It’s So Dry, We’re Cracking Up!

Ok, I know the title sounds funny, but it’s true. We are literally cracking up! And no, it’s not because we think the dry climate is funny, it’s actually quite the opposite. Our bodies think it’s awful.

Last week, I woke up one morning feeling awful. I think I wrote about it in another post… but the most awful part was that both sides of my mouth, where the lips bend, were cracked. Let me tell you, that is a terrible place to have cracked! When you open your mouth too far, it hurts! I lathered it with lip moisturizer day and night, and it eventually healed and went away.

Mine are very much like this. Very subtle and small, but very much there. A tiny crack on the side of the mouth.

Well, my husband woke up last week with painful heels. My mother used to get this, I thankfully never did, but my husbands heels had the biggest cracks in them I have ever seen. I’m not just talking long, surface cracks, I’m talking deep heel cracks! I don’t even know how they aren’t bleeding with cracks that deep! So we’ve been lathering them with coconut oil and it has been helping.

These are very much like his. Awful.

Yesterday morning, I woke up with those stupid cracked mouth sides again. I’m telling you, it’s the most annoying thing ever! Unless you drink smoothies out of a straw all day, I really don’t see how you can avoid opening your mouth and causing those little cracks to cause you pain. Looks like we’re in for a very dry winter, and we will have lots of coconut oil and lip moisturizer on hand!

Do you live in a dry climate? How do you handle it?

The Banana Problem

So, because I’ve turned vegan and have been researching a lot, I’ve learned that of course in order for bananas to be ripe, they should have lots of spots on them. The bright yellow bananas are actually still very starchy and haven’t had time for the starch to turn into sugar yet. So I’ve been trying to let the bananas sit longer. But I noticed that I don’t like the bananas as much. I couldn’t figure out what was going on!

I was watching Freelee’s videos (as usual) and I noticed when she would peel a banana, it would stay upright like a normal banana should. My very ripe bananas were almost falling over! Yet the peels looked the same… How are the outsides the same but the insides are so different? I was very frustrated. I couldn’t eat the banana as a banana and so was making multiple smoothies.

Today, since I’m coming off the two days I spent eating cooked meals and going back on RawTill4, I knew I needed to have more than the 13 oranges I freshly juiced this morning. That wasn’t enough. So I looked at my bananas, and picked fairly spotty ones, though not as spotted/almost brown looking as I had been leaving them to ripen, and let me tell you, I ate 13, as is, no smoothies. They were like banana sugar paradise! I have found the right stage for bananas to be! Now I understand what they are actually supposed to taste like! Yahoo!

So here’s what I figured out. Different climates will cause things to ripen in different ways. My fruit is not sitting in the sun, I live in a very dry climate (whereas she lives in a tropical climate), and so they almost certainly are not going to ripen the same way. Duh!

I am seriously so happy I figured it out. It actually saves on time for ripening, and I love them! Such sweet goodness! Have you ever had struggles with bananas? Did you know about the proper ripening of them? Leave your answers in the comments below!

Dry Vs. Humid… What Do You Think?

So growing up in the East Coast, where the ocean is our border, I can say I grew up with a lot of humidity. The kind of humidity where you wake up and your bed feels like it came out of the dryer damp and you question whether it’s sweat or not. The kind of humidity where you roll the window down in your car on the highway and sometimes not be able to breathe in because the air is so dense. To me, that’s what I think of with humidity.

Humidity= Muggy and Hot.

For the past 10 years, I’ve lived by the mountains with no ocean around me and it is known for being extremely dry. So dry that people who move there often battle nose bleeds and chapped lips simply from the air. You have to become accustomed to it, which usually means an excess of lip balm, moisturizers, and especially drinking a ton of water. To me, that is dry.

Chug away to keep the moisture in your body.

Now, coming from the dry climate to the humid climate, I was preparing for hot temperatures. But so far, I have been completely surprised.

Back in the dry climate, we were hanging around the 20s and 30s Celsius. Coming here to the humid climate, we’ve been hanging around the 20s, not yet the 30s. And yet, in the dry climate, I could just sit and sweat. So I was easily prepared for worse here, and the truth of the matter is I have not even felt hot once. Not once.

Dry climates seem to be so much worse to me.

So my question to you is: Do you think the dry climate is hotter or the humid climate? As of right now, my perception seems to be changed, but maybe something is awry that I’m not considering. So tell me what you think and we’ll see if we can figure this out!

Have a Problem with Dry Skin?

I am a product tester. Not one that is paid, not one that gets sent free products to review, but one that buys a new product almost every time I run out of something. I have a problem being satisfied with a certain product. They are never quite what I want or don’t quite give the results they’ve promised. In fact, I have an entire shelf in a linen closet designated to the many products I’ve bought in advance to try once old products run out.

Now I live in Western Canada. Unfortunately I don’t live in BC near the ocean where humidity exists. I live on the other side of the mountains where the air is landlocked and DRY. This is the kind of dry where you have to carry around lip balm and hand lotion or else you are in grave danger of cracked lips and skin. Did you know that most people who move here from humid places often suffer bloody noses while their body adjusts to the dry climate? I’m not kidding when I say it’s dry!

There are a few products I’ve quite buying from stores, and I’m going to tell you about one of them today. This is one product I’ve finally found works for me!

In hindsight, I’ve tried almost every body lotion out there. I’ve tried dead sea varieties, cocoa butter varieties, other butter varieties, normal lotions, extremely dry skin lotions, and everything in between. I’ve never been completely satisfied. And this is not a product to take lightly as I’ve lived in both humid and dry climates, and will never deny the importance of moisturizing your skin.

This product, this lotion, has so many things I love about it.

#1-The smell. I’ve tried lotions that I’ve hated the smell of, some that the smell was simply “ok”, and some that are way too overpowering. But this lotion? I cannot express my love of the soft and sweet fragrance it contains. It’s refreshing, delightful and delicate all in one.

#2-The consistency. I dislike overly thick lotions. I hate feeling like I have lathered myself in grease after applying a lotion. This lotion is not that way. It is a light, white lotion that applies very well and dries fairly quickly while leaving your skin smooth and moisturized.

#3-The application. This is a huge personal preference for me. I hate having to scoop lotions out of a jar. I hate the feeling of getting the lotion under my fingernails and having to dig it out. This comes in a tube which is very convenient to squeeze out and apply. No mess needed!

#4-My skin. My skin has never felt better. I’ve only been using this product for a month, and my skin stays moisturized all day as well as feels extremely smooth and soft. Absolutely wonderful feeling skin.

#5-How long it lasts. I have been using this lotion for about a month and I have not even used half of the tube. I use body lotion everyday and this is probably one of the longest lasting bottles/tubes I’ve ever had. It’s such a great price for such a great quality product!

I honestly love this product. For someone who has a hard time being satisfied with cosmetic and skin care products, I’m so happy and content with this lotion. In fact, last time I placed an order, I bought 2 for myself alone, set aside from the products I’ve ordered for others. I just love it that much.

What is this amazing lotion I’m talking about? It’s Mary Kay’s Hydrating Lotion. It sells for $20 a bottle, but that bottle will last you quite awhile. And quite honestly, who doesn’t want silky smooth skin? I know for myself, especially with sensitive skin living in a dry climate, finding the right moisturizing product is essential, and after years of searching, I’ve found the one. It could be yours too!

Let me know if you’d like to try it! I’m hoping you’ll fall in love with it as much as I have!