Dry Skin and the Solution

I just finished responding to a client who is dealing with dry skin and the search for the perfect moisturizer that will take care of this issue. Women in their 40-60's main issue with their skin is dryness, as the oil glands due to hormonal shifts are making less oils.  I wanted to share my response to my clients query of what to do to fix her dry skin.  My response follows below:

I have some thoughts on your dry skin.  Many people share with me that they have dry skin and they are searching for the right moisturize to fix the problem.  Often the problem goes further back.  It starts with how they are cleaning their skin.  We talk about not using soap or anything the makes suds...as this shows that the product contains surfactants that strip the skin of its own natural oils.  Even creamy cleansers can suds up and strip the skin of its own oils.  Look at your cleanser ingredients, you want the first ingredients to be high quality plant oils, such as jojoba oil, sesame oil, or avocado oil.  To save money you might even try just using an oil like the ones I mentioned to clean your face with.  

Second thought....dry skin quite simply is an indicator that your oils glands are under functioning, they are not making enough oil.  To simulate oil production, you can try not using oils or creams at night....this way your own oils glands need to do some work...the work the creams were doing...to make oils.  Also the herb kidney vetch which is used in many of the Dr Hauschka products, is a balancing herb, so if your oil glands are underproducing, kidney vetch will stimulate them to make more oil.  The Moisturizing Day Cream by Dr Hauschka is a good choice for dry skin, as it  activate the oil glands to make more oil. Its a deceiving moisturizer in that it is  quite light weight in its formula. Not heavy like the Rose Day Cream.  It is light for a purpose...using the idea from homeopathy of 'like cures like', they make the Moisturizing Day Cream light so that your own oils glands have some work to do...so your oil glands can't be lazy and rely on the creams to provide all the oil.  In this way your skin becomes balanced.  That is what I have found for myself to be one of the major benefits of using Dr Hauschka products.. they have completely balanced my skin...in fact, my skin has no need to use a moisturizer in the day time, because it is completely balanced. I put on the moisturizer to fed my skin nutrients and protect it, not to fix dryness.