You all know that I use coconut oil for my dry skin during winter if you read my zero waste skincare routine. But this time it doesn’t work well for me because it was too cold outside. The burning sensation on my entire face didn’t stop and so I decided to prepare a homemade moisturizer on my own and it worked pretty well on my skin. Here, I’ve mentioned 2 homemade moisturizers in 2 different versions (Lotion and Body butter). Personally, I love body butter because they’re thick but if you’re a fan of lotions you can go for the lotion too. It’s up to you. Also, I’ve mentioned the difference between the body butter, lotion and cream. Keep reading to know more. Before going for that you should know the reason for causing the dryness in the first place.
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What is the main cause of dryness during winter and how to get rid of it?
When the level of the humidity drops in the weather, our skin becomes dry. This is because in winter the water in our skin evaporates more quickly due to the cold dry atmosphere. Your skin also loses its ability (more than 25%) to hold its moisture. So, it is wise to moisture your skin as much as possible during the winter days to prevent your moisture from the skin.
Why homemade moisturizer?
We all know that there are chemicals used in the commercial moisturizers to preserve them for longer use. Not only that there are more reasons to add these chemicals. Let’s look into them briefly to know how they affect our body.
Commonly used chemicals in the commercial moisturizers:
Formaldehyde:
Formaldehydes and other formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (FRPs) prevents microbes from growing in the water-based products and thus they are used in the personal care products as a preservative. They will be absorbed into the skin and may lead to skin allergies and even cancer. It is the main ingredient found in the moisturizers.
Parabens:
Parabens are also used for preserving your moisturizers. They affect our body by disrupting hormones and causing breast cancer.
Retinol:
You may find retinol in most of the skin products. Retinol is made from Vitamin A and they say it boosts the collagen production and discards the wrinkles. But in fact, it turns your skin dry and flaky. So, it makes your dry skin even worse.
Fragrance:
The artificial fragrance used in the commercial moisturizers has phthalates in it. Do you know that the phthalates affect your reproductive system which leads to birth defects and infertility?
Now, let’s look into the common skin conditions arise during winter.
Common skin conditions during winter:
- Dry itchy patches
- Flaking
- Redness
- Winter rashes
- Dandruff and itchy scalps
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Here we are! The difference between the body butter, the lotion and the cream.
Body butter vs cream vs lotion:
Are you confused to choose among body butter or cream or lotion? I’ll explain all the three so that you’ll get an idea on what to put it on your skin.
Body lotion:
The main difference among all the three is the water content. The lotion is a combination of oils and water. But it has more water and less oil. This is lighter and thus it absorbs into the skin very quickly. It treats slightly dry skin but doesn’t leave your skin oily. So, if you hate the oiliness in your skin you can go for the lotion. It retains the moisture on your skin well.
Body cream:
The body cream is also the combination of oils and water but the content of oil will be more or equal to the amount of water i.e., 50/50. It is thicker than lotion but not more than the body butter. It provides hydration and protects your skin from the winter dryness.
Body butter:
The water content in the body butter is nil. It is entirely made of oils and butter. Hence, they have the capacity to moisturize well. They are thicker and has an oily texture to it. The body butter is ideal for your chapped and dry skin during winter days.
From this, we can understand that body butter is ideal for skin dryness in winter. As I told you before, we’re going to make both homemade moisturizers (lotion and body butter). It’s up to you to choose the right one for your skin.
DIY Homemade Moisturizing Lotion for dry skin in winter:
Ingredients:
- Shea butter – 1 cup (unrefined)
- Coconut oil – 1/2 cup (unrefined & melted)
- Essential oil – 5 to 10 drops (Lavender)
Instructions:
- Add the Shea butter and coconut oil in a bowl and melt them in the double boiler.
- Take them out of the heat and add the essential oil from 5 to 10 drops
- Transfer it into any small container or you can even reuse the old cream tubes.
- You can either refrigerate or keep it at room temperature.
Our first homemade moisturizer (lotion version) is ready!
I’ve mentioned earlier that the water content will be more in the lotion. So, you may have a doubt like where is the water in the recipe? The reason for not using the water is that we’re not using any chemical preservatives in our homemade moisturizer and when we add water, it tends to spoil soon. Hence, we’re avoiding water to increase the shelf life of our homemade moisturizer.
DIY Homemade Moisturizing Body butter for dry skin in winter
Ingredients:
- Cocoa butter – 1 cup (unrefined)
- Shea butter – 1 cup (unrefined)
- Beeswax – 1/4 cup (unrefined)
- Coconut oil – 1/2 cup (unrefined & melted)
- Essential oil – 5 to 10 drops (Lavender)
Instructions:
- Add the Cocoa butter, Shea butter, Beeswax and coconut oil in a bowl and melt them in the double boiler. The reason for using the beeswax is to get that thicker consistency than the lotion.
- Once melted, place it in the refrigerator to solidify.
- Take it out and whip it well to turn it into the cream consistency.
- Now you can add the essential oil from 5 to 10 drops
- Transfer our homemade moisturizer into any container you like.
- You can either refrigerate or keep it at the room temperature.
It solidifies a little when it is kept in the room temperature for a while. But if you don’t have that kind of patience you can refrigerate this for 30 minutes and use it as you normally do.
Best time to apply these homemade moisturizers:
- Cover your skin or affected area with any of these homemade moisturizers once you get out the shower to get maximum results. This will help you to retain moisture to the skin without losing it.
- You can reapply them whenever necessary.
Benefits of using these ingredients in our homemade moisturizers:
Cocoa butter:
The fatty acids in the cocoa butter prevent your skin from drying out by forming a protective layer by holding the moisture on your skin. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in the cocoa butter improve your skin health which is an added advantage.
Shea butter:
The rich texture of the shea butter not only moisturizes your skin but also soothes and softens your skin when regularly used. Shea butter is widely used for treating dry skin as it protects the natural oils of the skin.
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Coconut oil:
I just use plain coconut oil instead of the homemade moisturizer if my dry skin is not severe. As I said before I use the coconut oil in the initial stage to prevent my skin from severe dryness. The coconut oil is also rich in fatty acids that make up to 65% of its total composition. You already know how fatty acids help in moisturizing. So when combined with the right ingredients, the coconut oil can do wonders for your flaky and chapped skin.
Beeswax:
Beeswax usually helps our body butter to harden a little. Also, the melting point of the beeswax is higher and so it doesn’t melt during the summer when it’s not refrigerated. Not only the moisturizing property in the beeswax treats your dry skin and itchiness but also it is great at treating eczema.
Essential oils:
I’m using the lavender oil in our homemade moisturizer as they’re great at getting rid of the dryness. An added advantage of the essential oil is that it provides natural fragrance to our moisturizer without adding any artificial fragrance.
Other measures to prevent you from dry skin in winter:
No long hot showers:
Avoid hot showers as it rips out all the skin natural oils. This eventually results in dry and flaky skin. Shower or bath only in the warm water and that too, not more than 15 minutes. This is more than enough.
Avoid harsh soaps:
Due to the overexposure of cold and dry air your skin will become too sensitive and prone to damage. Hence avoid using harsh soaps to your skin.
Wear protective clothes:
When skin exposes to more dry air or cold, the dryness of our skin will be worse. Usually, my hands and face get that dryness because they are exposed to cold than any other parts of my body. But it differs from person to person. My point is, try to cover all your skin. Also, it is best to wear cotton or any soft fabrics before wearing any of your wool dresses. The wool fabric will hurt your skin more in addition to that of your dry skin.
Turn off the heating system:
Either turn off the heating system or keep it to the minimum because it tends to suck the moisture from the air and so causes more dryness to your skin.
Treat internally:
Drink lots of water. It is common that we drink less water during winter days. So make sure that you’re drinking enough water daily to hydrate yourself. Always take a reusable water bottle with you. Use the reminder on your phone to drink water at regular intervals.
So, what do you think about the homemade moisturizers? Give it a try and share how does it work on your skin.
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