Take a deep breath, sweetlings, and let’s go together again into some very uncomfortable terrain. I’m talking about your SCALY, DRY SKIN. Yes, I am. It concerns me. It concerns me when I see male colleagues at gatherings in shorts (inappropriate for conferences, fine for retreats + casual summer meetings with other colleagues -if the shorts are of an appropriate length and style, like madras shorts) or female colleagues in those dreadful CAPRI things that are the bane of my existence and their legs look dead, dry, ashy and scaly. My goodness, that was a terrible run-on sentence! Good thing I’m not being paid to write this stuff!
*catches breath*
Your skin is the largest organ of your body, dear colleagues. You are not a snake (unless you are, in which case this post does not apply to you, and WELCOME CLERGY SNAKE READERS!) and therefore, your dermis does not conveniently shed itself. It needs your help in sloughing off dead cells. It needs you to drink lots of water, protect it from the sun, and show it some TLC. It’s your SKIN! Jesus totally approves of your anointing it with oil, in case you forgot. I don’t even want to be flippant here, because Matthew 26:7 is one of the most precious gospel moments to me. Let me just get a wee bit serious and say that none of us is long for this world, and paying some attention to your own body and ministering to it with fragrant ointments is anything but frivolous. It is, dare I say, sacramental. Not in the orthodox sense, of course, so please don’t get all Theological Controversy up in my comments.
I kid you not when I tell you that I use a francincense and myrrh scented shea butter on my own skin because it works magic, but also because it has that good Bible-y smell. Sometimes I rub organic coconut oil into my elbows and legs, but for quick convenience there’s nothing like a good spray oil. They’re hard to find in non-poisonous fragrances but I love the grapefruit version of this product which I bought at Target for $8.99.
Here’s my favorite coconut oil by that wacky Essene, Dr. Bronner:
Dry, scaly, calloused skin is dead skin. It is unattractive and distracting at best. At worst, it communicates self-neglect and poor grooming. In cultures around the world, men and women make a daily habit of exfoliating and oiling their skin. I remember being at the beach in Athens watching women sit by the water scoop up handfuls of sand and rub it into their skin in circular motions, chit-chatting away while they exfoliated dead skin in the Agean Sea. Healthy, free, and communal. Go ye likewise, and scrub. And then oil up your precious skin. If Jesus had time for it, so do you.
Not to overshare (and usually talking about sloughing completely grosses me out), but the raw-food bloggist Ani Phyo once wrote about dry body brushing. Works magic on my own super dry skin.
And I reserve my capris for very special occasions like Vacation.
Can you do a special post on *FEET*? It’s Memorial Day weekend and crimes against nature are being committed en masse.
2! 4! 6! 8!
We want to exfoliate!
A little baking soda mixed into some moisturizing body wash makes a very nice exfoliant. And cheap, too!
One of your best posts ever.
Cheap body scrub: Olive oil, sugar (brown or not) or salt. If you have more time, effort, and money to put it then get an oil like almond or grapeseed but whatever, the olive oil works on feet, knees, elbows, etc.
Now to see to my eczema ridden hands after this funeral sermon is written.
re: Feet
1. Invest in a great pedicure this week – you don’t have to get polish if you prefer a natural look.
2. Invest in a good foot pumice or stone and some rich lotion
3. Use the stone daily to keep smooth feet smooth. Slather lotion on feet.
4. Repeat step three EVERY day.
5. Mid July repeat beginning with Step 1.
I have recently converted my whole family to the joys of body lotion. My boys somehow fell out of the habit when they became more independent showerers. My husband has been amazed that the rough bumpy skin he always considered acne is clearing up with regular use of a nice rich lotion.
When the children were babies I switched from those heavily scented petroleum based baby lotions to pure natural olive oil. There was something so “right” feeling about anointing my little olive babies with olive oil.
I also heard a rumor that that flaky nose crease skin that we sometimes see on our male colleagues is actually dandruf and that washing the schnoz with anti-dandruf shampoo will clear that up!
I started using a whipped body lotion (in summer) or body butter (in winter) after my showers a few years ago. There is something so soothing and relaxing about massaging my skin after toweling off. It doesn’t take very long and does my skin ever look the better for it. And I splurge on some of my favourite products that smell wonderful. At one point I tried to save money and get the cheap, unscented stuff – and I hated it and stopped this routine. I finally convinced myself that my body is worth the money spent on better products with scents that I love – and I haven’t looked back. My skin thanks me for this routine. Thanks for the reminder 🙂
Remind me one day to tell you about how I met Dr Bronner’s grandson. And then chatted with Dr. Bronner’s son. Pretty surreal.
I want to testify about the amazing powers of coconut oil. A friend convinced me to give it a try as a moisturizer this past winter. I was pretty skittish about putting actual oil onto my skin, since I had oily skin as a teenager (who didn’t?) and still think of myself as having oily skin. But I decided to give it a try and it is simply amazing. By FAR the best moisturizer I’ve ever used. After I get out of the shower, I just apply the coconut oil all over, and after it absorbs into my skin, I’m left with the smoothest, softest skin of my adult life. And a pleasant coconut smell to boot! Easily my biggest beauty product find in many years.
This is the brand I use: http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Way-Organic-Virgin-Coconut/dp/B003B3OOPA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338128583&sr=8-1
I had a body scrub at the spa this weekend: Ah! A last minute substitution left me with a male esthetician and I have to admit I enjoyed it thoroughly. And now I’m soft as butter!
“WELCOME CLERGY SNAKE READERS” is perhaps one of the best blog lines ever. [Why, thank you! – PB]
I totally second and endorse the olive oil + brown sugar scrub recommended above.
I also second the nomination of “WELCOME CLERGY SNAKE READERS” as best blog line ever. I nearly fell out. [Oh, goodie! I love making you LAFF. – PB]
For fragile skin, Weleda make a lovely Arnica massage oil that smells of lavendar. I used it on my babies (dh has eczema and they inherited his very fragile skin) and it worked wonders.
I’m fortunate not to have fragile skin, but as I head from my early to mid 40s, my skin has changed and got drier, so I’m now using body lotion pretty systematically. As I’m committing the dreadful sin of just about living in capri pants at the moment (nice smart white ones, honestly AND I’m not clergy AND I probably won’t wear them to preach) I’m using one with a small amount of fake-tan product in it….
I’m a big fan of Neutrogena’s body oil– pat it on damp skin right out of shower or bath, wrap up in my terry robe and let it seal the water in. Follow with good body lotion- I’m hooked on Philosophy’s “Amazing Grace” firming body emulsion. I battled dry, flaky skin for years until I started using this! The fragrance is light and clean.