Organic skin care

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“If it can be done naturally, why go for artificial means” - this is the basic premise on which ‘organic skin care’ works. Organic skin care is the most natural way of ‘skin care’. In fact, ‘organic skin care’ was probably the first one to be used by man when it first woke-up to the needs of his skin. ‘Organic skin care’ is not only friendlier to skin, but also inexpensive. If exercised in the right way, organic skin care can prevent the occurrence of a lot of skin disorders and can help keep your skin healthy and young-looking for a much longer time.

Organic fruits and vegetables are the most popular things on organic skin care routines e.g. cucumber is very common in organic skin care routines. Turmeric, apple, papaya, ginger are others that find a wide use in organic skin care routines. These organic materials have a very refreshing and vitalizing effect on your skin. Almost every skin care book/guide has section on organic skin care (including the actions of various fruits and vegetables on skin). So choose the ones that are more suitable for your skin type and start experimenting with them until you finally select the ones that are most suitable for inclusion in your organic skin care routine. It’s important that you use fresh organic fruits/vegetables. Don’t try to utilise the rotten ones for your skin, their only place is the garbage bin.

Milk is known to posses good cleansing properties; in fact, the name of some skin care products contains the word ‘milk’ in them. A combination of milk with ground oatmeal acts as wonderful cleanser.

Ground oatmeal is especially good for oily skins and is a popular ingredient in organic skin care regimen. It is used in various combinations e.g. with egg, honey, milk and fruits, for preparation of organic facial packs.

Wheat germ is another ingredient in organic skin care procedures. It is rich in vitamin E and is known for its exfoliation as well as moisturising properties. Wheat germ, in various combinations with other organic materials, is used to prepare facial masks for normal and dry skin types. Wheat germ oil is another way in which wheat germ is used for organic skin care.

Yogurt and sour cream are other organic materials that are popular for their exfoliation and moisturising properties.

Use of organic honey is also popular in organic skin care procedures. It helps in retention of moisture and helps impart a glowing look to skin.

Rose water takes its place as a toner in organic skin care routines. Lavender water is popular too.

‘Organic skin care’ uses combinations of various organic materials that complement each other and enhance each other’s effectiveness. Moreover, these combinations are also helpful in over-riding the harmful effects (if any) of various organic materials that form them.

Organic skin care is really an art that, once perfected, can give wonderful results in a very cost effective manner.

Which is the best skin care product?

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There is really nothing like a best skin care product. There really can’t be anything like ‘The best skin care product’, because skin care products work differently for different people (based on the skin type to some extent). A product that is the ‘best skin care product’ for one person might end up being the worst for another person. So, a more logical question to ask would be ‘What is the best skin care product for my type of skin?’. However, this still is not completely logical. We tend to segregate people into 4 groups based on their skin types – i.e. dry skin, oily skin, normal skin and sensitive skin. However, this classification is just too broad to be used definitively in determining the best skin care product. We can say ‘best skin care product for a dry skin’ or ‘best skin care product for an oily skin’ are better statements than just ‘best skin care product’. But really, that is what it is – ‘better’; still not accurate.

So, it really comes to rephrasing the question to – ‘What is the best skin care product for me’. Yes, this is exactly the question that you should be asking, and unfortunately there is no easy answer for this. Arriving at the best skin care product for self will need some effort on your part.

First of all, you need to understand how the skin care products work. This is simple. You can consider all skin care products to be composed of 2 types of ingredients – Active and inactive. The active ingredients are the ones that actually work on your skin. The inactive ones just help in delivering these active ingredients to your skin. Both the ingredients need to work for your skin, in order for the product to be effective (and move on to become the best skin care product for you).

Besides the ingredients, the way you apply your skin care products is equally important. In fact, this is even more important. If you do not know how to apply skin care products, you might forever be hunting for the best skin care product for yourself, when that has already passed you. Moreover, it’s also important to decide on the frequency of application (of the skin care product). The environmental factors - temperature, humidity and pollution level, also affect the selection of best skin care product. Here are a few rules that you could use to ensure that your best skin care product is really the best for you:
* Cleanse your skin before applying that best skin care product.
* Use a makeup remover instead of plain water and remove your makeup before going to bed.
* The effectiveness of active ingredients is reduced when applied over another product e.g. over moisturiser. So apply that best skin care product first and then apply a bit of moisturizer if needed.
* Apply the products on moist and warm skin.
* You will have to experiment with a few products before you arrive at the one that is the best skin care product for you.
* Do not exfoliate too much or too hard.
* Vary your skin care routine as per the seasons (winter/summer etc), changes in environmental factors and changes in your skin type

Note that the best skin care product cannot be determined overnight. It’s only through experiment (and awareness) that you can find the ‘Best skin care product’ (for you).

Top 10 skin care tips

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Healthy skin is really one of the most important ingredients for beauty-enhancement. This article on skin care tips is an effort to bring the 10 best skin care tips to you. The list of skin care tips has been restricted to 10 because anything more that that would not only be difficult to remember, but also shadow the more important skin care tips. So let’s see what these top ten skin care tips are:
* Knowing your skin type is one of the most important skin care tip. This is important because not every skin care product suits everyone. In fact, all the skin care products specify the type of skin they cater too.
* ‘Drink a lot of water’. This will not keep your skin moist but will help in overall upkeep of your health (and in turn your skin). It might seem a bit awkward to some, however, this is an important skin care tip.
* Cleanse your skin regularly (1-2 times everyday). A very effective skin care tip that helps in getting rid of the dirt and other harsh elements from your skin. Cleansing is especially important when you have been out of your house (and hence exposed to pollutants, dust etc). This skin care tip also advocates the use of Luke warm water for cleansing (hot and cold water, both, cause damage to your skin)
* Be gentle, after all it’s your skin. Don’t scrub/exfoliate too hard or too often. Similarly, don’t apply too much or too many skin care products. A must-to-follow skin care tip.
* Keep your skin moist at all times. This is one of the most important skin care tip. Don’t let your skin get dry. Dryness causes the outer layer of your skin to break, leading to a rough and unattractive appearance. Use moisturisers/ emollients. Moisturisers work best when applied while the skin is still damp.
* Avoid the use of soap on your face. Soap should only be used from below the neck. A small but important skin care tip.
* Use sunscreen to protect yourself from sun’s harmful UV radiations. You can use day-time moisturisers that have sunscreen built into them. Use them even when it’s cloudy. UV radiations are known to cause skin cancer, so follow this skin care tip without fail.
* A bit of exercise and good sleep are essential too, not just for skin care but for your health as a whole. Lack of sleep can lead to formation of wrinkles below your eyes and lack of exercise can cause your skin to slack. Moreover, exercise and sleep also help in beating stress. So besides being a skin care tip, this is also a health care tip.
* Treat skin dilemmas with care. This skin care tip is about not ignoring any skin dilemmas. Consult your dermatologist before you go on to use a skin care product (lest you do end up harming your skin even more).
* Beat the stress. The harmful effects of stress are known to everyone, however, sometimes stating the obvious is essential too (and hence this skin care tip found its place here). Yes, stress harms skin too. So, take a break or indulge in a warm bubble bath or just get good sleep.

Anti aging skin care

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One of the most interesting topics on skin care is ‘anti aging skin care’. As one gets older, the natural defence of our skin (and in fact of the whole body) weakens. ‘Anti aging skin care’ is about protecting your skin from the negative effects of aging process. ‘Anti aging skin care’ helps in maintaining a young and fresh look for a longer period of time. However, ‘anti aging skin care’ doesn’t end just here. Besides maintaining your looks (good looks), ‘anti aging skin care’ is also about retaining the resistance to disease. Though the awareness about anti aging has increased over a period of time, still a lot of people are unable to recognize the aging symptoms (and hence are unable to determine if they are in need of additional anti aging skin care measures).

Here is a list of visible anti aging symptoms that will help you in the planning and execution of your strategy for anti aging skin care: baldness, forgetfulness, graying hair, wrinkle formation, loss of eyesight or hearing loss and menopause. The occurrence of one or more such symptoms is an indicator for upping the ante on anti aging skin care. Note that we are talking about introduction of additional measures for anti aging skin care, we are not talking about starting ‘anti aging skin care’ altogether. ‘Anti aging skin care’ actually starts much before the symptoms of anti aging appear. Serious anti aging skin care is building and following a proper skin care routine much earlier in life (say in your teens). Anti aging skin care doesn’t mean adoption of any special skin care procedure but just following a normal procedure in the right earnest. Eating a lot of fruits, avoiding stress, drinking a lot of water and using natural therapies can delay the aging process.

Once the signs of aging start showing up, you should start using some additional measures in the form of anti aging skin care products. The market is full of anti aging skin care products. In fact there are so many anti aging skin care products that they will probably find you even before you find them. Also, with age, the skin undergoes significant change. So you will need to analyse your current skin care procedure to check if it still holds good i.e. if it is still suitable for your skin.

You should remember that aging is a natural process and there is nothing that can stop it from happening. All these anti aging skin measures can just help in delaying the aging process.

Acne and its treatment

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Acne is a menace. However, it’s not something that cannot be tackled. There are loads of acne skin care products around. We can classify acne skin care products into 3 broad categories –
* Preventive or general acne skin care products
* Over-the-counter, specialised acne skin care products
* On-prescription acne skin care products.

The general are the ones that are used as acne-prevention measure. These include cleansers, make-up removers and similar products that help prevent acne. In the real sense, these acne skin care products are just those that should anyway be part of your daily routine. However, some of these are more oriented to act like an acne skin care product. These acne skin care products act against the causes of acne e.g. limiting the production of sebum/oil and preventing clogging of skin pores. Basically, these acne skin care products prevent the oil from getting trapped in pores and hence hamper the growth of bacteria that lead to acne. The general acne skin care products also include exfoliation products like skin peels. These work towards removing dead skin cells, hence reducing the possibility of pore-clogging and bacteria development.

Then there are specialised acne skin care products that are available over-the-counter i.e. without the need of a prescription. These include products like vanishing creams which extract the extra oil from the skin. Most of these acne skin care products are based on benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, both of which are the enemies of bacteria (and hence acne). You should start with a product that has lower concentration of benzoyl peroxide (e.g. 5%) and see how your skin responds to it. Alpha-hydroxy-acid based moisturizers are also popular as acne skin care products. You might have to try a few, before you zero-in on the acne skin care product that is effective for you. If nothing seems to work, you should contact a dermatologist.

On-prescription acne skin care products are the ones that are prescribed by a dermatologist. This can include ointments that can be applied on the affected area or oral antibiotics or just any topical treatment. Dermatologist could also suggest a minor surgical procedure to remove the contents of pustules. However, never try to squeeze or do this by yourself, it can lead to permanent damage of your skin. Your doctor could also prescribe a hormone-based treatment (since hormonal changes are also known to cause acne). Such acne skin care products are known to be very effective in some cases.
So, with all those acne skin care products, tackling acne is not that difficult.