Dry Skin

I have very dry skin, and I always have had fairly dry skin (it seems to fun in the family from my mom.) It seems to have gotten worse since my diet and skincare has become more natural and healthy. That doesn’t make much sense to me. I am thinking that perhaps if I begin using salt, it will help to with retention of water. Or soaking in a bath with dead sea salt? Maybe olive oil as as a moisturizer? I dunno!

I currently don’t consume any salt except lately I’ve been using some raw olives (with Celtic sea salt on them) in my marinara. I use natural soap and pure shea butter as moisturizer.

I would appreciate any suggestions for either diet or skin care! Thanks!

Comments

  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    Actually it does make sense. Raw food diet contains less “greasey” foods and alot of times a lower amount of oil and fat. Are you eating any fats or oils? If not, get some in there. Avocadoes or olives/olives oils or coconut oil.

    Here is another tip for ya too: Stop using soap. You are cleaner on a raw diet – you don’t need it. Honestly, your dry skin will pretty much go away. Use the natural oils your body provides for you on your skin (along with the shea butter or some coconut oil for extra help if you need it). It doesn’t matter if the soap is “natural” or not either – it still strips away your precious natural oils and those are the best moisturizers you can find! Many people notice after giving up soap – their dry skin goes away forever.

    Just use the soap only if you really need it (like on your hands if they get really dirty or get some weird chemical oil on them or something) – othewise just use water. I don’t use soap on my body at all anymore – I just use some sea salt under my arms for any stink there- and my skin is never dry.

    People don’t realize how drying things like soap and shampoo really are. Honestly try it.

  • raw_earthraw_earth Raw Newbie

    Yes, raw oils and fats will definitely help your dry skin. I find that flax seeds and flax oil work best for me (taken internally) and give my skin more of a ‘glow.’ You can add the oil to smoothies or over salads—it has a pretty neutral taste so it won’t be as overpowering as other oils might be.

    As for external application, I love almond oil (which isn’t raw, but it’s better than most products on the market). It’s the best thing I’ve tried. It makes your skin super soft, it just takes a little time to absorb. And it prevents scarring if you’ve had a minor skin injury or something. (I had, well, let’s just call it an ‘incident’ with my blender about a year ago, and almond oil worked fantastically to heal the wound and minimize scarring.) A lot of people can get away with using coconut oil and it works wonders, but for some reason it dries out my skin.

    You definitely need some salt in your diet, and unless you’re getting quite a lot from celery, chard, and spinach you might need to ‘supplement’ with sea salt. I don’t know how much ‘enough’ is for the average person, but I find I need between 700 and 1000 mg/day (mostly in the form of celery juice and chard). No one seems to talk about this in the raw community very often (which surprises me because it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that would be ultra-controversial or anything), but I’ve heard of people having dangerously low sodium levels on a raw diet if they don’t eat enough natural sodium which can cause health problems.

    Avocados are great too, and if you have some that have gone ‘off’ or some flesh left in the insides of the shell after scooping, you can even use it for shaving—works great, but it might clog your sink/bathtub a little! I picked up that tip on another raw site a few months ago.

    Congrats on your healthy lifestyle at such an early age! :)

  • I found that I started having dry skin after going raw, and I’ve always had fairly decent skin… I use a locally produced olive oil on my skin, and it makes my skin feel nice. but I’ve also noticed that if I’m not drinking enough water, my skin is drier. I also try to eat an avocado a day and use oil on my salads. hope you find this helpful. I’ve also stopped using any soap. I purchased a sea sponge and use that in the shower, I also started “dry brushing” my skin, that is heaven!

  • Thank you for the advice.

    I already make sure to eat olive oil, flax oil, and avocado on a daily basis.

    I think I will try the suggestion of discontinuing the use of soap. I’ve noticed that since I’ve been on summer break, my hands are drying out more than usual. (When I’m at home, I wash my hands very often with soap, but at school, I only get a few chances to wash my hands and do not use soap.)

    I don’t eat celery or chard often enough to get sufficient amounts of salt.

    I didn’t realize that sea salt worked as a deodorant! I’ve been trying different things, and most of this school year, I just went without any, hoping that I wouldn’t sweat. haha.

    You guys are great! Thanks again.

  • Morning_theftMorning_theft Raw Newbie

    Maybe instead of completely eliminating soap, try using olive oil or some other kind of natural oil soap? Definitely nothing that has chemicals in it, lareth sulphite or whatever that stuff is called, that would really hurt your skin!

  • I just wanted to put this out there..I had notoriously stinky pits for a long time…I did a lot of research and found that Cholorophyl (sp?) taken internally cures any BO within two days…its amazing. I assume if you eat sufficent quantities of greens you wont need to take it…but as a precautionary method or to supplement or just to jump start you it works great!

  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    Ambikalee – I heard the same thing about probiotics! Funny though, it hasn’t worked for me yet. My pits aren’t super stinky but I was hoping it might stop any BO when I sweat. I think it depends on how clean you are inside too. Right now I am probaby not super clean! :) But for right now, the sea salt bar I use in the shower and the sea salt spray is working Ok-ish.

Sign In or Register to comment.