Do You Want to Avoid Skin Irritation? Using Herbal Skin Care Products

When you are looking to avoid the harmful chemicals found gracing the shelves at your local grocery store, you may want to look into some of the herbal skin care products that are available.

Herbal skin care

Herbal skin care avoids the mineral oils and other petroleum products that can cause an irritation to the skin.

Herbal skin care products use natural oils that are found within a variety of seeds or nuts, such as grape seed oil and lemon oil. These ingredients tend to unclog pores, as well as ease the appearance of blemishes and dry skin.

Home Made Skin Care Products

There are tons of recipes for herbal skin care that you can use at home, which are created by picking up a few natural products from the grocery store, health food market, as well as herbal skin care stores and websites.

To create lavender oil for the skin, you will need two cups of lavender flowers, 2 sprigs of rosemary, 1 piece of orange zest, as well as 1? cups of olive or grape seed oil.

Using a mortar or cutting board, you can create the herbal skin care mixture by pounding the lavender, rosemary and orange zest together. Next, you pack the herbs into a 2-cup capacity jar and add the oil.

Cover and shake the ingredients together before leaving the jar in a sunny window for two weeks.

Shake the jar at least once a day during these two weeks. After the time is up, you will need to strain the herbal skin care product and keep it refrigerated when not in use.

Home Made Facial Oil

To make facial oil from calendula flowers, you will need two cups of olive or grape seed oil, ? cup of wheat germ oil, as well as one cup of calendula flowers.

You should combine all of the ingredients in a jar and cover for placement on a sunny windowsill.

For the next two weeks, you will have to shake this herbal skin care remedy at least once per day.

Strain and refrigerate this herbal skin care product after preparation.

Home Made Skin Care Toner

If you are looking for a herbal skin care toner, there is an easy way to create such a product with the inexpensive ingredient of witch hazel, which can be found at any drugstore. Combine 3? cups of liquid witch hazel with ? cup of herbs and place in a jar that sits on a sunny windowsill for one week.

The mixture should be shaken at least once per day. After the herbal skin care remedy is strained, place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

When creating a toner at home, you can prepare a gentler option by adding calendula flowers; for oily skin, add lemon rind and mint to the remedy.

Home Made Facial Mask

A herbal skin care facial mask can be prepared by blending a few herbs together and applying it to the face.

If you are suffering from dry skin, you may want to blend rose petals and chamomile with two tablespoons of oatmeal and distilled water.

Oily skin craves for a blend of sage, yarrow, chamomile, and lemongrass with two tablespoons of distilled water and oatmeal.

After creating the herbal skin care remedy, apply to the face for ten minutes, and then rinsed away.

More skin care products information and FREE exclusive diet and health magazines, are available on our web site: http://www.net-planet.org

Carbohydrates Explained

The carbohydrates are the starches and sugars which are the main providers of energy for keeping the body working and coping with the activities we undertake. Western man has about half his diet in the form of carbohydrate but in the east it constitutes up to 90% usually taken as grains. It is fortunate that grains are also good providers of protein; starvation is generally the result of too little food rather than too few carbohydrates.

The refining of carbohydrates into white flour, polished rice and white sugar is a prime cause of overweight. Such foods are easy to eat in large amounts whereas if they are as near nature as possible-for example as whole wheat flour; brown rice and raw sugar-the appetite is well satisfied with less quantity.

Another bonus is that the all important dietary fiber, probably in its best form as cereal fiber (bran), is retained. Dietary fiber adds bulk to the contents of the gut, and for this reason is extremely valuable in preventing constipation. It is thought that a Western diet low in dietary fiber may be one of the causes of diverticulitis, appendicitis and varicose veins.

If you include dietary fiber in your diet you will be less likely to suffer from those disorders linked with over-refined foods. It must be remembered that brown bread is often colored with caramel, and has added wheat germ (a good food in itself), but is basically made from a refined or semi-refined flour. It is safest to insist when you can on bread from stone ground whole-wheat flour as this will contain all the necessary nutrients. Brown rice, pulses (lentils, peas and beans) and oatmeal are also excellent sources of dietary fiber.

Kevin Pederson has been managing a number of natural home remedies websites which have information on home based natural cures and remedies for some of the most common illnesses and health problems

Using Water to Get Glowing Vibrant Skin

I?ve mentioned your skin?s need for water before, but it?s such an important topic that it deserves a section all its own.

We sometimes forget our skin -- until something goes wrong! Your skin is the largest organ of your body. The skin protects us from infections, guards us against harmful effects of the sun?s rays, and helps to regulate our body temperature.

But what most of us think about with the skin is how it looks. All of us have seen those with unhealthy skin or complexions. Their skin has a sallow look, pasty, or drawn. It?s not a pretty sight.

And, of course, what the skin needs is moisture. When the body is inadequately hydrated, there?s not enough moisture in the skin tissues, and that can contribute to the drawn and haggard look so many have.

The skin also needs hydration to clean the body of toxins. Your body is constantly in contact with things that are not good for us. Those things can come from the food we eat, the air we breathe, and things we come into contact with by touching. (And in some places in the world -- thankfully not usually in North America! -- even water itself can bring in those toxins).

The simplest way the body gets rid of toxins is through washing. Washing your hands is probably the very best thing you can do to prevent infections, whether your own or someone else?s. Bathing or showering (and shampooing) also get rid of toxic materials our bodies don?t need.

But the cleaning works internally, too. Water courses through your body, a never-ending stream flushing out harmful substances. And if there?s not enough of that water, your body itself can become polluted, something like a river in a time of drought, when there?s just not enough water to clean out all the junk.

Your body can operate like that, too. Because there?s not enough fluid to clean out the toxins, they accumulate in the body?s tissues. The whole body can start to act sluggish, but the place where we see it first is in our skin. And while we are quick to put on lotions and skin treatments, the primary and most important ?skin treatment? you can use comes in a glass -- and it?s available from the tap!

Again, the most important means of taking care of your skin is our regular, 20 glasses a day water plan. Keep drinking on a regular basis. You will find that it becomes a wonderful habit very quickly, and you come to miss it if you?re separated from a water source for very long.

Prevention is of first importance, but if you find you?ve been exposed to something toxic (such as secondhand smoke), first wipe your face with cool (not cold) tap water, and then drink a couple of glasses of water right away. You want to give your body a chance to get rid of the toxins right away, and there?s no better way than water.

You may also notice times when your skin looks drawn or haggard, even when you?re drinking enough (or at least think you are!) In most of these cases, what has happened is that you have become busy or pre-occupied, and haven?t been drinking enough. Whatever the reason, start pumping the water right away. You will even find that water will help you to look better if you?ve temporarily not had enough sleep. If you have to miss a few hour?s sleep (or even a whole night) really load up on the water. It will make you feel better and look better until you can catch up on sleep.

Jim Huffman, RN specializes in natural and alternative healing therapies. His first book is 'Dare to Be Free: How to Get Control of Your Time, Your Life, and Your Nursing Career,' and is aimed at helping other nurses find satisfying, dynamic careers. His website is http://www.NetworkForNurses.com and his health blog is at http://www.shababa.blogspot.com