Don't Be Chicken: Rid Your Skin of Keratosis Pilaris

Chicken skin. Called keratosis pilaris, but commonly known as chicken skin because your skin has little raised bumps.

A few facts about keratosis pilaris: it is caused by hair follicles building up extra skin cells, it is generally genetic, and it is aggravated with dry skin.

This annoying skin condition is harmless, but working to maintain your skin will help to keep your skin looking smoother.

When you are experiencing "chicken skin" symptoms, you can do two things to manage it: exfoliate and moisturize.

Use an exfoliating body scrub, like Derma Restoring Body Scrub, to loosen the keratin plugs on the hair follicle and get rid of the dead skin that is causing your skin to be bumpy without causing irritation. Severe outbreaks of keratosis pilaris can benefit from an exfoliant with salicylic acid. A gentle body scrub is a better choice than skin drying cleansers because harsh bar soaps will cause more inflammation.

Moisturize with a lotion or cream, such as Derma Restoring Body Lotion, which works to retain skin's moisture and alleviate flare ups caused by dry skin.

Derma Restoring has been developed to specifically target the skin condition called keratosis pilaris, or chicken skin.

DIY Spa Day

I could use a relaxing spa day EVERY day. The fact is, I can barely manage some spa treatment time for me every few months. If I'm lucky. And the planets align.

When I do have an opportunity for relaxing spa time, you bet your pretty petunias I'm going to take advantage of that! My problem is, there is no way I could afford GOING to a spa. I mean a facial alone can be well over $100. There is most definitely a way I can recreate the spa experience myself and for much less.

Be prepared to spend some time alone, bathing and pampering yourself!

	Spa Treatment	Products I Recommend
Face	Brightening Facial: A facial mask will invigorate and hydrate your face, bringing back a healthy glow and helping you relax and recover from stress.	Clearskin® Pore Penetrating Black Mineral Mask $6.99 OR Planet Spa Amazonian Treasures Hydrating Face Mask with Brazilian Acai and Berries $10 Spa Cost: $100+
	Facial Hair Treatment: Remove unwanted facial hair with a cream or a wax.	Skin So Soft Fresh & Smooth Moisturizing Facial Hair Removal Cream $6 OR  Skin So Soft Fresh & Smooth Moisturizing Facial Wax Strip Kit $12 Spa Cost: $15-$30+
Body	Exfoliate: Use a body scrub to exfoliate skin, and refresh your body.	Planet Spa Perfectly Purifying With Dead Sea Minerals Body Scrub $12  Spa Cost: $50+
	Moisturize: Enrich and restore your skin with a soothing moisturizer, like a body lotion or oil.	Skin So Soft body lotions and oils - so many solutions and scents to choose from! $5 to $15  Spa Cost: $50+

Hands	Manicure: File your nails, care for your cuticles and polish with a trendy color.	Nailwear Pro+ Nail Enamel $6 Spa Cost: $25+
	Moisturize: Massage a lotion into the dry skin on your fingers and hands.	My personal favorite! Moisture Therapy Intensive Healing & Repair Hand Cream $5 Spa Cost: $10+
Feet	Pedicure: Trim your toenails, and color them with a made to last gel polish.	Gel Finish 7-in-1 Nail Enamel $7  Spa Cost: $35+
	Smooth: Rub in a hydrating foot cream.	Foot Works Beautiful Deep Moisturizing Cream $5 &   Spa Cost: $20+

Total cost for all of that pampering at a spa? Starting at $320, and could be much more depending on the spa!

Total cost if you do it in the comfort of your home? $75, and you can use the same products again next time you need a spa day! Check out my DIY Spa Day Pinterest board.

Healing Winter Hands

Winter is here. Well, not technically, as the winter solstice isn't until December 21st. BUT here in New Hampshire, we had a Nor'easter hit over Thanksgiving weekend. Several inches of wet, heavy snow. Great for making a snowman but otherwise miserable.

My hands hurt.

Cold winter air makes my hands red, dry, cracked and chapped. It's painful.

I have tried many things to help soothe my winter hands. Aveeno works but isn't intensive enough.St. Ives Intensive Healing lotion has worked ok for me. Strangely enough, natural goat milk healing lotion has actually made my skin feel like it is on fire. Vaseline is just gross.

AVON Moisture Therapy Intensive Healing hand cream is wonderful. The lotion helps alleviate the burning and dryness without being too greasy. It also has emollients like jojoba to help skin regain oil lost through exposure to dry cold air. I seriously struggle with this dry hands issue. I also wash my hands a lot which doesn't help.

So, I'm curious. What does everyone else do to quench the burn of dry skin during the winter?!

Hang Nails

I have awful cuticles.

Terrible, painful cuticles that catch on things. It's frustrating. They rip, they bleed. And they do not look beautiful. I have tried so many things to heal my cuticles: cuticle cutter, cuticle pusher, lanolin, solar oil, cuticle cream...I even use my teeth to try to solve hang nails. I long for something that will help ease my cuticle drama!

Don't Cut!
Apparently, you aren't supposed to cut your cuticles. The cuticles protect the nail bed and help keep bacteria out. Cutting them can increase the chance of infection. So the better choice is to use an orange stick and gently push the cuticle back.

More Moisture
Cuticles are still skin, and skin needs to be moisturized. Greasy creams on my fingernails annoy me, so I do a treatment with oil and then I use my hand lotion and work some into the nails and cuticles.

Skip The Polish
I love nail polish, BUT after I treat my nails and cuticles, there is no way I am getting that nail polish to stick. I wait a bit before attempting to apply nail polish because all that oil and cream just kicks the polish right off!

Some products that help my cuticle issues:
https://www.avon.com/product/30661/nail-experts-instant-gel-cuticle-remover/?_PDP&repId=16309386
https://www.avon.com/product/47653/nail-experts-cuticle-conditioner/?_PDP&repId=16309386