Natural skincare should consist of herbs, flowers, essential oils, roots, and other naturally derived products. Each is great for your skin because they contain ingredients that will penetrate beyond the first layers, and will keep your skin healthy. Several mass-produced chemical ‘skincare’ products may smell lovely and promise wonderful skin, but they usually are of little or no benefit to the skin; at times, skin problems such as acne, eczema, and sensitivity, may even be aggravated by these products. Bottom line is: Your skin does not love chemicals. But it is more likely to look and feel better with some natural TLC.
1. Skin will become more balanced. Holistic health practitioner, Julie Clark, who is well experienced in the area of problematic skin, advises that the first necessary step is to “cut out soap-based cleansers”. Harsh cleansers strip away the skin’s natural oil, in addition to makeup and dirt. When this switch happens, your skin goes into hyper-drive to produce oil, however, substituting soap-based products for oil-based ones will help balance out the skin, as the harsh drying agents are being removed. You will also notice that your skin will not be as oily after a while.
2. Stick to your new regimen. It can take a few days, sometimes weeks, before your skin begins to show any signs of significant change, so be patient and stick to the regime. Clark recommends waiting for at least two weeks to see results. When the skin is more balanced, it will begin to respond positively.
3. Exfoliation is key. If you haven’t been exfoliating your skin, now is the time to start. Concentrate on feeding it with natural ingredients and removing the dead skin cells. Your skin is at its best when it’s constantly being stimulated – which increases the flow of blood to the cells, and helps to heal the damage on the surface quicker.