Pet & Animal: How to Get Silky Soft Skin

Does your skin tend to get dry and rough, especially during the colder months of the year? Babies naturally have skin that's silky soft, but the years tend to take a toll on our skin as we age. Learn techniques, products and treatments you can try to get your skin back into smooth, silky shape.

EditSteps

EditExfoliation Techniques

Give dry brushing a try. Skin often starts to feel rough and dull as a result of the accumulation of dead skin cells. Dry air causes the top layer of skin to dry out and flake off, causing your skin's texture to feel less smooth. Brushing off those dead skin cells immediately makes your skin feel softer, and because the technique improves circulation, it also enhances your skin's silkiness in the long term.
- Dry brushes are sold at beauty stores and drugstores. Choose a body brush made from natural fibers. Natural fibers are easier on your skin, so avoid brushes with plastic bristles.
- Always make sure both your body and the brush are completely dry when you begin. Brush from your toes up your legs toward your heart using quick, firm strokes. Focus on the areas where your skin is the driest. Keep working on your skin until your legs, torso, and arms have all been brushed. The procedure should take about five minutes.
- If you want to brush your face, buy a special brush made with softer fibers.

Use an exfoliating scrub. Scrubs are usually made with salt or sugar and lotions that hydrate your skin while you exfoliate. While you're in the bath or the shower, apply a heap of scrub mixture to the area of your body you want to exfoliate and rub it vigorously into your skin. The sugar or salt scrubs dead skin cells away without scratching or otherwise harming your skin.
- For best results, use scrubs once or twice a week. Don't use them too often, or you may end up drying out your skin; scrubs remove dead skin cells and dirt, but they also scrub away the natural oils in your skin that prevent it from getting too dry.
- Scrubs are available for purchase at drug stores and beauty stores, but it's quite easy to make your own. Combine the following ingredients and store the scrub in an old cosmetic container or a jar with a lid:
  - 2 cups sugar or salt (use fine-grained suger or salt, rather than course-grained)
  - 1/2 cup olive oil or almond oil
  - 1/4 cup honey
  - 1 teaspoon vanilla or a few drops of your favorite essential oil

Shave or wax regularly. If you want silky, soft legs, shaving or waxing regularly can help. Not only do these techniques remove hair, which can cause legs to feel less soft, but they also remove the dead skin cells that accumulate on the surface of your skin.
- Shave your legs with a moisturizing lotion or shaving cream, rather than a cleansing gel, to prevent your skin from getting too dry.
- Choose a leg wax that is fortified with moisturizing ingredients, like aloe, for even softer results.

EditMoisturizing Methods

Use lotion every day. Protecting your skin from dry air with a layer of moisturizing lotion is one of the best ways to make it feel soft and silky. Choose a hydrating lotion for dry skin. Apply it as soon as you get out of the shower, while your skin is still damp and warm, to trap in the moisture that keeps your skin soft.
- Carry a travel-sized bottle of lotion with you throughout the day to treat areas that might become dry, especially your face and hands.
- Moisturizing sunscreen is a good option for your face, since it keeps your skin hydrated and protects you from damaging rays at the same time.

Deep condition your skin. When lotion just doesn't seem to be keeping your skin soft, it's time to deep condition your skin with oil. The process might be a little messy, but the resulting silky skin is worth it. Complete the following steps before going to bed:
- Rub oil all over your body. Use olive oil, almond oil, jojoba oil, or another cosmetic-grade oil. You can purchase these at grocery stores, natural food stores or beauty stores.
- Put on long-sleeved pajamas and pajama pants. Your long-sleeved clothing will keep the oil against your skin and prevent it from getting all over your bed while you sleep. Choose cotton pajamas, rather than silk or another fabric that might get stained by the oil. If you want, you can also wear socks and gloves.
- In the morning, take a shower and moisturize with lotion as usual. Your skin should feel unbelievably smooth and baby-soft after your deep oil treatment.

Try a variety of moisturizing products. Not every moisturizer works for every person's skin. You may find that the commercial lotions, even those that are made for extra-dry skin, don't keep your skin from flaking a few hours after application. Experiment with these natural moisturizers until you find one that keeps your skin feeling silky.
- Coconut oil spreads on smooth and melts against the skin.
- Shea butter is great for treating rough knees and elbows during the winter.
- Lanolin is the natural substance that sheep produce to keep their wool soft and waterproof.
- Aloe vera is a light, everyday moisturizer that doesn't leave your skin feeling oily.

EditSpa-Style Treatments

Take an oatmeal bath. Oatmeal has soothing, healing properties, and letting your skin absorb oatmeal water in the bathtub is a great way to get softer skin. You may be averse to bathing directly in oatmeal, but there's an easier way to get the benefits of oatmeal:
- Pour a cup of old-fashioned (not instant) oatmeal into the foot of an old pair of pantyhose and tie a knot at the top. You can also tie the oatmeal up in a piece of cheesecloth.
- Fill the bathtub with warm (not hot) water and place the oatmeal-filled cloth in the tub.
- As you soak in the tub, squeeze the saturated oatmeal over your body. Run it over your skin, concentrating on the areas that are dry or irritated.

Try a seaweed wrap. This spa treatment is designed to improve skin tone. Buy a package of unsalted seaweed. Fill a large bowl with cool water and place the pieces of seaweed in the bowl. Situate yourself on a towel and place wet strips of seaweed on your skin. Let them dry on your skin until they begin to shrivel, then remove them. Rinse your skin and moisturize with oil or lotion to finish.

Make a mask. Masks are used on the face and body to smooth and exfoliate the skin. Buy a mask from the drugstore, or make one of these using ingredients you already have in your kitchen:
- Make a honey lemon mask. Place two teaspoons of flour into a bowl. Add two teaspoons of honey and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Stir the ingredients together and apply the paste to your face or another dry part of your body. Leave it on for 30 minutes, then rinse off with cold water.
- Make a milk mask. After taking a shower, take a cotton ball and dip it into warm milk. Rub the cotton ball onto your face, and let the milk dry. After the milk has been fully absorbed into your skin, wash your face with cold water to close your pores. You can also add milk to your bath to soften your entire body.