At home summer remedies
With the hot weather and barefoot evenings comes dry skin, cracked feet and countless itchy bug bites. There are some awesome in-store products that can take care of these warm-weather-woes, such as Benadryl insect bite sticks or Lush products (which are some of my personal favorites). But, before you dish out the big bucks for these products, try some of these at-home remedies that will help you feel confident in those tank tops or flip flops.
- For cracked/dead skin. Do you enjoy walking around the backyard barefoot or lounging by the pool without shoes? Walking across concrete or other hard surfaces without shoes might be great to keep your feet wet and cool, but they can leave the bottom of your feet cracked and scratchy. To remove dead skin from your feet (or anywhere else on your body), sugar scrubs are an awesome way to moisturize and remove the unwanted skin. In stores, a small container can run you anywhere from $25-50, so try this recipe with ingredients in your baking cabinet: two parts sugar, one part oil and some added essential oil. Use white sugar for best results, but use whatever type of oil you have (olive, canola, etc.). Always use double the amount of sugar as the amount of oil you use, and if you want a scent such as lavender or vanilla, just add a drop or two and you’re all set! Rub the sugar scrub all over to remove dead skin and feel smooth.
- For insect bites. Nothing is worse than mosquito bites during the New Jersey summer. After a long night outdoors by a campfire, the next day you usually find yourself covered in those itchy bumps. Before you rush to the store to get some antihistamine sticks (which do work if you want to spend the money!), there are some other things you can use from around the house that will help the itch go away. Honey is a natural antiseptic so it could take away any irritation or stop possible infections, but only use it indoors as the honey could attract more insects. Some people have aloe vera lying around the house, and it’s great for things other than sunburn! Put some on an insect bite as an anti-inflammatory and stop any irritation from an insect bite. Or, when it doubt, put a bandaid over the bite to stop you from scratching at it and making it worse.
- For sunburn. During the summer, I get sunburn from the shortest amounts of time outside. If you’re like me, here are some great home remedies to lessen the sting of sunburn. Cold compresses, washcloths soaked with cold water or a cold bath/shower should be used to ease any pain from sunburn, and definitely helps cool your temperature down. If you’re taking a bath, add some oatmeal to soothe itchy skin, or one cup of cider vinegar to help promote healing. However, the best method is to simply use prevention, so be sure to apply sunscreen and wear a sunhat to stop the sunburn before it happens.
These are some simply summer remedies that can come right out of your baking and medicine cabinets, so use them as you please to help dry, irritated or sun-burnt skin!
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