin Complex, a combination of turmeric, alpha-bisabolol and reishi mushroom. The formula was created specifically for people with sensitive skin issues such as extreme dryness, eczema, psoriasis or a compromised immune system. This means it’s designed to truly help calm and soothe inflammation, restores moisture and radiance– which is why I continue to recommend it to anyone whose skin needs some extra TLC! My clients have been amazed with the results.

These suggestions are just a few of my favorites, but I hope they have inspired you to try something new. It bothers me to see so many people relying on the conventional brands to solve their skin issues, when I know (and now you do too!) that there are healthier, more effective alternatives. Protect that precious skin of yours, it’s cold out there!

Connect with Rebecca @RebeccaCasciano

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