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Dry skin - help please

SarahJSarahJ Raw Newbie

I follow a 90% raw diet with lots of greens, fruit, some nuts and lots of water. I also take maca root powder and MSM every day.

My problem is that my skin has become extremely dry. I haven’t been raw for that long (maybe 6 weeks). My diet previous to that was 70% cooked but almost 100% vegetarian. My pre-raw vice was cheese.

I need some relief – especially on my face around my eyes. The skin is really dry and sore. I should also mention that the skin on my face is extremely sensitive and I have had bad reactions to most store brands in the past.

Any ideas? Avocados come to mind but I don’t know why.

Comments

  • rawmamarawmama Raw Newbie

    Apply honey that is watered down, to your face or hands for 30 minutes or more at night. If you can stand it, sleep with it on, but cover your pillow with a towel. If it is too sticky, apply water to your finger tips and rub lightly over the honey to make it less sticky. My fingers were so dry and sore and I applied raw honey and they healed amazingly fast! Also, add flax seed oil to your salads or smoothies daily. I know that some spas are starting to use warm olive oil on skin as a moisturizing treatment. Have to wash it off though afterwards, but is moisturizing :) Personally, I’ve had the honey heal dry skin…

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    I use olive oil as a moisturiser and I find it works really well. Also avocado face packs are great. Just smother a very ripe avo on your face and leave it till it dries.

    It could be that your skin is detoxing and the old skin is flaking off for new skin to shine through.

  • Your skin is probably de-toxing and also it may be changing back to a more normal balance. Since it is very dry, it may not be over-producing oils like it may have done in the past. It also probably depends on which skincare products you use and if they contain any chemicals. I make my products from scratch you might want to check them out or at least read the ingredients on what you are using now to make sure they are 100% natural. http://www.greenridgeherbals.com

  • SarahJSarahJ Raw Newbie

    Thanks very much. I think I will try the avocado and honey tonight and see how it goes. It probably is a detox side effect – I just wondered if anyone had any magic fixes. :)

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    I eat a lot of avocados when I have painful dry skin and it helps a ton, so I think my skin problems are from not having enough good fats/fatty acids. If you used to eat a lot of cheese, you may not be eating enough fat now. I also like to use sweet almond oil on my skin. It is super gentle and absorbs more easily than coconut or olive oil, and when my skin is painful, the avocado hurts when I put it on, for some reason.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Also, about maca root. I read that you should only take it for maybe 3 weeks and then give yourself time off from it if you are taking it every day. I think I read that on www.sunfood.com – maybe it is a reaction to too much maca?

  • SarahJSarahJ Raw Newbie

    You could be right. I am resistent to giving it up (maca) because it feels like happy medicine. I will play around and do a bit more research and see what happens. Thanks for the help.

    BTW, where do you get sweet almond oil?

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    I get it at my local health food store, in the beauty products section. Aura Cacia is the brand I have now; some other brands have been rancid (you can tell it is rancid if drips on the outside of the bottle get really sticky). Some stores sell it as a food, but a lot of them are really processed.

  • Coconut oil, coconut oil, coconut oil. I couldnt rave about it more. Cured my eczema and got rid of my dry skin better than any otc lotion, or rx lotion for that matter.

    Also, try oil pulling with it as well. I do it at morning noon and night, although that may be a little excessive. My skins never looked better.

    With raw and alternative treatments, things often get worse before they get better.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    What is oil pulling?

  • achin70achin70 Raw Newbie

    I’ve read cacao butter is great for the skin, and it will make you smell great, just like chocolate! You’ll have to warm it up, though, so it’s not as convenient as coconut oil or olive oil.

    Also, like Angie said, getting enough healthy fats is important. Even since I increased my intake of fats, my dry skin has improved.

    Eating For Beauty has a lot of great tips for beautifying your skin. :)

  • SarahJSarahJ Raw Newbie

    Well, things are improving dramatically. I used honey for a couple of nights and now I am using EVOO around the eyes and coconut oil on the rest of my face and neck. I have stopped taking the maca and MSM for a while and have invested in a skin brush (not for my face, of course). My skin feels amazing.

    Thanks for all the help everyone.

  • heartshapedskyheartshapedsky Raw Newbie

    angie -here’s a site that explains oil pulling: http://www.oilpulling.com/ i haven’t tried it yet.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    SarahJ – Glad to hear it!

    heartshapedsky – thanks for the link :)

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Wow! I just looked at the link about oil pulling, and I have both kinds of oil they recommend – I’m a little nervous about the 15 – 20 minutes, but it sounds like it’s totally worth a try!

  • Beavers… I am very curious about the oil pulling. Can you explain exactly what you do and what you use,please? I’m wondering if you use the coconut oil for oil pulling and if so do you heat it up. I really want to try this so I would be ever so greatful to hear more. THANK YOU!!

  • I’ve just started oil pulling today, attracted by the prospect of whiter teeth. Whether it works for other ailments, I am skeptical. What oil pulling is: you swish 1 Tbs oil around in your mouth and through your teeth for 15-20 minutes until it becomes white and foamy. Spit it out (don’t swallow it) and rinse your mouth out with water. I thought it would be gross, but I used sesame oil (the recommended oils are sesame and sunflower) and it didn’t taste bad at all! 20 minutes is a long time, so I just swished while I prepared my breakfast, my tea, and my lunch, it took about 20 minutes. If you shower right away in the morning, you could do it while you shower too.

  • rawpatiencerawpatience Raw Newbie

    okay this is going to sound crazy but a woman sitting next to me at the juliano event last night (she was a rep for VegNews) said that David Wolfe told her she could gain wait from applying olive oil to her skin because the fat seeps through the tissue. He told her to use coconut oil instead. It made me laugh!

  • you could be detoxing that is why the dry skin. Make sure you get enough oils/fats in the day. Yes avocados, nuts and also hemp or flax oil (for your omega’s) are a good source. Neem tree oil mixed in with some hand creme may do wonders for your extremely dry skin.

  • suryadayasuryadaya Raw Newbie

    I have this problem a lot and when I take flax seed every day it just magically goes away! I like honey too but I can’t stand the stickiness so i save it for sunburn.

  • i love alaffia 100% unscented fair trade SHEA BUTTER from whole foods! yeah!!! i combine it with some coconut oil. works wonders.

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