Dry, Cracked Winter Feet - What to do?

The average person walks 10,000 steps per day. Even a sedentary personal manages 3000-4000 steps daily. And, when you consider the force of each step can be 520 pounds to 800 pounds, that’s a lot of wear and tear on the feet.

We won’t get into all the conditions that can adversely affect your feet (that’s best left to a doctor) but will address one of the more prominent problems and one that we have a solution to.

Dry Feet: The skin on our feet is naturally dry, unlike the skin on the rest of the body. The skin on our feet has no oil glands, so it relies on hundreds of thousands (250,000 per foot) of sweat glands to keep our feet moisturized.

This can be problematic for people who do not properly moisturize their feet on a regular basis.

Dry feet can range in severity from mild, temporary dry skin to severe dry skin that causes additional problems.

Skin can become dry for a number of reasons, but there are ways to prevent it, such as keeping your feet moisturized and avoiding rubbing or scratching the skin.

Dry feet are generally a symptom of another problem, and if you have dry feet you may experience additional symptoms such as:

• Redness
• Itchiness
• Cracks in the feet (fissures)
• Rough skin
• Flaky skin
• Peeling skin
• Rash (usually brought on by itching)
• Problem worsens in winter months

Dry feet are caused by a lack of moisture in the skin. There are several common factors that can lead to dry feet, including:

• Excessively hot showers or baths
• A skin condition that dries the skin (eczema, psoriasis, etc.)
• Soaps that are non-moisturizing
• Medical conditions such as diabetes or thyroid disease
• Cold weather
• Low humidity levels in home, office, etc. (heating systems are known to dry the air)
• Aging (we naturally lose moisture in our skin as we age)
• Long periods spent in the sun

Absolutely Natural has a wonderful solution. Our peppermint foot crème contains hydrators and other nutrients combined with cooling peppermint. It is like a spa treatment at home.

Daily use will help keep skin hydrated and you totally refreshed.

Best regards,

Charley

Importance of Exoliation

If you are not regularly exfoliating your body and especially your face, you need to add it to your regimen.

In essence, exfoliating removes dead skin cells. This improves the texture and appearance of your skin, reduces breakouts, and can improve absorption of other skincare products you’re using.

There are benefits to scrubs and other products that exfoliate in the ‘normal’ way, also known as physical or manual exfoliators. They can help remove dirt and dead skin from the surface of your skin. However, most scrubs use micro beads, which are tiny balls of plastic. They can take years to biodegrade which is bad for our environment and are not as effective as Absolutely Natural’s natural alternatives.

Facial Exfoliation

Exfoliation is essential for healthy and younger-looking skin. Why? During our day to day lives, dead skin cells build up on the surface of our faces. If we neglect to clean our skin well, old makeup, dirt, and oil can also join the mix. This causes pores to become clogged and the condition of the skin to worsen over time. The best way to get rid of this build-up is to exfoliate exfoliate.

AN’s Bamboo Exfoliator is a gentle exfoliant made expressly for your face.  Bamboo’s properties make it perfect for this. Bamboo is comprised of solidified organic silica extracted from the nodes of specific bamboo stems.  It remains hard, does not change color and gives a very effective yet gentle exfoliation. Bamboo Exfoliator removes corneus cells accumulating on the skin surface. It helps to refine skin texture and brighten skin tone.

Other Absolutely Natural Alternatives

A.N. Sugar Scrub: First, sugar is a natural humectant, meaning it draws moisture from the environment into the skin. So when you apply products with sugar or sugar derivatives, they'll actually help hydrate your skin and keep moisture within.

Secondly, sugar is a natural source of glycolic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) that penetrates the skin and breaks down the "glue" that bonds skin cells, encouraging cell turnover and generating fresher, younger-looking skin. Glycolic acid is typically used to treat sun-damaged and aging skin.  AN sugar scrub (and salt scrub) is effective and can be used wet or for a more aggressive exfoliation, used without water. Sugar's small particles make an excellent product to exfoliate dead surface skin cells and reveal the glowing, healthy-looking skin underneath.

Pumice: Pumice is the end product of an amazing natural force – the volcano.

As a natural ingredient it has some unique properties including low density, lightness and abrasiveness which make it ideal in exfoliating products.

No matter which AN exfoliator you choose, there are some significant benefits to our product compared to standard fare.  All of our exfoliants are in a super rehydrating base with exotic butters as the base for our sugar and salt scrubs and hydrating lotion with peppermint and ylang ylang in our facial exfoliant.

Give it a try.  You will be amazed at the effect on your skin.

Best regards

Charley