Why Isn’t Your Dry Skin Getting Better?

 

You don’t know it’s there until it happens.

 All summer, your hands are flawless. But as soon as chilly weather hits, your seasonal dry, cracked, and bleeding hands enter the chat.

Healing dry skin should be easy. But the reality is, many drugstore lotions are water-based and contain alcohols, which are known to increase dryness over time.

Sure, you feel a moment of relief when applying, but it’s short-lived.

And the dryness never seems to really go away.

Your skin isn’t getting better because it’s not receiving the nutrients and revitalizing tools it needs to rebuild.

 

Our Ancestors Were Restoring Dry Skin for Centuries

 

So… what happened?

The short answer: sneaky marketing techniques.

When the Industrial Revolution started, buyers became convinced that quality products only came from factories. 

Gone were the days of toiling over pots of homemade soap and applying iffy-smelling concoctions to wounds. Factory-made products now held all the answers—and the power.

The downside? Factory-made products were stuffed with harmful ingredients and fillers—we just didn’t know about it. Magazines and advertisements encouraged buyers to consume just one more “miracle” product to save their skin.

Over the last hundred years, we’ve slowly been unraveling this narrative and uncovering the brilliant methods ancient civilizations used to cure their dry skin. 

Things like castor oil, tallow balm, milk, yogurt, herbs, and honey were all regularly added to the beauty regime—and they actually worked.

Civilizations connected with nature and knew how to harness every plant and animal scraps for skin-deep healing.

At Toups and Co, our products are inspired by ancient methods of healing. We use whole and chemical-free ingredients that are regularly found on sustainable farms.

 

Avoid These Methods When Restoring Dry Skin

 

Lathering Yourself in Lotion

 

The silky feel and the delicious scents… they’re tempting! But the fillers and alcohols in drugstore lotions will dry out your skin. Plus, they contain harmful chemicals that can disrupt your hormones and cause long-term damage. Skip the chemicals and apply something else like a salve, organic lotion, cleansing oil, or tallow balm.

 

Ignoring Dry and Painful Skin

 

Dry skin is not your destiny. Just because drugstore products have failed you, doesn’t mean there’s no hope for healing. Whatever it takes, we’ll work with you to find the right product that actually helps your skin regain balance and heal over time.

 

Skin-Stripping Soap and Over-Showering

 

Check on your shower routine. It’s important to make sure you’re not over-exposing your skin to water or harsh soaps that strip your body of its natural oils. If you’re showering once a day, consider cutting back to see if it helps your skin re-balance.

 

How to Actually Restore Dry Skin

 

Exfoliate Regularly (For Prevention)

 

Caution: Do not try this on broken skin.

Exfoliation is a preventative method that can help if you experience predictable dry winter skin. The exfoliant will rub away dead skin while a healthy oil replenishes the underlayers of your skin. It’s easy to make your own exfoliating scrub with sugar or salt and a healthy oil like olive oil, avocado oil, or sea buckthorn oil.

Our recipe: 

• 1 cup of sugar
• ½ cup of avocado oil
• 3 drops of essential oils for scent
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice (optional: if you want to lighten scars)

If you don’t want to make your own sugar scrub, consider picking up the habit of dry brushing. This ancient method helps to cleanse the lymphatic system while increasing your morning energy. Do this before a shower and preferably in the morning.

 

Tallow Balm for Problem Areas

 

We could not believe the results when we first started using tallow balm for our family. Wow—where was this product all our lives? We have so much to say about tallow balm and its benefits that we wrote a whole blog post about it. Since tallow is a natural moisturizer and contains vitamins and minerals, it’s our favorite secret weapon for healing dry skin. Just a few applications will make you feel like a new person.

 

Consume Enough Water, Minerals, and Veggies

 

Yes, salves, healthy oils, and tallow balm all help cure dry skin. But what’s even better? Moisturizing from the inside out. Water, minerals, and herbs will give your body the nutrients it needs to build healthy skin—not just maintain it.

If you don’t know where to start, we recommend vegetables and fruits that have high water content—cucumbers, melons, and peaches for instance.

 

A Weekly Face Mask

 

Your face may not show immediate signs of dry skin, but it’s important to treat it when other areas of the body are experiencing symptoms. When your face is properly moisturized, this helps prevent unwanted wrinkles. It also increases overall comfort, boosts your mood, and allows for better makeup application. 

The Glow Mask contains Australian clay and Vitamin C to moisturize and replenish your skin with vitamins and minerals.

 

Dry Skin? Never Heard of Her

 

Big corporations want you to depend on them for healthy skin. But the truth is, your skin is smarter and much more capable than you think.

You may need to do some adjusting—fewer showers, chemical-free body products, and increased water consumption—but once your body is given the tools it needs, it learns how to regulate itself.

Daily tallow balm applications will turn to weekly applications. Your skin will adjust to the use of healthy products with whole ingredients. And you’ll reach for a glass of water instead of a can of soda because it just feels good.

 

The Simple Self-Care of Restoring Dry Skin

 

Often, it seems like the work on our farm is never finished. We milk our cows, harvest garden veggies, and raise children. Our hands are always busy—and there are almost no free moments to sit down and take care of them.

This is the case for many parents. Hours of labor and love often mean no time for simple self-care practices.

From one busy parent to another—taking care of yourself, even in the smallest of ways, is so important. Healthy hands and healthy skin will enable you to give the most to those around you.

And when you find a skincare routine that works for you, you’ll be reminded with each ritual that your brain, body, and soul are worth the greatest of care, too.