How to restore the natural beauty of dry sensitive skin -- gentle, effective ways to soothe dry itchy skin and rejuvenate dry red skin with natural products that put an end to irritation and eruptions.
Olive oil has been used for thousands of years as a beauty oil. The extra virgin grade is the best. It is made by pressing the olives without any additional heat or chemicals. You can find 11 specific ways to use olive oil in your beauty routine at the post above, and more here about the – beauty benefits of olive oil.
Parabens are safe to use as cosmetics preservatives although use levels for some of the compounds in the family should be reduced, according to a European safety committee.
If you follow the stories put out about parabens, you’d get the impression that it is horribly toxic, and that it is only the lack of regulations in the United States that lets manufacturers continue to poison us with it.
So here is the European Union looking at the data, and deciding that parabens is safe for use as a cosmetic preservative.
Go figure.
Is this a case of “give a dog a bad name?”
There is no clinical evidence showing that skincare products containing collagen, peptides, and other anti-aging ingredients actually deliver visible benefits to the skin. At the same time, there is plenty of evidence that these ingredients are extremely beneficial for the skin, and help it to stay firm and resist wrinkles. What to do?
What if, instead of trying to get known anti-aging ingredients to pass through the skin (very difficult), we were to eat them instead (very easy)? Tea, for instance, whether white, green, or black, is packed with antioxidants that help slow the breakdown of elastin and collagen; it is a genuine anti-aging beverage. Vitamins A, B and C, minerals such as zinc, and the omega-3 oils are all similarly known to support healthy skin and to improve our complexion. That is why they are found in tiny quantities in so many skincare products. They are also abundantly available in food, if we eat a healthy diet. However, healthy diets are not the norm. So here come “Beauty Chocolates” “Collagen With Taste” and “Glamour Food” in the emerging beauty category of nutricosmetics. We would love to be able to buy beauty off the shelf, whether in a lotion that will make the clock go backwards, or, better yet, in a box of chocolates. I know good diet is a gift that keeps on giving, but nutricosmetics may find a place in the lives of those of us who love candy. If the candy is not going away, maybe a healthier candy is not so terrible? Eat comfort food for your beauty! Can we resist it? I’m sure we will be hearing more about nutricosmetics.In the traditional recipe, black tea is added and boiled with the spices.
I use white tea, and I don’t let it boil. White tea has anti-wrinkle power in every cup – and more! Black and green tea are filled with beauty benefits too, but white tea trumps them.
I’m a huge fan of yogi tea. I make a half gallon at a time with this traditional recipe, that I have tweaked very slightly to enhance. It contains caffeine, so I stop drinking it by about 2:00 pm.
Scientists are perturbed by pseudoscientific claims made by expensive anti-aging lotions, as they won’t really make you look younger. Guess the only way to age well is to go back in time and get a hotter mom.
Nice wry story in Jezebel — “I feel so betrayed. If I can’t trust those ultra-sciencey computer animated graphics that appear on L’Oreal commercials that air during Desperate Housewives, then who can I trust?”
Since soap does not grow on trees, or out of the ground, how can it be “natural” and what is the difference between “natural” soap and other kinds of soap? Why should we care?
The process of making soap involves mixing acidic fats – traditionally olive oil or lard – with caustic soda. The soda, or “lye”, and the fats react with each other, and soap is produced. All of the fats are transformed into other chemicals, and no trace of the lye remains. So how can that be natural? For me, it depends on whether the ingredients are natural or not. Are the fats a blend of plant oils? Are there any synthetic chemicals or “fragrances” involved. But no matter how “natural” or organic the other ingredients, there is no soap without lye, otherwise known as caustic soda or sodium hydroxide. We are often advised to avoid chemicals in our personal care products. Frankly, that is not well thought-out advice.
Chemicals are the building blocks of nature. All substances, natural or otherwise, are made of chemicals. So what we are really talking about, is avoiding some kinds of chemicals.
Cleansers can be made with petrochemicals and other synthetic ingredients. Synthetic ingredients are common in our shampoos and detergents. They can be very good at cutting grease. Unfortunately, they also tend to be harsher than soap and do not have the same fat content that our skin needs to flourish. One common ingredient, sodium lauryl sulphate, is known to be harmful to dry skin, yet it is contained in the most-prescribed remedy for eczema.
Soap can be a gentle cleanser. The harsh soaps of old have been supplanted with soaps that blend coconut, olive, palm, and other oils to give just the lather and feel we want. There is an endless range of possibilities.
So to answer the question about what is a natural soap – if the soap is made only with natural ingredients, it qualifies as natural soap. If the fragrance or other ingredients include synthetic chemicals, then it does not qualify as natural soap. There may be better definitions than this, but I have not seen one.
My main interest is in what the soap is going to do for my skin. I favor soaps rich in organic oils that will mix with the natural oils of my skin to moisturize and cleanse it.
That’s why I use a moisturizing cleanse, ideal for my dry skin. I love its smell and how it feels. Plus it works perfectly with the other dry skin products that I use to keep my skin lustrous and alive.
My first thought was “so what?” and I said so and he just leaned in even closer with more intent and said it again: “ANYONE who had been through what you’ve been through would respond the same way.” He wanted me to get the message, to let it in, to know without a doubt that I was not to blame, to forgive myself for having this pain. He told me to go home and imagine myself as a very young child who needed to hear these words and to say them to myself whenever I felt sick. I did — I had to do it twice — but after I did the illness left never to return. If I get even a warning that it’s about to manifest again I do this exercise and the symptoms back away.
This is an excerpt from a post by Sheryl Karas on her spiritual counseling and healing blog. The full story is a vivid illustration of the power of self forgiveness, and the site is a terrific resource. Well worth checking out.
A recent study at the University of Bath in the UK has discovered that a popular detergent, commonly used in shampoos, lotions and dry skin cream, weakens the skin’s resistance to harmful chemicals. It causes the skin to be more prone to irritation. Yet the most frequently prescribed remedy for eczema contains this ingredient. Now, it has been found to worsen the effects of eczema, not to improve it. It is definitely an ingredient to avoid in your dry skin cream.
I am not a fan of scare stories about cosmetics. You’ve probably heard some of them – how unscrupulous manufactures, driven by greed, put their profits before our health and safety. A telling example is the “there’s lead in your lipstick” story. It has circulated widely. Yes, there is lead in lipstick – but only when you get down to the parts per million level. There is also lead in organic olive oil, bottled water, and just about everything else in nature. It is part of the background noise. So while it is technically true that there is lead in lipstick, the story that manufacturers deliberately put it there, or that lipstick is harmful to us, is false. But some of the chemicals used in cosmetics are problematic, and we are wise to stay away from them, especially if we have dry or sensitive skin. Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) is a case in point. It is a detergent that is used to mix oils and water. It lets manufacturers turn water into a creamy lotion. The problem with SLS is that it is too harsh for people with dry skin. The Bath University study, published in the British Journal of Dermatology raises serious concerns about the use of aqueous cream BP for use with eczema, saying it is likely to make eczema worse. About 30% of the UK population is prone to eczema, and aqueous BP is the most widely prescribed product for treating dry skin conditions. The problem is its SLS content. The study found that it caused the skin’s protective barrier to thin by 10% – after just 4 weeks of use. One of the researchers on the study, quoted in Science Daily, said “Our study suggests that it might be better for eczema patients to use oil-based ointments on damaged skin.”. The key is to stay informed about the facts, not the rumors, and to find the products that work best for you. “Sulphate Free” is, clearly, a wise choice when choosing dry skin cream, or any other product, such as shampoo or lotion, that is going to come into contact with dry skin. My experience has been that once women try a good organic moisturizer formulated for dry skin care they see for themselves that the rich emollients in them are for real, not gimmicks created in a lab. They find that their dry skin turns around once they switch to better products. It is not that synthetic products are “bad” as a class (though some of them may be troublesome); it is that organic products are better. And that’s all that counts.Research from Newcastle University suggests bioavailable green tea metabolites could protect against Alzheimer’s disease.
Mounting evidence indicates that the deposition and aggregation of β-amyloid peptides (Aβ) in the brain play a significant role in the development and pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the study abstract published in the journal Phytomedicine.
Looking for another reason to drink green tea? Aside from the beauty benefits of green tea, how about protection from Alzheimer’s as an anti-aging “side effect?”
If you are tired with your current skin care situation maybe it’s time to avoid chemicals. If you are ready for a luminous skin then this is the solution. Several studies have shown that chemical lotions, shampoos and soaps can cause irritation. On the other hand, natural soaps may enhance skin and hair because they have natural ingredients such as French clay and olive oil.
I’m a big fan of olive oil, especially the oil that has been squeezed out of the olives without any heat or chemistry involved – that’s the extra virgin grade. I wrote here about the beauty benefits of olive oil and why I use organic extra virgin olive oil in my soap, exfoliant and moisturizer. Lovely.
