Dry Flaky Skin and Breakouts Part 4: Treatments

This is the final installment and a continuation of Dry Flaky Skin and Breakouts Part 3.

So say your skin is in need of some serious help.  All the lotions and oils still can't give you the soft skin you've been wanting.  Well, this is wear treatments come in.

Now first off, I have tried a lot of treatments and some of them are awful and some did nothing.  Some face masks burned the heck out of my face and some made my skin feel like it was suffocating when I rinsed it off.

I don't really do moisture masks that need to be rinsed off.  I find it wasteful and have not had good results with them.  When my skin is at it's worse, I go for treatments that help to form a protective barrier on the skin.  I usually use these before I go to bed so that they can do their magic undisturbed while I sleep.

My favorite ones are:

Aquaphor - That's right!  When my skin is all dry and flaky to the point of irritation I reach for the Aquaphor.  I suppose Vaseline would do as well but for some reason that clogs my pores and Aquaphor doesn't.  And when I get the sniffles I always have it around to rub beneath my nostrils so I don't get the dry flakes of skin that come with rubbing your nose with tissue all the time.  This also works really well if you have dry hands that are cracking and bleeding.  It softens the skin and protects the cuts.  So how do I use this as a treatment?  Pretty simple.  I'll take a pea-sized amount and rub it between my palms.  I'll then pat it into my skin and maybe rub it in depending on how irritated my skin is.  Then I go to bed and wake up with calm skin with most all of the flakiness gone.

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Restorative Capsules - These are technically a serum but the effects of these little capsules out-perform every serum I have ever used to combat dry skin with.  This is the whole she-bang.  It helps with dryness, wrinkles and sagging.  The only downside is that it does have dimethicone in it so it might not be for everyone.  When I use this as a treatment I use a full capsule at night and rub it into my face and neck.  I wake up with skin that would rival a baby's butt.  If I use this in the daytime, I use half a capsule and rub it in before sunblock.  It soaks right in and doesn't look greasy.  Although it is a bit expensive (especially compared to Aquaphor), one container has been enough to last me two winters because I only use it when my skin really needs the extra TLC.

Mila Moursi Nourishing Balm - I had just recently tried this (I have a sample) and I am blown away.  Results are almost instant and the effect just keeps getting better.  This is expensive so if you are wanting to try it out look for samples first.  I followed instructions and rubbed a pearl-sized (hate this term because pearls come in all different sizes) bead between my palms before patting it on my face and rubbing it in.  This has the added benefit of essential oils so there is a calming effect when you apply the balm to your face.  Afterwards, my skin was transformed.  Rough patches were drowning in moisture, flakes were being overwhelmed by this balm.  It has an oily consistency once you warm it up between your palms.  It spreads evenly and begins to absorbs quickly.  It will take a few minutes to full absorb but once it does, it looks as if there was never an issue with your skin at all.  The protective layer lasts beyond all night and I woke up to amazing skin.

There you have it.  Some tidbits of advice to help you battle winter skin.  If there are any questions leave a comment below.

Hope you all have a wonderful week.  Stay warm and live happy!