Posts Tagged ‘skin care’

What is Natural Skin Care?

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Put simply, ‘natural skin care’ is caring for your skin in a natural and chemical-free way. ‘Natural skin care’ advocates enabling the skin to take care of itself (without any assistance from synthetic materials/ chemicals). ‘Natural skin care’ is about inculcation of good habits in the way you lead your day to day life. A lot of natural skin care measures are actually the same as those for body care in general.

So let’s see what these natural skin care measures are.

Well the first and the foremost natural skin care measure is – ‘Drink a lot of water’.  Around 8 glasses of water is a must everyday. Water helps in flushing out the toxins from the body, in a natural way. It helps in the overall upkeep of the body and promotes good health for all organs (not just skin).

General cleanliness is another inexpensive way of natural skin care.  Daily shower, wearing clean clothes and sleeping on a clean mattress/pillow are all part of general cleanliness. After all, clean skin is the key to keeping the skin disorders at bay.

Regular exercise is the next thing on the cards. Exercise increases the flow of blood that helps in getting rid of body toxins and keeping you healthy.  Exercise also helps in beating stress which is the worst enemy of good health.

Healthy food and eating habits are also recommended for natural skin care.  Some type of food (e.g. oily food) is know to cause acne and should be avoided as much as possible. Your diet should be a healthy mix of various nutrient providing foods. Raw fruits and vegetables are known to provide freshness to your body and help in getting rid of body toxins.

A good sleep is also instrumental in maintaining good health and in beating stress. As a natural skin care measure, a good sleep delays slacking of skin.

Beating stress is another natural skin care therapy. Stress causes overall damage to body and health. Drinking a lot of water, getting a sound sleep and exercise has already been mentioned as stress busters. Indulging in a warm bubble bath, listening to music and playing your favourite sport are also good ways of beating stress. Yoga is yet another way of beating stress; it is fast gaining popularity amongst the masses.

Avoiding excessive exposure to sun (by wearing long sleeved clothes, hat and umbrella etc), is another natural skin care strategy. Sunscreen lotions are also recommended as necessary.

A lot of traditional and home made natural skin care products/ measures are also known to be very effective. Such measures are not only natural and easy-to-follow, but also relatively inexpensive.

Besides that, a lot of natural skin care products are available in the commercial market. These include things like lavender oil, aloe vera etc., which don’t have any side effects.
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‘Personal Skin Care’ is a Routine

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

We all know the importance of ‘personal skin care’.  The opinion on how-to (for personal skin care) differs from person to person. Some people believe that going to beauty parlours every other day is personal skin care. Others believe that personal skin care is just a matter of applying some cream or lotion on your skin, every now and then. Then there are people who think that personal skin care is an event that happens once a month or once a year. Still others busy themselves with ‘personal skin care’ all the time. However, personal skin care is not that complicated and neither is it that expensive (considering how beneficial it is). Personal skin care is following a routine or a procedure for attending to the needs of your skin.

Even before you start with a routine, you need to determine your skin-type (oily, dry, sensitive, normal etc) and select the personal skin care products suitable for it (you might have to experiment with a few personal skin care products). Here is a routine that should work for most people with normal skin.

The first thing on personal skin care routine is ‘Cleansing’. The three main ingredients of a cleanser are oil, water and surfactants (wetting agents).  Oil and surfactants extract dirt and oil from your skin and water then flushes it out, thus making your skin clean. You might have to try a couple of cleansers before you find the one that suits you the best. However, you should always use soap-free cleansers. Also, you should use Luke warm water for cleansing (hot and cold water, both, cause damage to your skin).  Take care that you don’t over-cleanse your skin and end up damaging your skin in the process.

The second thing on the personal skin care routine is exfoliation. Skin follows a natural maintenance process wherein it removes the dead cells and replaces them with new skin cells. Exfoliation is just a way to facilitate the skin in this process. Dead skin cells are not capable of responding to personal skin care products but still consume these products, hence preventing them from reaching the new skin cells. Thus removing dead skin cells is important in order to increase the effectiveness of all personal skin care products. Generally, exfoliation takes it place just after cleansing. As with any personal skin care procedure, it’s important that you understand how much exfoliation you need. Exfoliate 4-5 times per week for oily/normal skin and 1-2 times per week for dry/sensitive skin. Exfoliate a couple of times more in hot and humid weather.

Next thing on personal skin care routine is moisturizers.  This is one of the most important things in personal skin care. Even people with oily skin need moisturisers. Moisturisers not only seal the moisture in your skin cells, but also attract moisture (from air) whenever needed.  Use of too much moisturiser can however clog skin pores and end up harming your skin. The amount of moisturiser needed by your skin will become apparent to you within one week of you using the moisturiser.  Also, applying the moisturiser is best when your skin is still damp.

The last thing on personal skin care routine is sunscreen. A lot of moisturizers (day-time creams/moisturisers) come with UV protection – so you can get double benefits from them. Such moisturisers are recommended for all days (irrespective of whether it is sunny or cloudy).

Again, experiment with various personal skin care products and also with the amount you need to apply. What gives you best results is the best personal skin care recipe for you. However, if you have some kind of skin dilemma, it is best to consult your dermatologist before you actually start using any personal skin care products.

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Look Lovely with Organic Skin Care Products

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

Many people might wonder why they should turn to organic skin care products.  There are many reasons, not the least of which is that consumers using conventional products are absorbing through their skin many of the chemicals used in the preparation and preservation of conventional skin care products.  To avoid this and other issues, consider the benefits of organic products.

Organic skin care products use only natural ingredients that some believe are more effective that the petroleum-based additives and waxes added to conventional products.  Organic products work in harmony with your skin and help the user enhance his or her natural healing abilities. In addition, research is increasingly unsupportive of the chemicals that go into making many of the products we eat or put
on our skin.  The ingredients in organic products, if grown on farms or on the land, are grown pesticide-free and without herbicides. Natural or organic products are made by combining only ingredients from untreated natural sources, including botanicals and products from the sea.

Certain organic body washes and shampoos must, by necessity use semi-synthetic ingredients that have been considered healthy and that are necessary for the production of the product.   Even so, many of these natural ingredients are derived from natural resources. The term, organic, actually applies to the method by which the ingredients have been farmed or collected and, unfortunately, it doesn’t mean that harmful chemicals have been added to a particular “organic” skin care product during its formulation.

Experts recommend that consumers become savvy about ingredients found in skin care products and avoid those that have added chemical ingredients. All organic skin care products must be made with some kind of preservative to keep it fresh for the consumer.  Organic methods of preserving skin care products include using natural preservatives and airtight packaging that avoids the influx of bacteria into the product. Certain organic herbs and essential oils will help preserve a product by means of natural anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties.

Some organic skin care products contain plant alcohol, rather than ethyl alcohol, which is derived from petroleum.  Plant alcohol will help preserve certain skin care products.  In addition, certain balms and plant-based oils have natural preserving properties and don’t need much in the way of additional preservatives. For those organic skin care products that require some preservative to keep them fresh, organic producers use paraben-free, semi-synthetic preservatives.  One of these is phenoxyethanol, preserved for use in organic skin care products by the Soil Association.  Many French-based products use benzyl alcohol.

Organic skin care products are certified through certification organizations. One of them, the Soil Association, will reject products that contain parabens or phthalates.   In Europe, there is the BDIH standard that also ensures that no animal testing was done on the products it certifies.  ECOCERT is another organic certification organization. Because we absorb practically everything we put on our skin, organic skin care products may be the safest and most effective products around.  For those with sensitive skin, this type of product is definitely worth a try.

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