Saturday, August 2, 2008

The Hidden Secrets of Natural Skin Care!

By Joan Bower


Mankind has for many thousands of years used some kind of skin care regime but it is only in recent times he has had the luxury to choose between natural skin care using herbal products or those devised synthetically by man. This is the reason skin care has transformed in a big way and herbal skin care routines have been replaced by synthetic or chemical based skin care routines. Today probably only a fraction of the herbal formulas still exist and many people have never even used a natural product.

Perhaps it is our fast paced lives and the ease with which we can purchase just about any synthetically produced item that has helped with the decrease in using natural preparations.

The problem becomes worse when you realize the commercialism involved with the manufacture of herbal products by large companies that have to add preservatives to make them last longer which obviously reduces their effectiveness.

Growing numbers of people are going back to the old ways and using herbal products made in small batches by tiny companies that specialize in using the old techniques. The increase of commercially available herbal products is not likely to lose to much ground though to these small independent companies but do you know what sort of products I am referring to?

Aloe vera is probably the best known which is an extract from Aloe plant and is one of the best examples of natural skin care product plus freshly extracted aloe vera is a natural hydrant that helps to heal cuts, treat sun burns and in soothing skin. If you have ever wondered why tea has other herbal additives like dandelion, chamomile, lime flowers and rosemary then it is because they are cleansers and often work better when they are combined with other herbs.

Nature has also supplies us with natural healing herbs that have antiseptic properties like lavender, marigold, thyme and fennel and people still use rose water and lavender water to help condition their skin.

A favorite drink with many people around the world, tea can also have extracts made into a formulation that helps treat skin that has received an excess of UV radiation.

Oils prepared from herbal extracts present another means of natural skin care like tea tree oil, Lavender oil, borage oil and primrose oil which are some of the more popular oils used in herbal skin care.

Skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis are often treated with other oils extracted from plants and the likes of banana, melon and apple are very good at hydrating the skin which is why these are the most often used in shower gels for instance.

There are very few if any adverse reactions to herbal skin preparations which is why they are often preferred over commercially available synthetically produced products and some people still make them at home.

If you can afford it then genuine herbal skin care products are the way to go but you will find there are occasions when only synthetic products which have been clinically tested will do.

Finally, never disregard the importance of natural skin care and maintenance products because the skin has an important job to do and needs assistance itself sometimes.

About the Author:

No comments: