Due to heredity, lifestyle changes and aging, sensitive skin and skin diseases can be nagging issues for many people.  One should try to tackle it using more natural remedies than relying on medication or steroid cream due to its side-effect.

Skin is our largest organ and it serves to protect our body from external pathogen such as bacteria, fungus and allergens.

Here are a few natural remedies for sensitive skin and other skin issues.

Bye-Bye Hives- If for some unfortunate reason you find yourself with hives, resist the urge to pester those annoying little buggers, and reach for the baking soda instead. Mix baking soda with just enough water to form a paste that isn’t watery, but not so thick you can’t spread it around. Apply it to your hives for relief from the itching, and rinse off with cool water after it has dried. You can cover with a bandage if necessary, but I prefer to leave it open.

Sunburn Soother- You don’t have to whip up a nice lotion to soothe your sunburn-indeed, half a cucumber and some aloe vera gel will often times do the trick. Be sure to chill both ingredients beforehand. Peel and remove the seeds from the cucumber, and roughly chop it up. Scoop ¼ cup of aloe vera gel into a food processor, add the cucumber, and blend until smooth. If you find it too globby or it won’t keep its consistency, use less cucumber. Apply to sunburn as needed to instant relief. This will store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Middle-of-Nowhere Mosquito Repellent- If you plan on going out into the woods, pack some fresh basil leaves along with you. Not only is this one ingredient a strong mosquito deterrent, it smells a whole lot better than commercial bug spray (not to mention it’s safer!) All you need to do its crush the leaves up so the juice is released, and apply directly to your skin. Alternatively, you can boil 1 cup or so of basil leaves in 2 cups of fresh water and put it in a spray bottle to bring along with you.

Dry Skin Soother- Got coconut oil? Perfect-you’re already mostly done with this recipe. I love coconut oil for dry, chapped, skin, and it can work perfectly well on its own, but I like to add a little bit of lavender essential oil to it to get an extra boost when it comes to soothing particularly itchy or cracked dry skin. Scoop out some coconut oil and melt it over low heat (the amount is totally up to you and your container size.) For about a ½ cup of coconut oil I usually add 15 drops of lavender essential oil. When needed, rub just enough to cover dry skin, massaging in well. It may seem oily at first, but it absorbs beautifully.

Above remedies are some of the useful remedies from Everyday Root.

While the above remedies would help to ease the symptoms, especially hive or sensitive skin, you should also look into making some lifestyle changes that could avoid aggravating your conditions.

Based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine principles, our skin health is related to Qi (pronounced as Chi) and lung meridian.  It is very common for people who have sensitive nose or asthmatic condition to develop some level of skin sensitivity or even eczema.  (Note: lung meridian is not exactly the same as lung organ in western medicine).

Some of the lifestyle that helps to take care of lung meridian

• avoid sleeping to late. Sleep before 11 pm.
• consume food that is moisten or cooling in nature.
• harmonize your body five elements – stress causes disharmony in the five elements.
• strengthen Qi and blood circulation by practicing meridian exercise, Qigong or Taiji.

Lastly, it is important to internalize the concept of health management (similar to harmonize the five elements).  Many people have the notion that once the symptoms are gone, they are cured.  However, the truth is our body is like an ecosystem. When the symptoms are gone, it means that your body is in a more balanced state.  When you get back to your old lifestyle that disturb the eco-balance and the symptoms come back again.