Winter Skin Care
By Christine Libon
photo submitted by C. Libon
As we age, our skin becomes more fragile and drier. To make matters worse, in winter, the humidity level indoors drops below the desired level due to heated air. This can make our skin itchy, flaky, cracked, to the point where blankets, socks, long sleeves get caught on our already irritated skin. It’s important to avoid harsh soaps (years ago I began using natural, gentler dish detergent and natural orange oil cleaners in the kitchen to save the skin in my hands). Sure, there are lotions and creams we can apply, but it’s important to not cause the skin to dry out.
I found a recipe for homemade body wash that I like (there are several basic recipes on YouTube). I chose this one because I like the ingredients and already had them at home. The link is below at the end of this article.
Also, I realized that for most of my life I have neglected my facial skin. I found an article describing a Japanese daily face washing ritual that deep cleans, moisturizes and stimulates circulation resulting in a healthy glow. I gave it a try using the homemade body wash. After doing it only one time, I see that it works!
The technique:
1. Wet your skin, apply a liberal amount of the body wash (or your choice of cleansing solution) using your hands.
2. Massage it into your face for four minutes.
3. Rinse your face with warm water for two minutes.
4. Rinse your face with cold water for two minutes.
To further increase blood flow, I bent forward for step 2, thus lowering my head.
A similar technique is called 424, which means 4 minutes massaging with an oil-based cleanser, 2 minutes with a water-based cleanser, and 4 minutes total rinsing (2 warm water, 2 cold water).
One more tip, which a friend shared with me decades ago, is to simply break open a gel capsule of vitamin E and apply it directly on your skin. Some body wash recipes include vitamin E oil, Wishing you a smooth healthy glow.
Body Wash Recipe
https://youtu.be/lSjIYJ_AZEA?si=-kcBzegeKqmYx9xo