Cure for Dry Skin

One thing is sure about instant menopause, or insta-pause, as I like to call it:  It sucked the life out of my skin in no time flat.  I had to find a cure for dry skin fast.  This process was made a little more difficult by the fact that I am allergic...to everything.    If you doubt, during radiation, the nurse told me to use Eucerin cream to combat the effects of radiation.  Apparently I am the only person they've EVER had who has been allergic to Eucerin cream, which is essentially petroleum jelly.

While looking for something I could use to protect my skin, I discovered pure shea butter.  I used it all through the seven weeks of treatment and beyond and I had very little problem.  The shea butter kept my skin intact all through radiation.  I never peeled until a couple of weeks later.  I used this product from L'Occitane.  It's organic and purified and, also, really expensive for an everyday moisturizer.

Shortly after radiation, I started reading about coconut oil.  If you look up coconut oil on your favorite search engine, I think you could find that it will cure anything.  I'm not sure I believe all the hype, but I do believe that coconut oil is an amazing moisturizer and, in a pinch, it takes the place of butter and makes some darn good chocolate chip cookies.

So I started using coconut oil right out of the jar to moisturize, which had my husband wondering why there was a jar of coconut oil in the bathroom and, actually, wasn't that convenient, because coconut oil is a solid at room temperature (unless you live in a really warm climate, I suppose).   I then got the idea to warm it up and mix it with the small amount of shea butter that was left in my container and added some almond oil to make a sort of a lotion that my daughter and I have been fighting over for the last six weeks or so.

I've been looking at various body butters and things to buy in the store, but even the organic ones tend to have a lot of botanical ingredients and for a person who is allergic to everything, the fewer ingredients, the better.  So I bought a couple of what are called carrier oils, and a couple of the heavier oils, like cocoa butter and coconut oil and prepared to make my own.

Just a word here:  I am not an expert.  There are better and more efficient ways to do what I'm doing, I'm sure.  If you want to know how to do this right, you should look up a real expert!  I do want to share my journey though, so you know that as a complete amateur, it's possible to make something that is really healthy for your skin.

My ingredients list, followed by the benefits for your skin:
Coconut Oil (moisturizer, essential fatty acids, antioxidant)
Cocoa Butter (creates a barrier, Vitamin E)
Avocado Oil(rich, thick oil, Vitamin E and A, and essential fatty acids)

I've also tried almond oil, which is a lighter oil. It works great, too, but I prefer the avocado for my super dry skin!  I found all my ingredients at Whole Foods and EarthFare, but Walmart has coconut oil and almond oil, too.

For the body butter I used around two ounces of cocoa butter, about two ounces of coconut oil, and a few tablespoons of avocado oil.  I didn't really measure, just scooped and poured.

I melted it all together in an ad-lib double boiler, let it begin to harden and then beat it up with my hand held blender.  I used my immersion blender, but you could use a handheld mixer, or do this part by hand with a whisk or a fork.  Then I scooped the mix into a tin that was used for something else and it's ready to use.  This mixture melts really easily.  It's definitely best used after a bath.  I do use it on my face, but if your skin is particularly oily, you might not want to.

Just one more word of warning.  You will smell like an Almond Joy.  It's a little distracting.