Years ago, I used to struggle with extremely dry, itchy skin on my legs. The doctors treated me for eczema. They gave me steroid cream. They gave me non-steroid cream. Unfortunately, my eczema bothered me from my ankles to my hips….the entire length of my legs! I felt like I could itch until I literally would scratch the skin off my legs.
I tried to find lotions and salves to sooth my skin and keep it from itching. Many of the thickest “healing” ointments contained petroleum. (I didn’t know better, so I used them). Many of the lotions contained fragrance. (I didn’t know better, so I used them also.)
I started using essential oils to create healthier skin care products. I decided to make a DIY body butter. I no longer wanted to use any product with petroleum because it disrupts the endocrine system and messes with your hormones. I no longer wanted to use any product with “fragrance” because it contains chemicals that can cause cancer. I began using my soothing concoction and it helped! But my eczema wasn’t gone…
Over the course of the next couple of years, I made many other lifestyle changes.
- I stopped using any personal care products that contained hormone disrupting ingredients or artificial fragrance.
- I switched my laundry soap for a plant based detergent that contained no harsh chemicals or fragrance.
- I stopped using fabric softener and dryer sheets; and opted for wool balls with essential oils.
- I also focused on some internal cleansing, cleansing my liver of heavy metals and any other toxins my body may have been holding onto.
- I cut out foods that were causing inflammation and messing with my digestive system...because...
- our skin is an outward manifestation of what our body is doing on the inside!
My skin hasn’t bothered me in many years! I didn’t intentionally set out to “fix” my eczema. I can’t give credit to any ONE thing. Although there may be ways to sooth irritated skin, my experience is that we need to look at our environment very closely for ingredients in products that can harm our health. We may need to cleanse our bodies from the inside out in order to truly help our skin.
If you are struggling with dry, itchy skin and want to check out my soothing body butter recipe:
If you would like to know what cleaning products I use in my home:
If you would like an "easy button" for reducing inflammation and bringing healing to your body:
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