Everyone wants clear, smooth, and healthy skin. Skin care is the most important step to achieving this. Maintain - Repair - Prevent Along with the natural aging process, your skin in subjected to: pollution, sun exposure, smoking, lack of sleep, antibiotics, alcohol, stress, junk food, lack of exercise, improper skin care and cosmetics, and low water intake 4 Basic Skin Care Steps 1. Cleansing to remove make up, dirt, and dust. (never use soap and always treat your skin gently) 2. Exfoliating to remove dead skin cells that can clog your pores, which reveals younger, smoother, softer skin. 3. Freshener (toner) to restore pH balance. 4. Moisturize to counteract dryness and help prevent signs of aging. ...read more
By Natural Aloe Skin Care March 29, 2009
Avoid Oil Along With These Ingredients #1 Mineral Oil This is the most common ingredient used in skin care products. It can attract dirt and cause blackheads and eruptions. It also accelerates free radical damage, which speeds up the aging process. Heavy pore-clogging oils are used to lubricate the surface of the skin. It smothers our skin instead of penetrating to our skin's second layer. #2 Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) SLS is used in many products. It's a strong degreaser that dries your skin and hair and can cause eczema in some people. It has also been known to cause severe inflammation of the dermal and epidermal tissue. If your product lathers when you use it, it probably has SLS in it. #3 Waxes This includes Beeswax, Paraffin, Candelilla Wax, and Carnauba Wax. Waxes are used in cleansing and eye creams. Waxes clog pores which leads to whiteheads and blackheads. They actually smother the skin which over time can create an enlarged pore problem. #4 Alcohol Some examples include Isopropyl Alcohol, SD Alcohol 40, and Ethyl Alcohol. Drying alcohols strip the skin of it's own protection, which leaves it vulnerable to infection. Alcohols destroy the skin's pH balance and speeds up the wrinkling of our skin. #5 Lanolin Lanolin is a yellow, fatty secretion that comes from sheep's wool. It is widely used in skin care. It causes allergic reactions for some as well as enlarged pores. #6 Acetone Acetone is used in nail polish and nail polish remover. This is often used in toners, fresheners, and clarifying lotions. It is extremely toxic and will dry up your skin, which speeds up the aging process. #7 Petrolatum Petrolatum is also known as "paraffin jelly" or "petroleum jelly". It is not absorbed by our skin. It suffocates our pores. All petrochemicals pollute our water and destroy marine life. #8 Borax Borax is used in baby and bath powders, eye creams, fresheners, and mouth washes as a preservative. It is rapidly absorbed by the skin. Borax is still widely used despite repeated warnings from the American Medical Association. #9 FD&C; When this abbreviation precedes the name of a color, it means that the FDA has certified it as safe for use in drugs and cosmetics, but not food. D&C colors are usually synthetic coal tar colors, which means they are toxic and should be avoided. Check the labels of the products your are currently using. If they contain any of these ingredients you may want to reconsider what you are putting on your skin. ...read more
By Natural Aloe Skin Care March 29, 2009
All Ingredients Are Important! Aloe skin care starts with great ingredients. The ingredients are delivered to a manufacturing facility as raw materials. There are three grades of raw materials. 1. Industrial 2. Cosmetic 3. USP Pharmaceutical The best raw materials are USP Pharmaceutical Grade. This one is the most expensive and it meets certain criteria. Some examples of raw materials are flowers, bark, and roots. When these materials are delivered to the manufacturing facility, they are taken to a quarantined area. They are checked in. A sample is taken and tested in the lab. The raw materials are tested for contamination including yeast, fungus, and mold. It either gets approved and used or thrown away if contaminated. Just as a chef follows a recipe, there is a recipe for the different aloe skincare products. It is a list of ingredients and how much to use. All are weighed out and put into sanitary containers. Once that is done, it gets double checked again for accuracy. The materials are mixed in big vats and sent to the filling station where they are filled and packaged. Samples are again taken from the finished product and sent to the lab. They are tested for contamination again. Why don't companies just buy the raw materials from a dealer who specializes in it? The dealer will take one vat of quality product and divide it up into 10 or more vats to make money on it. That's why processing your own will ensure the highest quality. The manufacturing facilities will have different licenses. For example, a license to manufacture cosmetics, a license to manufacture food, and an over the counter drug license. Manufacturing plants also get visits from the Health Department and the Food and Drug Administration. With all of these inspections and testing of raw materials, the products are made of high quality and effective components! Here are some of the great raw materials besides aloe vera. Arnica - promotes removal of waste, heals and soothes the skin Jojoba - good for dry skin and promotes cell renewal Coneflower (Echinacea) - strengthens and firms Green Tea - good anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties Chamomile - gentle disinfectant, calming, anti-inflammatory, and reduces redness Ginseng - strengthens Evening Primrose - regenerates skin cells Plus many more including horsetail extract, red and brown ocean sea plants, passion flower, lavender, and cucumber extract! ...read more
By Natural Aloe Skin Care March 29, 2009
Making your own natural skin care products at home can be lots of fun. Aside from being a fun activity, you can also save a fortune on skin care products when you make them yourself. There are a wide variety of recipes online that can help you to create your natural skin care products. ...read more
Cosmetics can be very expensive, and many women have quite a collection. You don't have to pay ridiculous prices when you buy cosmetics. You can save money a lot of money if you know where to shop. Learn how you can save money when you by cosmetics online. ...read more