Healthy Thurday

This weeks healthy Thursday is about skin care and looking great. I know, this is a mental health blog so why create a post about skin care. Well some of the medication can have side effects such as dry skin or even cause break outs. There is also the fact that sometimes even minor changes to hygiene rituals can boost the mood. It won't cure depression or even make it go away but coming up with a simple routine might boost the self esteem when we are not in a depressive episode. Also these routine can help improve skin and oral health.

Besides dry mouth from medication I have noticed dry patchy skin can be an issue. That is probably why Dr.'s stress drinking water so much during appointments.Keeping hydrated can help with dry skin or mouth.  Of course my skin trouble might be unique to me due to work environment, I work in a hot dry environment, but I thought that I would still share my method of keeping my skin looking as healthy as possible.

I also find this regimen helpful during depressions where I continue to do this on auto pilot and it helps me to at least look okay and not as if I spent most of the day in bed (even though I probably did)

Face

My skin tends to be combination of oily and dry. I have noticed that certain medications make me break out more. What I do is start with a gentle moisturizing cleanser. Now I'm old school and use either a cold cream, either Ponds or Jergens, or I use Noxzema depending on the season. Traditional cold creams are more of a winter regimen. Either way all of these cleansers are gentle on the skin while also cleaning pores without drying out your skin.

I clean my face twice a day, morning and night. About twice a week I use an exfoliating cleanser to help remove dry, dead skin cells making my face look a little brighter.

Afterwords I always use a lotion specially formulated for the face. I tend to either us St. Ives Timeless Skin Collagen Elastin Moistureizer or Olay Active Hydrating. Both these go on smoothly and don't make my face feel greasy. If you spend a lot of time in the sun you should use one with SPF. I have been told that I look younger than I am, by like ten years so I must be doing something right with skin care here.

If cost is an issue try generic store brands often times they work just as well as the name brand ones for half the cost.

Body

My skin can get so dry and itchy that I'll scratch it raw. A few years back I switched from my usual soap to Nivea. Since then no more itching. I use the body gel in the shower and then use the in shower moisturizing lotion. After I towel off I either use Nivea soft or Nivea crème depending on the dryness of my skin. These leave my skin silky smooth. If you like a more masculine scent they have that to. I use it on my son and his dry skin is now gone. I really wish that scented body gels and lotions could be as good instead of leaving skin feeling either dry or greasy. Until then its Nivea for me and a body spray from Bath and Body Works

You can use a body exfoliating wash if you like, but personally I haven't found one yet that I liked. My skin is fairly sensitive so I have to be careful or other wise its sky skin and rashes for me.

The trick here is find a good soap and lotion that helps. Don't think that the more expensive the soap and lotion the better. I have found that off brands and store brands are often just as good if not better. Some good brands are Palmers Coconut Oil body Lotion, Palmers Caoco Butter Formula Moisturizing Body Oil, Olay Quench Body Lotion. Also check out store brand alternatives because like the facial cleansers they are often cheaper yet nearly the same as name brand.

Mouth Care

Dry mouth can cause a whole host of issues that can lead to tooth loss. It is very important that if you are on medicine to keep up with your oral hygiene. If depression is sapping your will to keep up try to make sure that at least you brush, floss and use a good mouthwash at least three times a day. I find that by ritualizing things it become a little more easier to do them. So brush in the morning, after lunch and before you go to bed.

Sugary drinks will speed up tooth decay so this is another reason to switch out to water. I serious wished I had followed my dentists advice years ago in regards to soda, because I didn't I now have a partial plate.

For dry mouth Biotène is a life saver. I use their toothpaste, mouthwash and mouth spray to help with my dry mouth from my medications. I also use Smart mouth Dry Mouth mints while I am on the go. They are sugar free and taste great. It also might help to ask your dentist what type of oral hygiene regimen you should do.

Healthy Thursday is a great way that you can share dietary changes, new exercises, stress reduction techniques or just any general things that you have engaged in or changed in your life that has a positive impact. No matter how small or how simple these are things that we do to improve our selves and lessen the effects of our illnesses. Put a link in the comments to your own blog entry for Healthy Thursday.  If you don't have blog then just comment with what your healthy thing is.