January is always bone-chillingly cold! The air is dry, the wind is gusty, and snow is literally everywhere. Even with these cold temperatures, I can't help but love winter. It's perfect weather to curl up with a book and a nice steaming mug of peppermint tea. It's also the perfect time to wear thick chunky sweaters with comfy leggings pretty much everyday. Yup, I love winter alright. However, I hate what it does to my skin. It makes me so dry, and can sometimes even make my eczema flare, which is a common winter skin woe. I hate the idea of constantly slathering myself with steroid-filled hydrocortisone, so after endless trial and error, I found a few natural, EFFECTIVE ways to alleviate my eczema. Here are some of the remedies that worked wonders for me!
1. Shea butter - This is easily one of my favourite eczema remedies! Shea butter is rich in vitamins A,E and F and also in fatty acids, making it wonderful for healing scars and accelerating your skins renewal process. It can heal not only eczema, but also burns, sores, psoriasis and other irritations you may randomly develop. It can get a little greasy, so I suggest using it mostly at night. Make sure that you get unrefined Shea butter, as it is much more effective.
2. Coconut oil - Coconut oil in anti-inflammatory, ant-fungal, anti-bacterial and is also known for its high level of antioxidants. It is rich is nutrients and lauric acid, both of which will help to soothe your skin, combat itchiness and deeply moisturize. Like Shea butter, it too is amazing at healing damaged skin, which is why it is so excellent for those of us who suffer from eczema. Not only can you apply it topically, you can also take it internally by incorporating it into your everyday diet, which will help to treat your eczema and dry skin internally. I personally love spreading coconut oil on toast! It's also amazing as a healthy baking ingredient.
3. Camellia Oil - This stuff is golden. Seriously. This oil is cold-pressed from green tea plants, and is the best oil I have ever used on my face. It is incredibly moisturizing and incredibly calming. It soothes redness, heals irritations and is generally wonderful for all skin types, whether your skin is sensitive, mature, dry, or acne-prone. When it comes to treating eczema, I use camellia oil fro treating any on my face, and use the above two for treating any on my body, like my arms or elbows.
I hope that these remedies work with helping you to alleviate your eczema, or even just very dry skin!
What do you use to help combat eczema?
