Natural Skin Care
Is it safe to say that many of us have veered away from a hair care routine predominantly filled with commercial products out of curiosity or education about more natural alternatives? Were you one day sitting, facial cleanser in hand, wondering why, if, and how your skin-care practices can shift as well? Here are a few alternatives to the typical Noxema, Cetaphil, and Neutragena-type influenced facial care practices.
Cleanser Alternatives:
Black Soap
A soap composed of plantain, palm oil, cocoa ash, and unrefined shea butter with other variations and oils added depending on it’s source of origin.
Neem Soap
Another plant derived soap. It contains great antibacterial properties that are ideal to use on the face to treat blemishes. It also has antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties.
Oil Cleansing
A method that excuses the use of cleansers containing harsh detergents and lye based soaps. The idea behind oil cleansing is that oils dissolve oils ( a feature water does not possess), so steaming the face after an oil massage is a gentle and relaxing way to detox the skin and pull impurities from the pores with out causing irritation.
The soaps can be used as is or fashioned into a liquid soap that you can add oils or other moisturizers to to keep the soaps from being overly drying if you have sensitive skin.
To get a basic idea of how to liquify your soap check out this link from DutchessGabrielle on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GdVHRkhSlQ
She also has a great educational series about natural products, in general~ and you can find tutorials on how to create other products for your skin care arsenal as well.
To see the effectiveness of oil cleansing on problematic acne, check out TheNaprika’s OCM video: http://youtu.be/i1nqu0jpMG4
To read more on Oil cleansing, check out this blog post by Dominique: http://allthingsonatural.blogspot.com/2011/01/lets-talk-skin-oil-cleansing-method.html
Exfoliant Alternatives:
Dead Sea Salt or Granulate Sugar scrubs.
Encourage increased blood flow to the skin and help to remove dead skin cells that can harbor the bacteria that results in inflammation and blemishes.
Toner Alternatives:
Witch Hazel
A commonly used, widely available, anti-inflammatory astringent.
Apple Cider Vinegar Dilution
Readily found in your kitchen pantry. It acts as an astringent as well.
Aloe Vera
A soothing and anti- inflammatory topical treatment.
These are simple and easy to find solutions to tone your skin gently without the irritation that is typical of artificially crafted toners. While these three can be used independently, they can also be combine into one mixer depending on your preference and needs. I sometimes like to add grapeseed oil to my toner since it is a natural astringent, and provides a moisture and light protection from the sun. Astringents help to balance out oiliness and close up pores.
