5 Natural Moisture Boosting Hacks for Dry Skin

These five easy hacks will get your hands, lips, and skin feeling soft, supple and nourished through the winter months.

1. Use Cold Pressed Natural Soaps and Body Cleansers: Most commercially produced soaps strip the skin, leaving it dry and itchy. Cold pressed soaps may cost a little more, but your skin will thank you for this indulgence. Cold pressed soaps are made with rich oils like avocado, coconut, and sweet almond, and butters like shea, cocoa, and mango. Cold pressed soaps naturally retain glycerin, which gives the soap extra moisturizing power. These soaps give you an added moisture boost by gently cleansing and moisturizing the skin. If you prefer a liquid body wash that has the benefits of a cold pressed bar with the added benefit of an easy to use pump, try Black Soap Body cleanser with Colloidal Oatmeal.
2. Exfoliate: Slough off dead cells and reveal beautiful glowing skin with a simple sugar scrub or using natural sisal or ayate washcloth. Exfoliating has additional benefits that include stimulating collagen production. Freshly exfoliated skin allows moisturizers to penetrate more efficiently, giving the skin an added moisture boost. Another benefit of exfoliating is that it increases blood circulation, giving the skin a more radiant look and feel.
3. Drink lots of water: I always say beauty comes from the inside out. Water hydrates and gives the best moisture boost on a cellular level that you can literally see. There is a lot of debate on how much water is needed per day; some say eight ounces eight times a day. My recommendation is to drink as much as you can and watch your skin glow.
4. Take short lukewarm showers instead of hot showers. What could be better than a nice long shower on a cold winter night? Well, that hot shower will strip your skin, leaving it dry and itchy once you towel off.
5. Lock in Moisture: After taking a quick warm shower, pat the skin with a towel without completely drying off, then apply a rich moisturizer that contains shea butter and other rich oils, and give it a minute to sink in before putting on clothes. Applying moisture to damp skin locks in hydration and keeps skin soft and moisturized longer. You can also lock in moisture to those extra dry areas like your hands and feet by applying a thick coat of Whipped Shea Butter with Colloidal Oatmeal and putting on a pair of thick socks before bed. Slathering your hands with a thick rich balm and putting on gloves when heading out into the cold weather is another way to give hands and cuticles a moisture boost.

For more about the Shea Radiance story, please visit http://www.shearadiance.com.

Funlayo Alabi

Funlayo Alabi and her husband, Shola Alabi are co-founders of Shea Radiance, a natural beauty brand dedicated to transforming women's skin, hair and lives. Funlayo is a global business leader who speaks domestically and globally on matters of market and economic access especially for African women in the agricultural sector. Shea Radiance manufactures artisanal skincare and haircare products that are all-natural and made with the purest, small-batch, women-sourced shea butter from West Africa. Shea Radiance promotes the power of community and empowerment for women around the globe.