Saturday, June 27, 2009

Taking Car Of Your Skin Well Into Your Senior Years

By Casey Wigwire

Today, more men and women are trying to live a healthy lifestyle. They go to the gym or take yoga even if their schedule almost doesn't permit it. They buy organic food even if it's a bit more expensive. But a lot of people still don't realize that all the makeup, moisturizers and skin care products that they use could be containing extremely contaminating ingredients.

It's a strange contradiction that we tend to spend a lot of time in the sun, causing premature damage to the skin, and then go to great lengths to obtain anti-aging skin care treatment to reverse the damage done. By the time we are adults, we have already sustained a lot of damage to the skin, even though we are not seeing it yet. Sun damage is cumulative over the years, and doesn't show up until later in life. Anti-aging skin care, then, should start when we are very young - skin should be protected with sunscreens and sun blocks whenever we are out in the sun.

Skin care should not be taken lightly. Human skin is lightly porous. By applying typical skin care products on yourself, you are allowing your skin to absorb all the toxins that such cosmetic products contain. Gels, creams and makeup can easily pass through the skin's pores. The answer is to go natural. Natural skin care products use ingredients found in nature and contain no artificially fabricated components. Consumers had better be careful, though, as many of these products claiming to be natural may not be.

Products claiming to be organic or all-natural, in fact, can have toxic chemicals. Simply adding a natural ingredient shouldn't make a product "all-natural" - unfortunately, there is no strict regulating body that monitors this. Strangely, the FDA does not regulate skin care producers. Cosmetic companies will often use the word "natural" as a marketing ploy, without truly meaning it. The best way is to study the ingredients yourself. If you have difficulty choosing which brand is the best, you should consider asking for some professional help from a skin expert. Consulting a dermatologist, of course, would be the best recourse.

Read the labels of natural beauty products and be alert for chemical ingredients. Normally, natural skin care should not contain any harsh fragrances or artificial colors. When purchasing organic shampoo, lotion, gels or creams, make sure to open the bottle and see how it smells and appears. Organic stores can be a good place to look for organic cosmetic products. While sometimes priced higher than their ordinary counterparts, most organic cosmetic products can be less expensive than high-end brands that are known to contain serious toxins.

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