Skin Care

Are Natural Skin Care Products the Answer to All Problems?
By Ellen Biddle

When it comes to skin care products, you will find that a lot of people are very particular about using only natural skin care products. They treat all the synthetic products as harmful to the skin.

So, are natural skin care products the answer to all of our problems? What if a natural skin care product is not available for the treatment of a particular skin disorder? Are the synthetic skin care products so harmful that they should be banned?

Different people have different answers to these questions. However, the reality is that due to presence of synthetic preservatives, it’s really tough to find a natural skin care product that is 100% natural. There are natural skin care products that have natural preservatives, but their cost might be detrimental. Moreover, such natural skin products have a shorter shelf life and hence are not preferred by the manufacturers of natural skin care products.

Some people carry a wrong notion that since natural skin care products are natural, they cannot cause any harm to the skin. The suitability of a skin care product is not based on whether it is synthetic or natural. An unsuitable natural skin care product can harm you in almost the same way as a synthetic one. So, use natural skin care products, but be open to synthetic ones too (you might need them when a natural solution is not available)

Your selection of a natural skin care product should be based on 3 factors:

1. The skin type (dry, oily, normal, sensitive) of the person who will use that natural skin care product.

2. The climatic conditions in which it will be used e.g. hot and humid condition would warranty the use of oil-free natural skin care products.

3. The process for application/use of the natural skin care product. A good natural skin care product (in fact any product) can seem useless if not used in the proper way.

You can also make natural skin care products by yourself, by using the recipes that are readily available on the internet and in the books at book stores.

Use of organic fruits and vegetables is also popular as a natural skin care procedure. Some essential oils, herbal oils, are useful too and are known for their moisturising and antiseptic properties

However, using a natural skin care product does not mean that you can exercise carelessness with other aspects of skin care. Natural skin care products should be used like supplements to the following ‘essential’ recommendations: healthy eating habits (avoiding oily food), regular exercise, drinking a lot of water (8 glasses everyday), and cleanliness. This will then form a perfect and completely natural skin care routine that will help maintain a healthy beautiful skin for longer time.

Copyright http://www.ultimate-cosmetics.com

Ellen for http://www.ultimate-cosmetics.com Find lots of makeup and beauty tips here with loads of information on skin care. Also find about puffy eyes.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Daily Skin Care Regime - Why is a Daily Skin Care Regime Important?
By Danny Siegenthaler

A professional skin care regime is one of the most important parts of maintaining your skin's health. Your skin is not a smooth surface like a sheet of glass. On the contrary, your skin is more like a riverbed, full of little lumps, bumps, crevasses and holes. You can give these dermatological names such as fine lines, pores, sebaceous glands, etc., but at the end of the day the fact remains your skin is far from a flat, smooth surface.

Because of this and because your skin is a living, breathing part of your body and fulfils several major functions including temperature regulation, immune defence, protection from the external environment, etc., you will need to look after it if you wish to have it work at its optimal level and hope to have good, healthy skin into your late 70's and beyond.

What about the type of products I should use for my skin care regime?

You should always choose natural skin care products as many commercially mass-produced skin care products utilise potentially toxic chemicals and highly modified 'natural' ingredients.

Wildcrafted Herbal Products hand makes a range of holistically-natural skin care products suitable for your particular skin type. These products are based on traditional naturopathic principles and utilize herbal extracts and essential oils to produce lasting effects.

Their products are designed to benefit your skin's health for the long term and include only the best ingredients suitable for your specific skin type.

Daily Skin Care Regime

Cleansing your skin

Cleansing your skin is one of the most important steps if you want to maintain a healthy, vibrant and youthful looking skin.

As well as providing the basis for an advanced skin care regime, effective cleansing can actually improve the quality of our skin, enhancing its radiance and keeping it looking younger for longer.

Thorough cleansing is one of the most important steps of a complete skin care regime. Cleansing of your skin should be done morning and night to ensure the removal of surface impurities, make-up, and stale skin oils. When regularly performed cleansing will enhance the skin's ability to breathe and maintain its other important functions.

One of the best ways to do this is to make cleansing your skin part of your daily skin care regime.

This is how you do it:

First, moisten your face with lukewarm water. Then apply a small amount of facial cleanser. Gently spread the product over your skin, using light, circular movements. At this stage, spend an extra minute massaging the product into your face to boost your skin's circulation and help decongestion.

Secondly, be sure to be gentle, your skin is a delicate organ and needs to be treated with care and respect.

Lastly, rinse off the cleanser, using lukewarm water and pat your face dry.

If you are still using ordinary soap, STOP. You are seriously compromising the health of your skin. Throw it away and start using a quality cleanser.

Toning your skin

Toning is the second step in your daily skin care regime. These days, women often leave this step out and yet it is just as important as the cleansing of your skin or the moisturizing. It is a must include step. The one or two minutes it takes are worth every second if you desire to have healthy, vibrant skin with a minimum of lines and wrinkles. Don't leave this step out.

You have just spent time cleaning your skin, ridding it of stale oils, makeup, dead skin cells and other impurities, now you have to tone your skin.

A quality cleanser may contain such ingredients as clay. This helps to remove dead skin cells and other impurities, but may not rinse off totally. This is why you need to use a quality toner.

Firstly, it removes every last bit of the cleanser such as the fine clay particles and other residues from the cleansing process.

Secondly it will close the skin's pores to protect it from further loss of moisture, which invariably happens when cleansing your face.

Thirdly it provides nutrients and restores the pH balance of your skin.

Now that is worth spending a minute or two, isn't it?

Moisturising your skin

This is the third part of your daily skin care regime and should also be done morning and night using a day crème in the morning and a night crème before retiring.

A quality moisturiser protects your facial skin from environmental damage, provides nutrients for the skin and prevents loss of moisture, thereby slowing down the aging process.

In addition, a moisturiser should help to maintain the acid mantle of your skin, which is part of your immune system and if the pH of your skin becomes too acidic or alkaline, the acid mantel is compromised.

Weekly Regime

To complete your skin care regime, you should set aside a few minutes once a week, preferably at the weekend to deeply cleanse and nourish your skin. Your weekly treats should include, the use of a Facial Mask and Exfoliation.

These treatments encourage cellular repair, step up collagen production and help strengthen, tone and firm up your skin.

Facial Clay Mask:

Using a clay mask will help to draw toxins from your skin, whilst moisturising and nourishing the skin at the same time. There are different clays that will work for specific skin types and choosing the right products containing the clay that is most suitable to your skin type is important. There are 3 basic clays: Green, Yellow and Red.

Exfoliation

Think of Exfoliation from this perspective. Exfoliation removes dead skin cells, soothes the skin and improves its tone. Dead skin cells are the very top layer of your skin. Applying moisturiser to dead skin cells does not make sense, does it? So exfoliation, removes the dead skin cells, promotes blood circulation and helps to invigorate and prepare the skin to more easily absorb any moisturising product you apply.

Exfoliation also helps speed up the rate of cell turn over. Another word for exfoliation is scrubbing. Using a facial scrub at least once a week, makes your skin more receptive to creams and treatments. However care must be taken not to over exfoliate.

The aim is to remove any dead cells from the skins surface without disturbing the healthy cells beneath.

In conclusion, to follow a skin care regime is like taking out an insurance policy on the health and vitality of your skin. Can you afford not to follow a complete, daily skin care regime?

Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.

Join our Natural Skin Care Newsletter – it’s fun, free and Informative and you receive a free eBook on natural skin care.

© Wildcrafted Herbal Products 2004 - 2005

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

The Benefits Of An Aromatherapy Bath
By Lorna Findlay

Aromatherapy also advocates practices of taking bath using one of those exotic essential oils; for many of us, a hot and relaxing bath is both a way to calm down tired bodies and relieve stress. Further more, a few moments to think, ponder, contemplate and meditate can create wonders for the mind and body. A hot bath with one of your favorite oils adds a new experience to your life, which is otherwise straining and equally boring. Essential oils also called “oil of life”, is soothing and refreshing, when added to your bath tub. Thus, these oils compel us to think over using them at least once a day to feel invigorated. Using the bath as an innovative way of administering Aromatherapy is one of the best for numerous reasons.

Your entire dull skin gets a layer of pure essential oils. The misty vapors rising from the hot water enters your olfactory system and lungs. Your mind will be clear and calm, allowing you to concentrate on yourself and the essential oil treatment. It means essential oils bring a celestial experience to your bath room. The hot bath now makes you, in fact, makes you sweat and tired added with a treatment of oils.

Mandatory sleep or renewed vigor will soon follow such a refreshing treatment. Apart from these soothing effects, you can even adjust the level of essential oils to treat some of your skin conditions like acne and scabies. Another advantage of using aromatic oil is relieving your nervous conditions by making your mental constitution stronger and calmer. Some essential oils are known to be very romantic in nature; few drops your favorite oil will help you and your spouse to relax allowing passionate moments to overflow. It can also simply be used to aid in your enjoyment of your bath, to feel the balminess of flowing water.

Using essential oils in the bath is as simple as adding 10 drops just before you enter the tub. You can add, perhaps, lavender or Rose oils or intricately add concocted bath oil containing a number of oils. It is purely personal and you can choose your favorite oil. Floral oils like jasmine or rose oils, usually make perfect bath concoctions, but one can feel free to use a particular oil or blend for conditions they wish to help.

The good effects of aromatherapy bath directly seeps in to respiratory, skin and nervous system to reduce problems. It is also discovered that joint problems and muscle pain can also be greatly helped.

Though soaps and candles containing real, pure aromatic oils can be beneficial too, nothing compares the advantage of direct contact of essential oils with the bath water. You must note its high volatility and instability, so it is prudent, when using them in the bath and add those drops just before you are ready to enter. You must also trap all those steam vapors by making sure that you draw close the shower curtains. This single action will make sure you are reaping the benefits of the essential oils before they evaporate with the hot steam.

Any bath oils containing extracts of Vitamin E, when added to your favorite aromatic oil, can help the essential oil to linger on the surface of the water faster and usually can be placed under hot running water. If you want to create a lively bubble bath setting or special bath, add a bit of dried milk, a bit of good quality hand soap and fresh rose petals plus your oil. Women will find bathing in rosemary water to be particularly beneficial after a stressful day and/or PMS symptoms. Men can use a pungent orange or ylang-ylang, especially in the morning to get them started for a day of work. Aromatherapy oils and their usage are gaining lots of popularity among beauty conscious people of the world; many personal care industries are using more essential oils in their bathing products, than ever before.

Find more great aromatherapy information at http://www.essentialaromatherapy.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

If you thought cleansers just removed skin oil and daily grime from your skin, think again. The cleansers have come a long way from just cleaning to giving you a moisturized and mild looking skin. The cleansers do affect your skin cells in many ways than one. They must protect your skin cell proteins and lipids. Quickly, lipids are compounds of fats and they are not water soluble but soluble in alcohol and fat solvents. They are important constituents of your living skin cells.
The cleansers affect the skin cells positively providing humectants that minimize damaging interactions between surfactants (surface acting substances), skin proteins and lipids thereby minimizing damage to your skin. At the same time the vitamin content (A, C and E) of the cleanser revitalizes the skin cells and exfoliate the dead skin cells.
Always choose your cleanser carefully going by the nature of your skin, the ingredients and their suitability to your skin. Because you need cleansers to have a positive effect on your skin. The cleansers have a wide range of ingredients like Tea tree oil (about 10%), salicylic acid etc. meant for all types and purposes.
Tightening or stiffening is another undesirable feeling or effect that is left over by some cleansers on skin cells. Today specialty cleansers for sensitive and soap restricted skin types are available in the market. These cleansers sooth, soften and moisturize your skin leaving you with a healthy and beautiful feeling.
Removing the dead skin cells (exfoliation) help give your skin a fresh and younger look. Exfoliation can be done every day for oily skins. You can use a cleanser with Glycol 10 percent.
The crux of the matter is, the effect of cleansers on skin cells is the result of what you can choose today given the wide range of cleansers available for as many skin and need types.