Healing Natural Oils Blog

It is summer time and hopefully you can be out and about in the sunlight, topping up your vitamin D levels. But of course you should not overdo your sun exposure as this can increase the photoaging of your skin. Take steps to ensure safety in the sun and to keep your skin moisturized. Use a natural sunscreen with safe and effective ingredients.

But be aware that many moisturizers and sunscreens contain harmful toxins. So check the ingredients carefully. Those containing parabens, mineral oil, paraffin, petrolatum, sodium laurel or lauryl sulphate, acrylamide, phenol carbolic acid, propylene glycol, dioxane and toluene should be avoided at all costs. If you research them, you may well be horrified at what you have been putting on your skin.

Your skin is an important organ but if you are dehydrated, it is the first organ to suffer. Your other organs will take available moisture first. Skin is thin and easily penetrable so that whatever you apply to your skin quickly enters the bloodstream.

Help your skin to stay young and supple by:

• Drinking plenty of water. Those 8 glasses of water still stands firm as a good guideline. Your urine should be the palest of yellow.

• Eating a healthy diet. Plenty of fresh and raw fruit and vegetables should be included. Foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids as well as antioxidants are good too.

• Clean and moisturize your face at bedtime with a natural cleanser to take away pollutants as well as make up. Products for babies are often safer to use. dry skin products.

• If you sleep on your back, you reduce the gravitational pull on the skin on your face and avoid puffiness in the morning.

• A warm bath to which you have added some baby oil will help to moisturize your skin. Avoid water that is very hot and don’t soak too long. Hot water causes an increase in the chemical reactions in the chlorine in your water supply. Pat yourself dry rather than rubbing and scrubbing with the towel.

• Then add a moisturizer such as coconut oil or body butter which will nourish but not clog your skin.

• Exfoliation will refresh your skin’s surfaces and light up your appearance but limit this removal of dead cells from the surface of your skin to a gentle process not more than twice a week.

• When applying your skin care products, do so gently while ensuring your skin is warm. You can use a warm towel to do this. Lightly pat the product into the skin rather than rubbing. The skin will absorb better too.

• Exercise is important for the skin as it helps the skin to eliminate impurities through sweating.

• Give up smoking for your skin’s sake and for so many other health reasons.

Remember that we are all being more careful about what we eat, what we use to clean our homes and what we put into our environment in the form of pollutants. Now it is time to check on our skin care products too.

Are they safe for us to use? Most are probably not.