With cold weather on its way, dry skin is right around the corner with the snow flakes and holidays. Up to 30% of the water in your skin can be lost from environmental and physical conditions, so it\’s important to keep up with your skin care. To help you keep you soft and moisturized this season, there are some skin care recipes that you can make right at home with somebasic ingredients. Althoughthe majority of moisturizers that are offered in stores are made from a complicated process, using artificial chemicals, oils, and lubricants, the concept is the same for when making your own moisturizer: avoiding dry, rough skin by increasing its water content.

The perfect time to naturally moisturize yourself, without using any lotions, is right after you shower. When bathing, you\’re actually cleaning out and clearing your pores, leaving them fully exposed. After you dry off, applying moisturizer then takes full advantage of your open pores and better guarantees your skin staying soft.

Now why should you want to make your own lotions? One main reason is all of the unnecessary substances that go into a manufactured moisturizer. By adding vitamins, nutritive and protein agents, companies are trying to convince their market that these are important to having healthy skin. However, there is little to no evidence that adding all of these actually has an effect, whether good or bad on your skin. In fact, many of the plant extracts, chemicals and various other components used can cause a mild to severe allergic reaction. And because so much goes into making these moisturizers, they become more and more expensive. So why bother using moisturizers filled with things that don\’t do anything for you, when you can make your own affordable lotion that uses only the essentials to keep your skin soft.

If you\’re willing to try something that\’s rather original and save some money, then making your own lotions is for you. All of the ingredients are easy to obtain and afford. The major elements include plant oils (such as olive, almond, and avocado), pure essential oils, borage (or starflower) or coconut oils, cocoa butter, beeswax and vitamins A, C, and E. For each skin type, other components are important, such as sesame oil for dry skin and grapeseed for oily skin.

There are various methods to apply these ingredients, from mixing together into a cream-like substance, applying the oils directly to the skin, etc. But with a little bit of research, it\’s very easy to learn what your skin type is and what oils are best to keep your skin soft and moisturized through the winter.

Hand warts can be very discomfiting, itchy and irritating. Don’t wait till you catch it. Read on and know more about how you can avoid getting your hands into a mess like this (pun intended).

Being in direct skin to skin contact with a person with hand wart can give you hand warts. You can also catch hand wart from using towels or clothing and other personal items recently used by another person infected with hand wart. Beware of communal areas and public places like the gym and the gym shower room, the areas around the public pool, among others. A warm and moist environment is the ideal environment for hand wart to spread, be careful when you do visit these places.

Avoid spreading hand warts by following these tips:

- Don’t trust public areas to perform your grooming habits in. You may get infected, or carry the hand wart infection with you out of that area.

- Do not allow borrowing of personal items. Do not share socks, shoes, razors, nail cutters and files, hand towels, or towels and other articles of clothing with other people in the risk of catching a hand wart infection from any of these items. Most hand wart symptoms are externally visible, but other symptoms are notoriously small and inconspicuous as to be nearly invisible. It’s better safe than sorry.

- Be wary of where you put your hands down in communal places like the gym, in public showers, at areas around pools, and in restrooms and toilets, locker rooms and waiting areas. Wear shoes or sandals in these places to avoid catching hand wart. Avoid warm, moist areas in these places; those are ideal for the hand wart infection to multiply and spread.

- Do not touch any wart on anyone else’s hands. Touching it even so slightly can infect you. Do not be tempted by your curiosity to ask to touch your friend’s hand wart. That’s a disgusting and embarrassing thing to ask of someone who may be humiliated by his or her wart infection. Don’t make the situation even worse by asking to see his or her hand wart and then touching it.

- Remember to keep your hands clean and dry at all times. Hand wart can spread more easily when your hands are wet and come in contact with an infected person, or an area where hand wart may be. Dry your hands well so you can reduce the chances of catching hand wart (remember to use your own towel). If you have sweaty hands, carry a handkerchief — and if possible, talcum powder.

- As much as possible, try to take care of your hands and avoid injuring especially the palms. Hand wart grows and spreads more easily when you have a wound, or even small scratches that break the skin.

The hand wart is caused by a viral infection called the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). It is a skin infection so common nearly forty percent of all people have caught it at one point or another. There are many subtypes of the HPV virus and all of these are highly contagious. Your hand wart, in particular, is caused by one or two of these viral strains.

To protect yourself from hand wart infection, the best way is still to maintain a healthy body and a good hygiene habit. This will, in turn, develop your immune system. It is your can that resist the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), so take care of your health, and don’t stick your hands just about anywhere.