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In my quest to regain beautiful skin, I discovered that Dead Sea Salt and Epsom baths can improve the following conditions:

Psoriasis
Arthritis
Dry Skin
Eczema
Stress
Insomnia
Muscular Aches and Pain
Skin Allergies

The skin is strengthened and blood circulation improves. Toxins are also removed from the skin. Any chemical imbalances of the skin and body are improved and the skin’s natural PH levels are restored.

Studies show that Dead Sea Salt baths have shown positive results in symptom relief and lengthening remission of eczema and psoriasis sufferers.

Personally, when my skin was at its worst, I took a salt bath every evening, then tapered the frequency to every other day, then tapered off the baths, gradually. This means as my skin improved, I took them every other day, then every 2 days, then twice a week.

I chose not to rinse off afterwards as I felt that the salt was still working even after my bath. I would also add ground oatmeal and olive oil to the bath so that I was well moisturised. I found the baths to be very relaxing and I always had a good sleep afterwards. I would clean hairy parts daily with a kind soap like Turkish Olive oil soap or Black soap. And rinse off of course!

You will notice that having a 3-4 baths weekly for 3-4 weeks, will diminish the itch, scaling and joint complaints if you have any. Sleeping difficulties are also resolved. The spread of inflammation will decrease as well as the redness. However, as I was on medication for something else, my face took 4 months to heal from chronic scaling and sunburn in 2014.

It was the bowel cleansing and liver flushes carried out every 3 months that finally did the trick. My skin tone and texture returned to normal. I also drank plenty of water or cucumber juice to cool down the eczema body heat.

Only 1kg of salts per bath or more seems to be the most effective for treating skin conditions.

Here is my skin bathing method which is useful for preventing skin infection:

You will need olive oil, shea butter, 1kg packet of Dead Sea Salts and also 1 cup of ground oats.

The Method:

Put some olive oil in your hand with shea butter and massage into your skin.
Run your bath with lukewarm water.
Add all the contents of the salts packet to the bath water.
Add the oats.
Put 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in the water
Soak in the bath for up to half an hour.
Do not pat dry after your bath – allow your skin to air dry.
Repeat Step 1.

The sea salts clean, disinfect and moisturise your skin too. Note that you should not use soap on eczematous skin as it will dry out your skin and leave it very itchy.

The oats has a quality about it that relieves your skin from itching. It also calms red, inflamed skin.

Shea butter prevents your skin from scarring as well as moisturises your skin. You will be able to find shea butter from either African shops or online.

If you have scratched your skin til it bleeds, you may need to massage your skin with aloe vera gelly that will heal your wounds and prevent from scarring. It also has the added quality of relieving the itch. Remember, aloe gelly first, then olive oil and shea butter.

If your clothes wick off the oil, you may need to ask your doctor to prescribe Tubifast bandages for your arms, torso and legs. It comes in different sizes, so you may need to check with the chemist to order the right size. These bandages are washable and can be used over and over.

Personally, I made a moisturising butter with melted coconut oil and shea butter instead of olive oil. You may have to do a small patch first to see whether you are allergic to coconut oil. My face was sensitive to coconut oil, but the rest of my body was fine.

If you have wet, oozing skin, dry your patches with Argiletz clay paste. Then apply aloe vera gelly to them. This can be applied as often as you need to during the day.

This may seem complicated to do, but it really is simple as long as you have these staple items in your kitchen at all times. Then whenever your skin flares, you have everything you need rather than panic.

Flotation Tank Experience

In 2013, a friend of mine suggested going to a nearby beauty salon that had a salt cave and a flotation tank. Since I didn’t know what a flotation tank was, I did an online search.

Well basically, a flotation tank (or pod) has all the benefits of a regular salt bath except it is contains a very high concentration of Epsom salts. The temperature of the water is kept to the same as your body while you float in the water. Soft music is played and the lights are dimmed.

Each session lasts for an hour or more if you feel brave enough, but what I found really interesting about the floating experience is that as I lay perfectly still in the water, my mind went into a dream-like state. This I found was very relaxing.

The only thing I didn’t like was that my eczema patches really stung. I stayed the 1-hour course though as the time seemed to whizz by. This time, I did rinse myself off and oiled up with olive oil after towelling. When I got home, I had a long nap. I felt that relaxed.

Having a salt bath, whether or at home or in a tank is a much safer alternative than bleach baths and they also remove bad bacteria from the skin.

There are several flotation tanks in beauty spas throughout the UK and numerous abroad, Sweden having the highest proportion of flotation tanks to people living there.

And The Price?

This flotation experience which lasts for an hour can set you back anything from £45-70 a session. You can have multiple sessions at a discounted rate if floating tickles your fancy. The price is high because each tank (or pod) costs between £15,000-40,000, and must be fitted with specially prepared rooms.

However, the experience is worth it and I noted that my skin healed at a faster rate within the following couple of weeks. That was impressive.

If you are interested in going to a floatation tank spa in London, there is one located at the London Flotation Centre, Isle of Dogs. The nearest station is South Quay DLR. The price? £45 an hour.

If you would like to know more about floating and the effects the salt can have on your skin, feel free to leave a comment or question below.

If you have extremely dry skin on your hands and would like to get rid of it, let me show you how to moisturise it.

There are several causes of dry skin on hands –

Dry Weather
Frequent Washing using soap
Central Heating
Junk Food Diet
Dehydration
Use of Chemicals
Heavy Craft or Mechanical Work
Ageing

Depending on where you live, especially if you are in a hot climate, the weather can adversely affect the state of your hands. You will need to moisturise your skin after each wash. The best thing to use is a thick cream like Aloe Propolis Creme or simply olive oil with a drop of lavender essential oil.

Aloe Propolis Creme contains Aloe Vera gel and chamomile which is soothing for skin. Olive oil – the Extra Virgin kind, mind, will also be very moisturising for you.

Central Heating turned on during winter, can dry out your skin on your hands as well as your whole body. It is important to stay hydrated when you have this on. Also a humidifier is useful to put back moisture into the air in your home.

A Junk Food diet lacking in omega 3 fatty acids can also contribute to dry skin on your hands and elsewhere on your body. So the best thing you can do is wean yourself off food like potato chips, crisps, sweet desserts with cream, sodas, alchohol, etc.

Replace junk food with healthy alternatives that are home made. For example, roasted sweet potato cooked with coconut oil. Chicken breast and avocado salads.

You can also drink tasty green smoothies containing avocado, carrot juice, apple, parsley and bananas.

Supplement with Fish Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Flaxseed Oil. The only con about this is that you need to take at least 3 capsules of each three times a day to see a difference in 30 days. It can also prove slightly expensive in the long run.

However supplementing with fish and seed oils really does work. As I suggested this to a friend who complained of dry hands. I told him to take a high dose of evening primrose oil as mentioned above. 3 weeks later he came back with glowing reviews of how his hands were now smooth and soft.

Smoking definitely is a no-no for your skin as nicotine is known to wick away internal moisture of your body. Leading to dry hands! If you are guilty of this, then be warned of the effects of smoking turning your skin askew as you age.

Dehydration is another key to the cause of your dry hands. If you are a speaker who rarely drinks water, especially when on flights to conferences, you will also suffer from extremely dry hands.

Remember to drink water or green juices to the total of 8 glasses daily. As it takes 28 days for the skin to repair itself, you will need to take this long to see a lasting change in the condition of your hands. As a side benefit, your voice will also be more clear and sharp to the ear.

Our hands have a different skin structure to other parts of our body, which helps them perform their key function in movement and motion control:

The skin on the palms and balls of the fingers and thumbs:

is rich in fatty and connective tissue (such as elastin and collagen)
has a high density of sweat glands but very few sebaceous glands

The skin on the backs of the hands:

has hardly any fatty tissue
is especially thin and sensitive
has few sebaceous glands

Drinking Marine Collagen is another fantastic way of getting the right nutrients to our hands. It supports the firmness and elasticity of our skin on not just our hands, but also the strength of our hair and other connective tissue we have in our bodies. For example our feet.

Marine Collagen is great but as the brand I recommend is in liquid form, it can get rather pricey if you’re are buying this month after month.

If you are on a budget, I suggest apple, cucumber, avocado and carrots to make a smoothies. To see a difference in your skin, you will need to make a litre of smoothie a day. As you can include up to 3 apples in your smoothie, the taste will be quite nice. Due to the apples you included!

Use of Chemicals

If you are an artist who uses paints or resin, you will have to wash your hands quite thoroughly to get any stains out. The best thing to do would be to use gloves, but then you would not get a good feel for the brush in hand…

I suggest a heavy cream moisturizer and supplement your diet with avocado smoothies and also evening primrose oil capsules after each meal.

If you also work in a hospital as a nurse, you will be frequently washing your hands with anti-bacterial soap which washes off the microbiome on your hands. Leading to very dry skin and even worse, cracked hands.

A sanitiser containing aloe vera can help as well as supplementing your diet with smoothies and evening primrose oil capsules. To see a difference in 30 days, you will need to take 3 capsules three times a day with liquid.

Ageing is something we all have to look forward to. The good thing is that by then, you should have a good skin care routine in place that will get you ready for when you reach your 60s and beyond.

To keep your hands looking pretty, it’s important not to be too thin. I have noticed that being between 70-56kg is beneficial to give a slightly plump look to my hands. After all, there’s no point having beautiful skin if you are all skin and bone, is there??

Get Fish Oils from my store here.

Conclusion

So there you have it – All you need to do for moisturized hands, is to do the following:

1. Drink 1 litre of Green Smoothie every day

2. Supplement with Evening Primrose Oil or Fish Oils – 3 capsules three times a day with food.

3. And drink Marine Liquid Collagen every day.

4. Use Aloe Liquid Hand Soap to wash your hands instead of anti-bacterial soap.

5. Moisturize your hands with a thick cream like Aloe Propolis Creme which you can get by clicking here.

Once you have reached saturation point and your hands are glowing, all you need to do to maintain this and continue drinking the green smoothie every day. Plus use Aloe Propolis Creme after each hand washing.

Remember, your hands are an important part of your body and you use them in various situations all day.

So Take Care Of Them!!

The Power of Salt Baths – Dead Sea and Epsom

The Method:

Flotation Tank Experience

And The Price?

How to Get Rid of Extremely Dry Skin on Hands

The skin on the palms and balls of the fingers and thumbs:

Conclusion