It’s dry skin season here in the northern hemisphere. But the good news is, there are steps you can take to drastically reduce the problem and keep your skin in healthy shape all year long.

Because our skin is a living organism, it draws nutrients from within. And yes, your mom was right – drinking enough water will help keep your skin from drying out. But not just any water!  Spring water and properly filtered water enhanced with minerals are the most lubricating to our cells.  Nourishing your skin with a nutrient dense diet rich in animal fats can also have a big impact over time. Including antioxidant rich fruits and foods abundant in Omega 3 fatty acids will help create healthier skin from the inside out.

Supplements can play a role at certain times, too. Vitamins D and E are especially helpful for your skin (and they help your hair and nails too!). Biotin is often marketed as a vitamin for skin, but having a deficiency is pretty rare.

Collagen has taken a spotlight role in skin health over the past few years. It helps skin retain elasticity and is helpful for anti-aging and skin health in general. You can take collagen powder supplements, or boost your everyday diet with bone broth or natural gelatin ingredients. A few of us are a little unlucky and find the collagen powders can also cause breakouts – such a bummer.

Of course most of us reach for lotion when our skin is dry, and for good reason – moisturizers can provide a barrier to preserve our skin’s natural oils.

But the ingredients in your skin care products matter, because skin is also incredibly absorbent (to the point that some medications are delivered via skin patch!).

Buffalo Gal’s products use all-natural ingredients to leverage all of nature’s goodness and deliver it straight to your parched skin.

The starring ingredient: grassfed water buffalo tallow. Water buffalo have a more diverse diet than cows, meaning our pasture-raised buffalo have a more diverse range of nutrients in their tallow. As Shalley, our founder, says “Our home-grown tallow is your skin’s multivitamin.”

If you’re looking for a place to start with battling your dry skin, try any of our Tallow Balms. They're formulated with our home-raised tallow, plus rich Emu-oil for extra Vitamin E and K2, and other skin-soothing oils. We infuse some products with beneficial flowers and herbs like rosebuds and arnica– all known for skin-healing properties. 

Over the last century petroleum and vegetable oil-based creams have taken precedence, but we’re finding that the heritage of using animal fats in skincare is well founded and nutritionally beneficial.

Most importantly, our buffalo tallow products work! We get reviews like this one from Andrea H: “This is the best cream I’ve ever used on my face. I usually have dry skin patches in the winter and since using this every day I have no dry skin. Doesn’t clog my pores or break me out. Feels amazing!” And this one from Doris “I'm using this balm on my feet and a dry patch on my left forearm, and I've noticed much improvement, very quickly. It makes my skin incredibly soft. The texture is smooth and light, much more so than other tallow balms I've tried. I ordered some more jars to share with my husband.”

When dealing with dry skin, don’t forget to exfoliate.

And by exfoliation I don’t mean using a harsh scrub with plastic beads or sharp grains of salt. Scrubs like that are for physical exfoliation, and that has its place. Save that for less delicate and exposed skin like the rest of your body! But for more sensitive skin, chemical exfoliation is important on a regular basis.

If that sounds a little scary, don’t worry – it’s a totally gentle practice that’s part of any full skincare routine.

Just bear with me while I get a tad technical:

There are two different types of chemical exfoliation compounds: alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) and beta hydroxy acids (BHAs). AHAs are ideal exfoliation agents for dry skin. Ingredients like salicylic acid help loosen dead skin cells, meaning that you’ll be gently revealing your healthier skin underneath.

Many of our Buffalo Gal products include natural forms of AHAs and BHAs. For a few ideas, check out our Milk & Honey Facial Bar and Night Repair Balm.

One final note - It’s a cruel twist during long cold winters, but it’s true: hot showers and baths can strip your skin dry. So consider cooling your water temps a tad during dry months, and making showers a bit quicker. You can always have a mug of hot herbal tea to warm back up afterward! If your water is hard, it can tax your skin’s ability to maintain ideal moisture levels.  Heavy metals in the water supply can get trapped in pores, contributing to irritated or inflamed skin in the form of dryness, flakiness, and even looseness.  Consider installing a water softening system or even a shower filter for less-than-pure municipal sources.