Over time, exposure to the sun can make your skin rough, dry and wrinkled, with irregular coloring, age spots, reddish pigmentation on the neck and chest and actinic keratosis. Excess sun exposure damages the elastin and collagen fibers that keep your skin supple and elastic. It causes changes in skin cells that can lead to skin cancer. However, you can still improve the appearance of your skin and reverse the damage by means of exfoliation, moisturizing, treating and feeding your skin.
Step 1
Cleanse your skin with liquid Castile soap before exfoliating. Rinse thoroughly with warm, not hot, water. Ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate are irritating and cause trans-epidermal water loss, making the skin dryer, according to a 1994 article in the "Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology." Look for soaps and skin cleansers that use natural ingredients, like pure Castile soap.
Step 2
Mash the strawberries or papaya fruit and honey to a smooth paste. Spread the paste over your face and neck with your fingertips and leave it on for 20 minutes. Fruits like strawberry or papaya are sources of alpha hydroxy acids which chemically exfoliate the outer layer of dry dead skin cells, says Narine Nikogosian, author of "Return to Beauty." Honey is a humectant, it draws water out of the air and helps plump your skin cells with moisture.
Step 3
Rinse off the fruit paste. Add enough water to the colloidal oatmeal to make a thin paste, about 1 to 2 tbsp. of water to 2 tbsp. of oatmeal. Scrub your face and neck with the oatmeal paste, rubbing the paste in circles over your skin with your fingertips. Oatmeal or other fine grains are used to mechanically exfoliate your skin, rubbing off the outer layer of dead skin cells that have been loosened by the alpha hydroxy acids in the fruit.
Step 4
Rinse off the oatmeal scrub thoroughly. While your skin is still wet, spread 1 tsp. of jojoba oil over your face and neck. Jojoba oil helps to seal skin cells, like your natural sebum, to retain moisture. It makes your skin smoother and softer, protecting the healthier layer of skin cells revealed by the exfoliation. Jojoba oil is so close to human sebum that it is used in medical research as a replacement for human sebum, according to the "International Journal of Cosmetic Science."
Step 5
Apply a moisturizer with SPF 30 over the jojoba oil, while your skin is still damp to protect your face and neck against further sun damage. Use of a moisturizer with sunscreen is the most important thing you can do to protect your skin.
Tips and Warnings
- Visit a dermatologist at least once a year to check for skin cancers. Once you have had severe sun damage, you are at risk for developing skin cancer and home remedies are not enough to protect you. You can use commercial alpha hydroxy exfoliating mask instead of making a mask out of strawberries or papaya, if you prefer. Prepare your skin the same way by cleansing with a gentle soap.
- If you are allergic to strawberry or papaya, use another soft fruit for the mask. If you see changes in a mole or you develop a new one, visit your dermatologist to rule out skin cancer.
Things You'll Need
- Castile soap
- 3 strawberries or 3 tbsp. papaya
- 1 tsp. honey
- 2 tbsp. colloidal oatmeal (or 2 tbsp. oatmeal ground to a fine powder in the blender)
- 1 or 2 tbsp. water
- 1 tsp. jojoba oil
- Moisturizer with 30 SPF
References
- Benefits of Honey: Three Key Valuable Honey Properties
- "Int J Cosmet Sci"; Human synthetic sebum formulation and stability under conditions of use and storage; Wertz PW; Feb. 2009
- "Am J Clin Dermatol"; Role of topical emollients and moisturizers in the treatment of dry skin barrier disorders; Lodén M; 2003;4(11):771-88.
- "J Am Acad Dermatol;" Surfactant-induced skin irritation and skin repair; Wilhelm KP, Freitag G, Wolff HH; June 1994
- "Med J aust;" A comparative study of tea-tree oil versus benzoylperoxide in the treatment of acne; Bassett IB et al; Oct. 1990
- "Return to Beauty: Old-World Recipes for Great Radient Skin;" N Nikogosian; 2009
