Natural Skin Care Products are Gaining Popularity
Sunday, June 20th, 2010
Natural skin care products are starting to become more popular according to recent surveys. The traditional versions are still outselling them by a huge margin, but at least people are learning more about reading labels and being picky about what they put on the outside of their bodies.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the Environmental Working Group, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and other consumer groups for letting us know about loopholes that allow US cosmetic manufacturers to put unlimited amounts of chemicals in items that are sold as “health and beauty aids”.
Because there is a lack of federal law concerning the subject, a few states stepped in to help out. Washington State recently banned phthalates from skincare products designed for children. California now requires cosmetic companies to report to the state whenever they include an ingredient that can cause cancer or birth defects.
But that type of legislation is slow-moving. Right now, it is up to the consumer to learn about ingredients, read labels and investigate manufacturers.
A lot of people think that by shopping for only natural skin care products, they don’t have to take the time to read the label of ingredients. That is not the case.
Some naturally occurring ingredients are allergens or irritants. They can cause irritation, redness and itching. Essential oils are an example.
When it comes to anti-aging ingredients, the alpha and beta hydroxy acids are naturally occurring acids found in fruit. Salicylic acid is found in certain kinds of tree bark. It is the compound from which aspirin was created.
While those mild acids are naturally occurring and relatively safe, they burn. Feeling the burn might be a good thing for bodybuilders, but it is not good for the skin’s health.
When natural skin care products or the chemical-filled kinds cause burning, the reaction is due to the body’s inflammatory responses. Inflammation is a function of the immune system designed to protect the body. But, the inflammatory chemicals released during the process will degrade the skin’s collagen fibers.
Collagen fibers are responsible for the skin’s firmness and elasticity. They are replaced on a fairly regular basis until we start to get a little older. As the replacement process slows down, we start to see sagging and wrinkles.
Depending on your age, you might not be too worried about those things. But, the sooner you start trying to make an effort to avoid them, the better off you will be.
Some natural skin care products have gentle anti-aging activity. Instead of causing inflammation, they actually prevent it. They feel good going on and as the days go by, they work to stimulate collagen production, instead of causing the collagen you have to degrade.
One of the compounds to look for is called Functional Keratin. You can find it in deep cleansing masks, soothing eye serums, anti-aging facial creams and body lotions.
Just be sure to fully evaluate the so-called natural skin care products on the market before you buy them. Compounds that burn are not good choices.
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.
A Natural Wrinkle Cream That Can Reverse Wrinkles
Monday, June 14th, 2010
A natural wrinkle cream was recently shown to reverse wrinkles by 30%. Another has been proven to improve the skin’s elasticity by over 40%. Yet, studies conducted by independent researchers have shown that most creams provide a 10% improvement at best. Why settle for 10% when you can get three or four times that much?
The real question to ask is why cosmetic manufacturers would choose to use compounds that would provide no more than a 10% improvement. Why wouldn’t all companies include the ingredients that provide a 30-40% improvement?
The answer to that question comes down to costs and profits. In order to make more profits, but continue to keep the price low enough to ensure that billions of people will buy it, companies use cheap ingredients.
They often include an effective ingredient in order to cash in on the advertising. When people know about something like coenzyme Q10, all companies will include it. But, they will rarely include the right form or the right concentration.
Coenzyme Q10 is the ingredient that has been shown to reverse wrinkles by 30% after three months of use. Finding a natural wrinkle cream containing coenzyme Q10 should not be a problem. Finding one that contains nano-particles of it can be a problem.
Nano-particles are small enough to penetrate through all of the skin’s outer layers. Normally, coenzyme Q10 particles are too large to penetrate. So, they must be reduced in size. Recent advancements in nanotechnology have allowed that to happen.
If you find a company that includes the nano-particles, you need to find out if they have also included the right concentration. The concentration used in clinical studies was 5% COQ10 combined with a 10% concentration of vitamin E.
There is at least one natural wrinkle cream on the market containing the right form and the right concentration of coenzyme Q10 along with the ingredient that provides the 40% improvement in elasticity. That ingredient is called Functional Keratin.
Functional Keratin is an active form of the protein keratin, which is one of the major components of the skin’s outer layers. Not many companies have access to Functional Keratin, primarily because it is a naturally occurring ingredient. The available quantities are limited. Only the first companies to sign up are able to get the quantities they need.
Will a natural wrinkle cream containing coenzyme Q10 and Functional Keratin provide a 70% improvement in the skin’s appearance? It might. The hope is that the ingredients will work together in a synergistic fashion; providing more faster benefits together than they would when used separately.
Of course a lot depends on how your complexion looks today. Volunteers with the greatest degree of damage were the ones to see the most astonishing results. If you have just a small amount of damage, you might not see a huge difference.
But, if you continue to use the right natural wrinkle cream, you should find that your skin has a more youthful look as the years go by. Ingredients that reverse damage can also prevent it.
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