Not sure what to look for when choosing cosmetics? Need some advice on taking care of your skin? Here are eleven tips to help your skin look and feel it's best.
1) The first step in helping your skin to look and feel it's best is to begin with your diet. Drinking lots of fresh water every day, and eating fruits, vegetables and foods rich in vitamins and nutrients are all essential for healthy skin.
2) Select moisturizers made with vegetable oils. The lotions, creams and body oils that you use should be made with vegetable oils, not mineral oil. Vegetable oils, (like olive oil, sweet almond oil, corn oil, etc.) contain fatty acids which help to moisturize and soften the skin. Mineral oil is derived from petroleum and does not contain anything that helps to nourish the skin.
3) Choose products that contain natural, gentle essential oils. Essential oils are oils that are derived from the roots, flowers, stems, leaves and other parts of plants. Many essential oils are antiseptic and bactericidal, and are a natural alternative to the synthetic compounds found in many cosmetic products. For example, grapefruit essential oil (scientific name Citrus x paradisi) has been found to stimulate hair growth, french lavender essential oil (scientific name Lavandula angustifolia) has been found to help combat dandruff, and tea tree essential oil (Melaleuca alternifolia) has been found to help clear up acne.
4) Wash your skin with cold-processed soap. Cold-processed soaps contain large amounts of glycerin. (Glycerin is a humectant and helps the skin to retain moisture). As a result cold-processed soaps are kinder to the skin and less drying than soaps made with other methods.
5) Once a week soak your feet in warm water, and gently exfoliate dead skin with a pumice stone. Follow up by moisturizing your feet with a natural foot oil or foot lotion.
6) Every week soak in a tub of bath salts. Salt, especially salts mined from the Dead Sea in the Middle East, are rich in minerals and help draw impurities out of the skin.
7) After a shower or bath, seal in moisture by using a body oil or lotion made from natural vegetable oils. Water is a wonderful moisturizer, and sealing it in with a body oil or lotion will help to keep your skin smooth and soft.
8) Before you go to sleep at night, wash your face to remove makeup and any residue left on your skin. If you have dry skin moisturize your face with a rich natural face oil or cream. Your skin will look and feel much better in the morning.
9) Look for toners and astringents that are made without ethyl alcohol, rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol. These ingredients are solvents that are extremely drying to the skin.
10) Every time you wash your hands, moisturize them with a natural lotion or cream to help them stay soft.
11) Consider making some of your own skin care products. Cosmetics that you make yourself will contain only the ingredients that you choose, not ingredients that someone else has chosen for you.
Written by: Ololade Franklin, Making Good Scents
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