What do you Know and Don’t Know about skin care products!!

  The skin is the first barrier between inside and outside world. Dust, dirt, environmental agents and skin care ingredients enter the body through this important protective organ providing significant access to the blood stream. Usually, to protect yourself from all the potentially dangerous factors and to keep your good appearance, you are using skin care products. Their purpose is to cleanse, nourish, regenerate and protect.    

    In today’s market the modern cosmetic industry is given us skin care products with splendid texture, appealing color, nice smell and … chemical ingredients.

 You know exactly which is the most active ingredient or ingredients from a skin care formulation: collagen, alpha hydroxyl acids, vitamin C-ester, testosterone and so on. The advertising is based on the known effect of each primer ingredient onto the skin such as: Collagen-anti wrinkles, alpha hydroxyl acid- peeling, et cetera.

   What you don’t know is how all the other chemical ingredients from a skin care product, even in tiny amount, will affect your health in time. Even a low dosage at repeated exposure will affect your body as much as a high dosage will affect at one time application.

    You are not aware that the chemicals are not recognized by our body and therefore they can not be used in our metabolic pathway to be destroyed and eliminate. They are stored in fat tissues, in the blood arteries and veins, and ultimately in organs. On the other hand they can induce alterations at the cellular level. Some of the chemical ingredients have been already proven to induce cancer and birth defects.

 A cosmetic company, developing natural skin care products (And I am not talking of products that have one or two natural ingredients in the list and they are claiming being natural) is more difficult to establish.  The reasons are multiple and I will reveal them in a future article.   In spite of the difficulties, it is very rewarding for a company to offer his customers healthy products with no long term side effects.

     What you get is a complex of vitamins, minerals, phytohormones, fatty acids, enzymes everything that the skin needs. It is difficult to eliminate deep wrinkles, but you can diminish them most of all prevent them! The way to do this is to let the skin cells properly function by giving them everything they need, the right amount of recognizable nutrients.  

       What you don’t know about natural Cosmetics is the complexity and difficulty to create a synergy of the active molecules to get the maximum skin benefit.   In order to get these results you must have a deep understanding of the biochemical processes to evaluate and predict how a natural mixture acts as an entirety. This is a time consuming process and requires long term studies and tests.

  I think that in this particular time a returning to the ancient herbs and oils knowledge with a complete understanding of a modern science is one of the trends that we will have to promote in  the cosmetic business as well as in food technology.

                               Are You Prepared For An Organic Skin Care Routine ?

 Skin has many important functions in our body such as: protection, excretion and nourishing. It protects against UV rays by absorbing and converting them into dark pigment to prevent further damage.  The skin is also the largest excretion organ, eliminating bodily waste through its pores. Its oily glands secrete sebum, which maintains the elasticity of the skin’s surface. The water skin storage helps metabolic reactions, minerals and vitamins absorption.

 Today, when people are more concerned about side effects, due to chemicals in personal care, when traces of parabens (preservatives) were found in breast tissue, organic herbs and genuine oils in skincare formulations become a necessity.

The general knowledge about herbs as ingredients in personal care along with the understanding of skin functions can open unlimited possibilities for people to choose a proper skin routine, free of side effects.

 A natural and organic treatment for the skin has the same importance for your inner health as a natural and organic food. The natural and organic skin care routine becomes the new way of finding the right approach to feed the skin.

Skin requires  water, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, proteins for its cells as much as your inner body needs them for a proper metabolic function of its organs. This is the natural and valid way of obtaining a younger looking skin for a long period of time while keeping the skin healthy.

 The name natural or organic in skin care becomes very controversial since usually natural ingredients are mixed with chemical ingredients for the sake of nice and fluffy structure and for a long and strong preservation of the products.

 If you are looking for a nice looking cream with white and fluffy structure you will never find it to be a real natural cream unless they contain bleach and/or stabilizers.

 One or two natural ingredients are not enough to start all chain reactions necessary to promote extended collagen and elastin production, or other vital metabolic reactions.

 Many chemical ingredients in a formulation that also contain natural ingredients can induce oxidation of the last releasing free radicals that can damage the skin. On the other hand, chemical substances can mimic similar structures with natural active constituents and compete for the same cell receptors. The result   is the diminishing of the effects of the natural constituents. Some chemicals are very difficult to eliminate from the skin due to their unrecognizable structure and tend to accumulate in different parts of the body and even block the skin pores makes the  toxin elimination very difficult.

 In conclusion:  Be very careful when you choose a natural cream; be aware when you see more than one or two unknown names (chemicals) in a natural product. Be   picky as if you were choosing a proper outfit. Don’t be tricked by fancy advertising.  Look carefully at the ingredients of your skin care products as you would look for side effects on a prescription medication.

How To Protect And Improve Your Sensitive Skin !

Many ingredients usually included in cosmetics such as dimethyl sulfoxid, benzoic acid, salicylic acid, propylene glycol, lactic acid, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium benzoate, cinnamic acid, sorbic acid are potential irritants. Formulations, in which a beneficial constituent is involved, can be detrimental for the skin in certain conditions. For example, a formulation containing a small molecule such as acid hydroxy acetic (AHA) with a lower pH can provoke sensations of tingling, itching or irritation when applied to sensitive, unhealthy or inflamed skin. Such reactions can be triggered by uncontrolled release of the acid, fast penetration into the skin and low pH.

 The moisturizers, which enhance the barrier function of the skin can protect against different irritants. Therefore, choosing a good moisturize is one of the most important steps for a healthy skin.
 

Natural constituents such as: essential fatty acids (linoleic and gamma linoleic acids), vitamins, minerals, high percentage of water and water like ingredients are the basic stones for providing skin regeneration and nourishment. Humectants, such as glycerin have an important role in retaining skin moisture and support the elasticity of the skin. Antioxidants, such as protoanthocyanidins found in grape seed oil for example, are particularly helpful in stabilizing the collagen structure, which held tissues together. Other antioxidants such as, beta carotene, vitamin E, vitamin C and selenium are beneficial for overall protection against environmental condition and UV rays. And finally, the least chemicals in a cream, the least chances of irritation and adverse affects it has when applied onto the skin.
 

By using natural and organic skin treatments, you will receive the same beneficial effects to your health as you would eat an organic food. Natural products are easily assimilated through the skin, easily metabolized as they are recognizable molecules and the surplus is easily discarded. However, the skin adjustment to the natural regimen is not a rapid process and it doesn’t occur with one application. It is a long term commitment, which substantially increases your skin health and rejuvenating power.

You certainly may choose the shortest way of becoming suddenly perfect, by covering skin imperfection with makeup, or by choosing a strong synthetic cream, which might show you 5 years younger but usually with side effects.
 

In conclusion: Give your skin the same attention as your inner body. Nourish it and protect it as you would nourish and protect your whole body. Don’t wait until is too late to change to a natural cosmetic regimen.