Tag: Wrinkled Skin

How to Use Essential Oils for Skin Care

People have been using essential oils to nourish and soothe their skin since the time of the ancient Egyptians, at least. For awhile, chemical products were coming on the market every day. People went almost completely away from using essential oils. In recent years, it seems that they’re back.

With the resurgence of the use of essential oils, people are finding ancient answers to common problems. Several different essential oils have been used for simple cleansing. Some of these are sweet basil, lemon, lemongrass, neroli, juniper, and peppermint. Any of these oils can be put in by a few drops in a mild soap. Acne is a distressing skin condition that is related to overproduction of sebum in the skin cells of the face. Essential oils have long been used to help the condition. Geranium, chamomile, tea tree, and lavender oils are among those employed.

These essential oils can be combined with a light carrier oil and applied directly to the skin. However, the extra oil of the carrier may seem to be too much. In this case, the essential oils can be dropped into fragrance-free lotion or cream and rubbed into the affected area. The biggest single factor causing skin to age is the fact that skin loses the ability to hang onto moisture. Thus, it dries out and becomes more fragile. Skin can also age because of exposure to sun or pollutants such as smoking.

Essential oils supply a variety of remedies for aged and wrinkled skin. Frankincense, neroli, or rose oils are excellent oils to use for this purpose. Put them in carrier oils or in fragrance-free lotions to rub on the face. Sandalwood oil, carrot root oil, and many others can be used.

Dandruff can be a bothersome ailment. There are all kinds of chemical remedies in your local stores to treat it. However, there are many essential oils that can help the condition in a more natural way. Cedarwood, geranium, lavender, lemongrass, or rosemary essential oils can be used. There are many other oils and combinations of essential oils that have been used successfully. Any of these can be dropped into hair oil, or added to a water and vinegar mixture to rinse the hair with.

Chamomile and lavender oils are the two best essential oils to use for sunburn. One method is to put a few drops into a cool bath and soak until the heat goes away. The other way to use them is to drop a few drops into a carrier oil and rub gently onto the burnt skin. For severe burns, see your doctor. It seems counterintuitive that essential oils can help to clear oily skin. However, people have been getting good results with these treatments for years upon end. Juniper berry, chamomile, cedarwood, and lavender oils, to name a few, have worked wonders. Add them to water to make a rinse for your face after you wash it.

Skin problems aren’t new to the world. Using essential oils to treat them isn’t new either. However, because these treatments were ignored for so long, they are new to many people now.

What You Need to Know About Organic Skin Care

Because today’s consumers are more conscious of their health and the environment, there are more organic skin care products available than ever before. Other people may have developed allergies to all of the toxins and chemicals used in commercial skin care produts and are looking for a healthier alternative. Some commonly used ingredients in commercial products include fragrances, dyes, and various types of acids.

By contrast, organic skin care products contain natural ingredients such as vitamins A, C, or E, essential oils, antioxidants, or proteins. These are necessary to replace the skin cells lost as we age. As the body gets older, it produces less collagen and elastin, which leads to dry, wrinkled skin. Re-hydrating the cells from the outside is the only way to repair this age-related damage.

You can now find organic skin care products in almost any pharmacy, drug store, or health food and nutrition store. If you do not have access to any of these places, there are many retailers online to choose your natural cosmetics from. Some spas and salons have also added organic products to their inventory, so you may want to look there as well. Most of these products are free of fragrances and dyes and will not cause or aggravate existing allergies.

There are organic products available both men and women. Men can find organic shaving lotion and after-shave, while women usually have more options of cleansers, creams, toners, and gels. Unfortunately, organic products generally cost more than the synthetic version of the same item. It is worth the extra cost to protect your skin and your health from toxic chemicals and preservatives.

An alarming number of mainstream skin care products may contain the wetting agents diethanolamine and triethanolamine, sometimes listed on ingredient labels as DEA and TEA, respectively. These substances by themselves are not considered to be a cancer risk. If the product contains nitrites as contaminants, this may cause a chemical reaction that creates cancer-causing nitrosamines.

Most commercial cosmetic products include some type of bactericides or preservatives. These are necessary to protect the cosmetics from contamination, but may also be dangerous or even carcinogenic. For instance, trace amounts of formaldehyde are found in some products. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and is neurotoxic in higher doses.

How can you be sure that your skin care products are really organic? Unfortunately, there is still plenty of room for vagueness in labeling of cosmetic products. Generally, a cosmetic product must follow the same USDA rules as would a food product. The product must contain no less than 95% organic and natural ingredients in order to qualify for the label.

After the 95% threshhold is met, there is a serious lack of additional guidance and regulations. There are no restrictions on the words cosmetic manufacturers can use on their labels, so you many see plenty of products called “organic” or “botanical” even though they may still contain a small amount of synthetic chemicals. Read the ingredient labels carefully to be sure that your organic skin care products are really made of only organic materials.