Sun Damage
Natural Facial Products with Antioxidants Can Repair Damaged Skin
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010The natural facial products on the market include cleansers, masks and anti-aging creams. Toners and astringents are available, too. But, most people really don’t need them.
What everyone needs is a good moisturizer. A recent study conducted by the University of Maryland showed that plain old tap water strips the skin’s protective oils. Doctors call the oils sebum.
Sebum provides protection, but also starts to smell bad, if it is not washed away on a regular basis. So, bathing is necessary. It’s just as necessary to follow each bath or shower with the use of a good moisturizer.
When you go to compare the moisturizers on the market, you will see that there is a huge difference in price. Cheap products go for less than a dollar per ounce, while expensive ones containing the anti-aging ingredients can go for as much as $100 per ounce. You have to wonder what the difference is. Let me tell you about it.
The cheapest products are not actually moisturizing. Most of them contain an ingredient called petrolatum. Petrolatum is nothing more than white petroleum jelly. You probably realize what petroleum jelly does to your skin. You certainly wouldn’t think that natural facial products would contain it. But, some of them actually do.
Glycerin is a much better moisturizer. It can be derived from plant fibers or from chemical compounds. You would probably need to ask the manufacturer in order to find out where the ingredient comes from. Some manufacturers provide a great deal of information on their websites. Their hope is to inspire confidence.
Other manufacturers provide very little information. There hope is that people don’t care about ingredients. A sales rep from one of the companies providing natural facial products told me that one day. No one cares what the ingredients are. I care and so should you.
Grape seed oil is an excellent moisturizer with a unique filming ability. This ability allows it to hold moisture in and keep dirt out of the pores. So, it is one of the dual purpose ingredients. Actually, it has another purpose. It serves as an anti-aging ingredient, because it has antioxidant activity. Antioxidants prevent and repair free radical damage.
If we’re smart, we will avoid some of the things that trigger free radical damage. Overexposure to the sun and cigarette smoking are two of the things that can easily be avoided.
But, we have to use antioxidant-rich natural facial products, because we cannot avoid everything that could damage our skin. That brings us full circle back to taking a bath.
If you live in an area serviced by a public treatment facility, the water that you shower in contains toxins. Many of them are used to control bacteria and algae levels. The toxins can cause increased numbers and activity of the free radicals naturally present in the skin’s layers.
That’s just one more reason to use antioxidant-rich natural facial products on a daily basis. Keeping free radical damage to a minimum will keep you looking younger.
Natural Skin Care – Creating Healthy Skin from the Inside Out
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
A natural skin care routine can keep your face free of blemishes, healthy looking and wrinkle-free for years to come. The first step is one that you may have overlooked completely. It all starts with eating right.
Doctors have been saying for years that we are what we eat. Some have been laughed at and discredited. But, scientific researchers continue to provide evidence supporting their conclusions.
If you read the news, you may have seen a report a few months back about how tiny molecules called “AGEs” cause wrinkles. AGEs are actually advanced glycation end-products. They form as a result of a chain reaction that can be initiated when we eat simple carbohydrates.
Asking the average person to cut simple carbs out of their diet is akin to asking a dog to give up his bone. The simple carbs include bread and other baked goods, soft drinks, candy, white potatoes, French fries and white rice…in other words, fast food and restaurant-fare.
Those might be things that you like to it. But, if you would consider cutting back on the simple carbs in your diet, you will enjoy better health as the years go by.
Now, what foods should be included in a natural skin care diet? All fruits and vegetables (except the white potato) should be included. The antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables help to protect the skin against photo-aging…in other words, wrinkles caused by the sun.
You might consider switching from soft drinks and coffee to green tea and water. Drinking lots of water helps to maintain the skin’s moisture balance. The antioxidants in green tea help to protect against photo-aging. Some of the natural skin care products on the market contain green tea extract, but there is little evidence supporting the benefit of applying the extract directly.
Salmon comes highly recommended because of the omega-3 fatty acids it contains. Omega-3 fish oil supplements seem to improve the skin’s firmness and structure according to some research.
Let’s suppose you are eating right and taking some good nutritional supplements. What’s the next step?
Most sources would say that wearing sunscreen is the next step. Even though the latest research indicates that sun-screening compounds are not good for your skin’s health and contribute to the increased incidence of vitamin D deficiency that has been seen in recent times, some dermatologists are still adamant about always wearing sunscreen on your face.
There are going to be some times that you need a sunscreen, like when you spend the day at the beach. When that happens, look for the broad-spectrum sun-block zinc oxide. Some of the better natural skin care cosmetics contain it.
On a daily basis, you should use an anti-aging cream that contains coenzyme Q10. It is the only antioxidant that has been proven to protect against and reverse sun damage.
The form of coenzyme Q10 included in the product makes a difference. The nano-emulsion form is the most effective.
The best natural skin care creams do not contain sunscreens. We just don’t know enough about them to assume they are safe.