Revive Dry Skin and Hair

By Shelly Ballestero
Licensed Esthetician

CBN.com – Has the weather outside been frightful and your skin not so delightful? It’s time to moisturize, moisturize, and let it glow! Say goodbye to dry skin and brittle hair, and hello to smooth skin and shiny hair.

But first, in order to achieve this, we must follow a few guidelines. With my no frills and added bills, it can be done.

Winterize Your Skin

Let’s first address your precious face that has been under some extreme conditions such as heat and cold. Your skin is a bit sensitive now, and we need to treat it with some tender treatments and soothing skin care. Start with cutting back on exfoliation to once a week, and start cleansing your skin with a creamy base instead of gel.

Most foaming cleansers can compromise the skin’s hydrolipid barrier. Your skin depends on this barrier to retain water; it is the skin’s waterproof seal that was never meant to be broken. However, mainstream skin-care regimens take care of that by destroying it. A non-abrasive creamy cleanser like Kiss My Face Clean for a Day Creamy Face Cleanser (www.kissmyface.com, $15) will hydrate your skin as you cleanse. Its soothing vanilla and tantalizing tangerine scent awakens dull skin and also awakens you in the morning.

Did you know chlorinated water can contribute to dry skin? Installing a shower filter can make an unbelievable difference and not too pricey.

It’s time to up the moisture content of your morning and night routine and winterize the stratum corneum (the outer layer of your skin). Arbonne Intelligence Rejuvenating Cream (www.arbonne.com, $35) is ultra-hydrating and non-greasy; it helps skin return to balance and a healthy state. The amino acids are one of the ingredients that aid rejuvenation. It’s great for all skin types. In that same line there is a skin conditioning oil to deeply condition dry, irritated, and chapped skin. Some of the ingredients are pecan oil, avocado oil, hazel oil, and other botanical oils to hydrate and soften your skin.

Dry Skin Terminator

If the weather has kept you inside, you may like a homemade treatment mask. I call this the dry skin terminator.

Recipe
½ cup heavy cream
1 carrot, cooked and mashed
1 avocado, peeled and mashed
3 tablespoons of honey

Combine ingredients in a bowl, whisk together, then spread mixture over face, neck, and top of hands. Relax for 15 minutes and rinse with tepid water. (You may not want to answer the phone with this mask on - It’s very messy.)

If this seems like too much work, an over-the-counter one such as Aubrey Organics Jojoba Meal and Oatmeal with Rose Mosqueta Mask and Scrub ($8.98) is easy to apply. Be sure to keep the container’s lid tight. I made the mistake of not doing so, and it did not keep as long.

Hair Therapy

We must not forget about your hair! Due to the seasons changing, your hair can become brittle and in need of moisture. I tried this pre-shampoo hair treatment by Burt’s Bees and loved the way it made my hair glossy and soft. Use one to two teaspoons of the Avocado Butter Hair Treatment ( www.burtsbees.com, $9) and leave on for 15 minutes. I recommend using a wide-tooth comb to pull product through hair for more even application.

Luxury Bath

While you have either mask on or both, why not soak your body in a milk bath? Cleopatra was known for this bath, and the results are ever so nice.

Recipe
1 cup dried milk
¼ cup orange peels
¼ cup lemon peels
5 drops of Lavender oil or calendula oil

Before you get out of the tub, wash your hair with Burt’s More Moisture Raspberry and Brazil Nut Shampoo. The raspberry extract, rich in Omega-3 and essential fatty acids, brings new life to hair, leaving your hair beautiful!

After your relaxing bath, enjoy the benefits of nature with borage oil, the main ingredient for Borage Dry Skin Therapy. The essential fatty acid content has the ability to retain moisture, leaving your skin soft and smooth (www.shikai.com).

To top the experience off, use a night cream rich in moisture. Try Aubrey Organics Rose Mosqueta Night Cream with Alpha Lipoic Acid (www.aubrey-organics.com, $21.50), formulated with soy-based liposomes, micro capsules that deliver emollients and nutrients to your skin.

Maybe it’s time to enjoy and relax with a hot cup of chamomile tea and reflect on all the great moments and blessings God has done in your life this past year. God created beauty in all things, and He thinks you are beautiful, wonderfully created. How great is our God to create extravagant blueprints of our faces, bodies, and the world. He is the greatest Architect, the Great I AM!

Shelly Ballestero is a licensed esthetician, make-up artist, beauty editor of Lifestyle Magazine, and author. Shelly has studied under Emmy Award winner Eve Pearl, head make-up artist for ABC's The View. In addition, Shelly is one of the make-up experts for Jane Iredale cosmetics and participates in the International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa conference. Shelly and her husband, Angelo, a worship pastor, live in Windermere, Florida, with their two children. (Photo of Shelly courtesy of Katie Meehan, www.phfocus.com.)