Natural skin care products

These days many consumers treat synthetic ingredients in their skin care as potentially harmful, and so they should. Are natural skin care products the answer to all of our problems? What if a natural skin care product is not available for the treatment of a particular skin disorder? Are the synthetic skin care products so harmful that they should be banned? The answer is No natural skin care products do not fix all of our problems. Maybe the author should have asked ...so, are natural skin care products to answer to all our skin care problems? - then the answer would have still been no, and neither do any other skin care products on the market today - natural or otherwise.

Not all skin problems can be treated using some topical application - Many diseases such as measles, chickenpox, herpes and many more are diseases, which as part of their symptomatology, have a skin component. To think that using natural skin care products or for that matter a synthetically formulated skin care product could treat this types of conditions is ludicrous.

Sure, combine your internal medication (natural or drug-based) with a good quality, natural skin care product to address the itching, irritation and redness, etc., but don’t think for one moment that a skin care products is going to effect the chickenpox virus or any other infectious disease. Similarly, skin problems just like any other long-term disorder have a multi-faceted complexity and require a systemic approach to treatment.

If on the other hand we are simply referring to dry, oily, mature or sensitive skin, than there is no need for synthetic chemicals. Nor is this the case in the treatment of dermatitis, psoriasis or similar conditions, unless they are of a genetic origin - then there is very little that can be done other than symptom control, which natural skin care products can do just as well as any synthetic equivalent, if not better.

You see most mass-produced skin care products, whether they are 100% natural skin care products or have a synthetic component, will not work on any condition that has an internal disease process involved. For example a hormonal imbalance may cause acne. This acne will persist until the hormonal imbalance is corrected.

Similarly, viral infections can cause skin rashes and they will persist until the viral infection has been addressed. Again, sure use a topical ointment or cream for the rash and yes, make sure it is a natural skin care product, because you don’t need to introduce more chemicals into the body, which it may have difficulty in utilising and/or eliminating.

Different people have different answers to these questions. However, the reality is that due to presence of synthetic preservatives, it’s really tough to find a natural skin care product that is 100% natural. There are natural skin care products that have natural preservatives, but their cost might be detrimental. Moreover, such natural skin products have a shorter shelf life and hence are not preferred by the manufacturers of natural skin care products.

In addition, Essential oils are some of the most powerful antiseptic substances around, some are also have powerful antibiotic properties and if used correctly, they will preserve natural skin care products for at least 2 to 3 years without any trouble. Furthermore, many of our natural skin care and personal care product contain herbal extracts. Herbal extracts are by nature alcoholic and alcohol is a very good preservative. So you see, good quality natural skin care products do not need to have preservatives (synthetic ones) added to them.

Some people carry a wrong notion that since natural skin care products are natural, they cannot cause any harm to the skin. The suitability of a skin care product is not based on whether it is synthetic or natural. An unsuitable natural skin care product can harm you in almost the same way as a synthetic one. So, use natural skin care products, but be open to synthetic ones too (you might need them when a natural solution is not available)

When ever you choose to buy a new product which you use on your skin be it a natural one or not, you should consider the following:

    * Always look at the ingredient list and see if there are any to which you may be allergic.
    * Before you start using a product apply a small area of your skin first to see if you have any undesirable reaction. You may be allergic to something in the product, which you are not aware of and this may or may not be a natural substance.
    * Know what the product does and what it is indicated for before you buy it.
    * Choose products to suit your skin type and your skin’s needs.