If you are new to using healing body butter you may be wondering - what’s the best way to use it? Body butters are thicker than lotions, so you will want to massage and melt it a bit in your hands before applying it to your skin. All of our Branch & Vines packages include the following directions help you use them:
Directions - Massage the butter between your hands and apply generously to your skin after a shower or bath, and again before bed. Use as little or as much as you need. For severely dry or troubled skin, apply the butter throughout the day. Allow the butter to absorb into your skin before putting on clothes.
But are there more tips we can share with you? YES! These tips are especially helpful if you are healing severely dry, irritated, or overly comprised skin.
Helpful tips:
- don’t completely towel dry before applying the butters
- what to do for severely dry or irritated skin
- heavy-duty moisture treatment
- healing over time
One of the best ways to get extra moisture into your skin is to lightly towel dry or not towel dry at all after your shower or bath. Instead, while the skin is still wet, massage the body butter into your skin. If you already have an ointment like aquaphor or cerave or some other product that use you, you can put that on top of the body butter for an extra thick covering to your skin so that the water from the shower or bath has time to absorb into your skin. It’s important to give your skin time to absorb all the nutrients and moisture before putting on clothes or getting into bed. Most clothing and bedding are made from absorbent materials like cotton, so you they can draw the moisture away from your skin if it hasn’t had time to absorb it first.
If you are suffering from severe dryness, an eczema flare up, irritating redness, itchiness, or even topical steroid withdrawal symptoms, then we recommend an additional step for comfort and relief. Complete the application above, then wrap the whole area in plastic wrap (sometimes the cheaper ones are easier to work with because they aren’t so clingy!) and leave your skin wrapped for 30 minutes up to several hours. You can even use this method overnight which has the added bonus of helping you keep from scratching. It sounds extreme, but it works!
The plastic wrap acts as a skin barrier to keep all moisture locked in - making sure your skin does not dry out due to a weakened skin barrier. The plastic wrap, like the body butter itself, has the added benefit of helping to keep our bacteria and other irritants out of our skin, which can cause skin problems to get worse. Once you remove the plastic wrap, you will feel soft and hydrated!
Over time, your skin will grow stronger, more nourished and hydrated as it continues to absorb healing nutrients, vitamins and essential fatty acids from the healing body butters. However, this plastic wrap technique can be a great first start in the healing process.
