Soothing Dry Skin with Essential Oils

The weather here has been all over the place...from cold dreary days, to storms and high winds, to just plain hot.  This is the start of the time of year when my skin gets extremely dry.  I moved to Colorado 22 years ago, from Hawaii.  Prior to that, I lived in New Orleans, California and grew up in Jersey...all of which had been humid weather.  The Southwest is known for it's dry climate, drinking lots of  water daily is a must and becomes second nature before long.

And so is having dry, itchy skin...

When I first moved here I worked in Dermatology, saw lots of skin disorders from the mild to the serious and the biggest complaints were of having dry, itchy skin.  The first thing we recommended was not showering everyday and definitely not using hot water in your bath or shower...why...

because you wash away your body's own natural oils.

And of course we encouraged drinking lots of water and staying hydrated.  Before long I too started suffering from the dry, itchy skin despite following those rules.  It would get so bad my legs looked like they had fish scales on them...yuck!  Aquaphor was highly recommended as were any heavy base creams because lotions would just evaporate leaving you dry again.  I really disliked being greasy but it was that or dry skin.

Until I started using Essential oils...

What I found to work the best was to create my own bath oil.  After showering with a moisturizing body wash, usually one that contained Essential oils in my case...I love Kiss my Face Patchouli body wash by the way, it's one of my favorites and smells sooo good.  The shower is one of the places I like to do my clearing and grounding...Patchouli is one of those perfect oils for grounding...and the shower of course has the perfect element...water for clearing.  I even have a little song I sing, to the tune of "I can sing a rainbow", only using the colors of the Chakras, as I imagine a rainbow shower, washing over me and clearing each of my energy centers, Chakras.  I enjoy this visualization often and complete it by surrounding myself in white healing light, before I go off and start my day.

Okay back to the bath oil... 

What I like to do is get a good carrier oil...for years it was Sweet Almond Oil which can be found in any Health Food store. But recently, I was introduced to Fractionated Coconut Oil.  Besides all the wonderful benefits of coconut oil...it's also more silky and absorbs into the skin making it ideal as a carrier oil. Then I add my favorite combination of oils and after I shower, I put on my bath oil, and yep, while still in the shower.  Then I just pat dry and the oil penetrates the skin and leaves it baby soft...no need for extra greasy creams.

Here's a basic recipe for you...

8 oz of carrier oil

10 drops of Lavender

5 drops of Ylang Ylang

5 drops of Sandalwood 

Or any combination of oils that you may fancy...I love this combination, it's one of my favorites ♥ Enjoy!