An Easy Going Natural Skin Care Guide

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Natural Skin Care should be a daily part of your routine. Skin that is prone to pimples, acne, blackheads, pore clogging, etc, will need a little extra help to keep excessive oil under control.

Natural care of your skin uses naturally derived ingredients currently existing in or formed by nature, without the use of synthetic chemicals, and manufactured in such a way to preserve the integrity of the ingredients.

Many people who follow these natural products and routines generally make or mix their own products at home, as they are often not found at your local make-up stores.

Many spas and skin care salons are now starting to focus on using more naturally derived skin care products. Hopefully this is a trend that will continue to grow.

With your new knowledge, we hope to change all of that.

Cleansing

Natural Skin Care products that are water based are gentle and do not over dry the skin.

Cleansers are supplied in creams, milks, lotions, gels and liquid forms and are a mixture of oils, waxes and water that have been formulated for different Skin Types.

• Normal Skin – 2 times per day
• Oily Skin – 4 to 5 times per day
• Dry Skin – Avoid frequent cleansing and use an oil based cleanser instead of soap

Have you ever tried to cleanse your face with milk? This is an Effective Natural Cleanser. Dip a cotton pad into fresh milk and try it out. Once done, rinse your skin with clean water.

If you are using long lasting make-up, pre-clean your skin with an oil based cleanser before using milk. Long lasting make-up is normally silicone based which requires an equally hardy cleanser to remove it.

Masks

Face masks have a cleansing skin care action. Using a mask requires you to first identify your Skin Type and then select a mask that contains ingredients that will match your skin.

There are three general forms that masks come in: Clay, Peel and Sheet.

Clay

• Natural Clays, such as Fullers Earth and Kaolin, are effective Natural Skin Care products. They dry on the skin and absorb superficial dead cells while absorbing any excessive oil. It is excellent for oily skin but not recommended for dry skin.
• Clays remove dirt, Sebum, and dead skin to refresh and soften the skin surface.
• Clay formulation is one of the most common form of masks. Different clays are combined to draw out the impurities from skin.

Peel

• Natural Peelers or exfoliators, such as oatmeal and bran, remove the top layer of dead cells from the skin, leaving behind fresh youthful skin.
• Other ingredients added to masks, such as cucumbers, curds, lemon juice and Brewer's Yeast, are other Natural Skin Care options used to restore the acid and alkali balance of the skin.
• Peel masks usually have a gel like consistency and are peeled off of the skin to help exfoliate.

Sheet

• Sheet masks can be used to treat different skin concerns. One of the popular concerns is skin brightening.

Toning

Many skin care products include skin fresheners, toners and astringents which generally contain alcohol and water.

These are used after cleansing the skin to freshen and tone up and remove any traces of dirt or impurities from the skin, as well as restore the skin’s acid and alkali balance.

• Dry and Sensitive Skin – use non-alcoholic toners
• Oily Skin – use alcoholic (astringent) toners
• Combination Skin - use both kinds for the different areas of your face

Moisturising

Regular use of a moisturiser is an important aspect of your Natural Skin Care routine. It replaces water lost from the skin and also prevents the loss of water.

It protects the skin against the drying influences of the environment including the harsh effects of the sun, cold and heat.

Moisturisers can be used under foundations. It keeps make-up moist. Using a moisturiser is particularly important for dry skins.

• Oily Skins – use oil free moisturisers
• Normal and Combination Skin – use a water based moisturiser containing minimal oil
• Sensitive and Dry Skin – use moisturisers containing a high content of oil

There are three types of moisturisers:

1. Oil in water emulsions
2. Water in oil emulsions
3. Pure oils, such as Jojoba which forms part of the Natural Skin Care routine

Protecting

The sun is the most damaging environmental factor to the health and appearance of your skin.

Ultraviolet radiation (UVA/UVB/UVC) from sunlight can cause permanent damage to the skin causing it to sag, lose elasticity and form wrinkles.

Excessive exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer. Sunscreen, sunblock and SPF-foundations can protect the skin against sun damage - UVB only.

Melanoma is higher amongst users of sunscreens containing synthetic chemical ingredients - possibly because these sunscreens lack any UVA protection.

There are additional side effects when using sunscreens. Some ingredients (based on their molecular size) in sunscreens can become toxic in the presence of skin and / or light.

The effect of these toxins in our bodies are carefully avoided by worldwide medical publications.

• SPF = Sun Protection Factor

The best Natural Skin Care protection program for the sun is to limit your exposure to not more than 10 to 15 minutes every few days - this includes the sunbed.

Although near impossible in everyday life, total skin protection requires the complete blocking of UVA + UVB + UVC and IRA (Infrared).

Take Care - Sunblock (as per the labelling of many manufacturers) does not mean what it implies. Sunblocks do not block out these light types completely.

Sunscreen's are available in lotions and creams. Some offer protection from direct contact with dirt and pollutants in the air and can help to retain moisture in the skin.

This is largely true in laboratory conditions but it does not happen in real life - you are not a guinea pig in a cage, so forget about this.

If you are really into the numbers, then these are the general rules :

• 2.2mg of sunscreen per 1 cm² of exposed skin
• apply 15 to 30 minutes before exposure to the sun
• apply again 15 to 30 minutes after exposure
• re-apply after any swimming, sweating, rubbing, wiping

For an average size adult, each application translates to about 30 grams (1 ounce)

More on sunscreens

Sunscreens with SPF reduce the body's ability to make Vitamin D.

From a Vitamin D perspective, 10 to 15 minutes of direct sun every 3 to 4 days (without any SPF sunscreen) is enough for your body to produce enough for itself - anything longer, and the Vitamin D degrades.

Skin protection products that contain titanium dioxide and zinc oxide ingredients have physical UVA/UVB/UVC reflective (blocking) properties.

When these ingredients are micronised (10-100nm), they have absorption properties. Mixing micronised and non-micronised ingredients broadens the spectrum of these physical (inorganic) sun protection products.

Inorganic sun protection forms the best part of the Natural Skin Care range together with limited sun exposure.

* Some essential oils offer SPF too. Click here to see which ones.

As a very rough estimate, about 20% (total volume) of the container must contain Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide to provide a SPF 30 equivalent.

Skin protection products that have chemically synthesised sun protection ingredients protect the skin by absorbing UV radiation.

Some synthetic chemical UVA/UVB absorbers are avobenzone, octyl methoxycinnamate, drometrizole trisiloxane, bisoctrizol (or bemotrizinol) and ecamsule and are all, best avoided.

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