Seasonal Skin Care
Subscribe To Our Feed
It’s important to take good care of your skin year round, but the varying weather patterns of each season can have different effects on your skin. It’s a good idea to keep this in mind and change some of your skin care routine accordingly.
Summer Skin Care
The biggest concern in the summer is to avoid sunburn. Getting out in the sun isn’t a bad thing in itself, but like everything else, you can have too much of a good thing. And sunburn is definitely not a good thing as it causes permanent damage to your skin and speeds up the aging process.
Facial skin care in summer should include regular exfoliation. It helps get rid of dry and dull skin, and keeps pores from clogging up and causing breakouts.
Natural Skin Care for Fall
As the weather cools, it can be tempting to take long, hot baths and showers, but these actually dry out your skin instead of hydrating it. To help prevent drying out your skin, add jojoba or sweet almond oil to bathwater and use moisturizing shower milk or apply moisturizer afterwards. Also, keep drinking water or herbal teas to help hydrate your skin.
It’s also time to cut back on the exfoliating products in your facial skin care routine so your skin doesn’t get too dried out.
Winter Skin Care
Tis the season for dry skin due to the cold and windy conditions outside, and artificial heating inside. Moisturizing is an important part of your facial skin care routine in the winter. The more oil a moisturizer contains, the better protective barrier it can make to protect your skin from nasty weather.
Be sure to apply moisturizer at least 30 minutes before going outside so your skin will have time to absorb it. Moisturizing lip balm is a good idea for dry lips. There are many natural skin care products to help keep your skin moisturized during winter.
Spring Into Natural Skin Care
As winter finally ends and a welcome spring arrives, most people are eager to get outside and enjoy the great weather. Be careful not to overdo it and get a sunburn. You can start using less or lighter moisturizers.
It may be necessary to include more frequent cleansing in your facial skin care routine. Higher temperatures means sweaty skin, and can increase the frequency of acne.
No matter what the season, there are natural skin care products that will help you meet the challenge of keeping great looking skin. Just remember to make adjustments for how the weather is affecting your skin – from clogged pores to drying out – and you’ll have healthy skin no matter what the season.
Why Buy Natural Skin Care Products?
Subscribe To Our Feed
There are all kinds of skin care products out there, so why should you look specifically for natural skin care products?
Cosmetic Chemicals
Most cosmetics and skin care products contain chemicals. Research has shown many of these to be harmful, such as the preservatives (like parabens) and petrochemicals. Another type of chemical, phthalates, has been shown to mimic the effects of hormones in the body, and at high levels can possibly increase the risk of cancer.
Some mascara and eyedrops have mercury, lead has been found in lipsticks and some shampoos and body washes have dioxane.
Since many skin care products are a stew of chemicals, some of which are known to be harmful, and others it isn’t known for sure one way or the other, why risk it? Natural skin care avoids that.
Truly Natural Skin Care
Unfortunately, just because the label says a product is natural, don’t make it so. Like every other thing you buy, labels can be misleading. The government has not defined the term “natural” so no regulations exist. However, the Natural Products Association has launched a program to help the consumer determine which products are truly natural. Under the new program, products must follow strict guidelines set out by the Natural Products Association to merit bearing the seal of approval. The criteria include, but are not limited to:
- Product must be made up of at least 95 percent truly natural ingredients or ingredients that are derived from natural sources
- No ingredients with any potential suspected human health risks
- No processes that significantly or adversely alter the purity/effect of the natural ingredients
- Ingredients that come from a purposeful, renewable/plentiful source found in nature (flora, fauna, mineral)
- Processes that are minimal and don’t use synthetic/harsh chemicals or otherwise dilute purity
- Non-natural ingredients only when viable natural alternative ingredient are unavailable and only when there are absolutely no suspected potential human health risks
“People want natural products because they are good for them and good for our environment,” said Debra Short, president of the Natural Products Association. “But anyone could claim their product was ‘natural,’ even if it had 100 percent synthetic or petroleum-based. That wasn’t fair to consumers or to companies who make truly natural products, and this seal will help end all that confusion.”
Remember, Allergies Happen
Just because you use natural health care products doesn’t exempt you from ever having an allergic reaction. People have food allergies to peanuts and strawberries and other all natural foods, so it’s also possible to be allergic to an ingredient in a natural skin care product.
The Better Choice – Natural Skin Care Products
All things considered, there’s really no contest. You can put chemicals on your face or other skin that may possibly cause you health problems, and some that are * known* to cause health problems, or you can use natural skin care products that are free of preservatives and chemicals.
Natural skin care is the way to go!
Tips for Healthy Skin
Subscribe To Our Feed
Using natural skin care products is important, but there are other things you can do to help keep your skin it the best shape.
Diet
All of your body needs a good diet, and that includes your skin. Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads and cereals, and foods that are high in fiber. Don’t overdo it with the sweets, snacks or any foods with little nutritional value.
Drinking plenty of water is also important. It helps hydrate your skin and keep it moist, plus it helps flush harmful toxins from your body.
Exercise
Yes, it’s good for your skin too, just like the rest of your body. It keeps blood flowing and helps maintain your system at top performance.
Keeping healthy in general will help keep your skin healthy too, and using natural skin care products will help keep it looking good.
Natural Skin Care Products – What’s Your Type?
Subscribe To Our Feed
There are lots of natural skin care products available, so it can be difficult to choose what’s right for you.
Categorizing Skin Types
The first step to proper skin care and knowing what natural skin care products you need is figuring what type of skin you have. There are five classes:
- Dry – If your skin is dry, it usually has a dull appearance. Not only does it feel dry, it can be itchy, and sometimes sensitive.
- Normal – With normal skin, the oil glands work at a moderate rate, so that skin isn’t too oily or too dry. (Like the Little Bear says, “It’s just right!J However, natural skin care is still important to keep normal skin looking good.
- Oily - Caused by glands in the skin that produce too much sebum, oily skin has a greasy slippery texture and looks shiny. There are frequently large, clogged pores that can cause acne.. In spite of these problems, oily skin generally remains younger looking over time than other skin types.
- Combination – Most people actually have at least two different types of skin, most frequently characterized by an oily “T-zone” area, which covers the forehead, nose and chin. The skin around the cheeks, eyes and mouth is normal or dry. These different types of skin call for different treatments, so people with combination skin should assess their skin regularly and use different products on different areas of the face.
- Sun-damaged or Aging: This skin also feels tight with visible wrinkles, slack skin tone — especially around the cheeks and jaw line — with leathery texture and broken capillaries.
Sensitive skin is sometimes considered another type of skin, but perhaps it is more of a condition than a specific skin type, since it can occur in combination with any of the above skin types. This type skin frequently reacts adversely to environmental conditions and cosmetics with synthetically manufactured oils, fragrances, and artificial colors. While all skin types benefit from natural skin care, sensitive skin especially needs this gentle care.
Testing, Testing! What’s Your Type?
If you’re not sure what type skin you have, there’s a simple way to figure it out. Wash your face, then pat it dry. Take a small piece of toilet paper, paper towel or lens-cleaning tissue and stick it on your forehead and other parts of your face. If it sticks, you have oily skin. If it falls right off, then you have dry skin. If it sticks for a little bit and then falls off, you have normal skin.
If the paper sticks in some places but falls off in others, then you have combination skin.
Sun-damaged skin is usually dry with a leathery texture. Sensitive skin can be any of the types.
Choosing The Right Natural Skin Care Products
Once you’ve determined what skin type you have, you’ll be better able to choose what natural skin care products will work best for you. Most products are labeled for specific types of skin, but a general guideline is to choose less moisturizing products for oily skin, and more for dry skin.
Your skin takes good care of you. Return the favor, and whatever type skin you have, take good care of it by using natural skin care products!
Welcome to Natural Skin Care
Subscribe To Our Feed
Your skin is important! It has many functions:
- Waste Removal. Small amounts of salts and organic compounds are excreted through sweat.
- Regulates body temperature. There can be a change of blood flow to the surface of the skin to help regulate temperature, or produces sweat to evaporate on your skin and cool it.
- Provides a physical barrier. Your skin protects underlying tissues from physical abrasion, bacterial invasion, dehydration, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
- Sensation. The skin is filled with nerve endings and receptors that detect temperature, touch, pressure, and pain.
- Immunity. Langerhans (LANG-er-hans) cells from bone marrow migrate to the epidermis (outer layer of skin). They interact with white blood cells called helper T cells in immune responses and are easily damaged by UV radiation.
- Blood reservoir. The kin has an extensive network of blood vessels that contains 8-10% of the total blood flow of a resting adult. During mild to moderate exercise, skin blood flow can increase to help dissipate heat from the body. However, during hard exercise the skin vessels get smaller so more blood is available for circulation in contracting muscles.
- Synthesis of Vitamin D. An often overlooked skin function is making vitamin D in response to sunlight. This fat-soluble vitamin plays an important role in regulating calcium, phosphorus and minerals in the body and promoting normal bone development.
As you can see, your skin is important! Since your skin can absorb substances, it’s important to be careful what you use. Instead of strange chemicals, go for natural skin care so you can feel confident you’re only putting good things on and in your body.
Natural skin care makes sense for the largest organ of your body!
