Trying to smooth things over

Last night while watching TV, my daughter turned to me and said, “Mom! Your skin is cracking!” To my horror, my legs looked like a dried-up riverbed! I realized that I hadn’t been taking care of my skin and with summer right around the corner – bathing suits, shorts and rompers (can you believe they are making a comeback?!) was creeping up on me.

I wanted to get back that soft, dewy skin that I had taken for granted. So, if you’re interested in getting rid of those rough heels and those flaky, dry lips, read on. I saw this beauty segment on the “Today Show” recently and thought I’d share some of their tips. You can get soft skin from head to toe, the natural way. And these solutions can easily be done at home even if you’re on a budget so you can have glowy (yes, I know that’s not a word but work with me) skin all over.

Softening Hands
This is an easy way to get your hands soft all over. Combine ½ cup [dry] oatmeal with ¼ cup water. Mix it up and massage the mixture into your hands, concentrating on your knuckles and your cuticles – where the dry skin tends to build up. Once you’ve exfoliated, wipe your hands with a towel. Granted, it doesn’t feel like it’s exfoliating, but it is. Keep in mind that you just need a light exfoliation on your hands. You don’t want to use anything too abrasive and oatmeal is known to be very soothing. Follow-up with a lotion/hand cream to seal in the moisture.

Softening Lips
Lips tend to get flaky and chapped and you want to make sure they’re very soft and kissable. Take a damp (soft) toothbrush and dip into a tiny bit of baking soda. Massage over lips. Rinse lips, pat dry and put a lip balm infused with lanolin, which is super hydrating. Now, they’re soft and kissable.

Softening Legs
Spend $85 for a 25-minute scrub?! Make your own sugar scrub for your legs for far less. Did you know that sugar is great for your legs because it melts into the skin very quickly? Mix ½ cup white sugar and ½ cup olive oil. Massage the mixture into your legs. Don’t forget your knees as dry skin tends to build up there as well. This mixture has the perfect texture to melt into the skin. Ideally, you would want to do this in the shower or after you’ve soaked in the bath. When you’re done, rinse off. This is super easy and makes your legs incredibly soft. Moreover, you don’t have to spend a bazillion dollars for a sugar scrub when you can just make this yourself at home. After showering, apply lotion.

Softening Feet
If you suffer from dry heels, this is a great exfoliating treatment for feet. Mix ½ cup sea salt with 2-3 tablespoons of almond oil. Rub into your feet concentrating on your heels and your calluses. The sea salt will slough off the dead skin cells and calluses making feet pedicure ready.

So, bring on summer. Goodbye alligator skin!