Natural and organic products are increasingly outshining conventional care products. The “green” alternative is not only beneficial to the skin, but to the organism as a whole. You can easily perform some magic by making your own feel well recipes – personalized to match your skin type.
Natural cosmetics are booming and it’s no wonder. The National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health studies found over 800 toxic ingredients in body care products. Over 700 of them caused acute toxic effects and over 300 caused developmental abnormalities. These chemicals may absorb into your body and brain 3 times faster than water. The skin is the largest organ and absorbs almost everything you put on it! So make sure you recognize the ingredients in your skin care products as natural ones, or learn what they are before applying.
How do Organic Ingredients score?
In parallel to the boom in the organic industry, the do-it-yourself-mentality is growing too. Organic recipes are no longer just a food trend in our kitchens. Home-made natural cosmetics can be fine-tuned to personal requirements too. To make them, all you need are regular kitchen utensils, the time needed is minimal and it is a low-budget affair.
If you delve into the world of beauty, you will find out how an amazingly resourceful nature can contribute to good looks. Its plant power can be applied to help with a diverse range of skin problems. For example, large pores, acne and blackheads, dry and sensitive skin, or flabby tissues.
But most of all, natural cosmetics are free of chemical burdens from questionable ingredients and preservatives. An example would be the parabens, which have been discredited long 
ago as hormonally acting substances. They are found in many conventional creams, masks, shower gels and deodorants. And this not only in the “cheap section”, but in expensive luxury products as well. They can act like estrogens, the female sex hormone, and disturb the body’s sensitive hormonal system. Furthermore, they have allergic potential too.
The bottom line is that almost every person has a whole cocktail of such synthetic, hormone-like substances in their blood. The long-term consequences are hardly conceivable even by the experts. But one thing is clear: the questionable chemicals can trigger illness, even cancer, as a study by the European Commission has proven.
Time-out for the Skin and the Soul
The fact that the new trend is actually an old one is almost paradox. Nature was used as habitat for beauty in the ancient world already, milk and honey at the top. And it is true to this date: home-made natural cosmetics are so pure you could eat them too!
The supreme rule: The caring ingredients should be carefully selected and quickly processed. Use organic ingredients whenever possible, as the skin on your face is thinner than other parts of your body and can soak up toxins much more easily. Be they fresh organic foods from the orchard. Carrots and potatoes from the vegetable kitchen or parsley from the herbal pot. Not to forget eggs, oils or flower essences. And of course the rule is valid as always in natural medicine: It’s the dose that makes the poison. This means that additives like essential oils can be used only in small drops.
Quick helpers in everyday life are first and foremost the face masks. Whether they are for the dry skin that is thirsty for moisture, the pale complexion that could use a breath of freshness or for the sensitive skin that is practically impossible to please with anything. Poultices mixed at home can become a beauty wonder in only 10 to 20 minutes.
Advice: It is important to clean the skin before applying any mask. To open the pores, you can also apply a warm compress first. To do this, drench a small hand towel in hot-warm water, wring it out and put it gently on your face, neck and décolleté for one minute.
Nurture Dry Skin- Avocado Mask
This is a classic mask used especially for dry skin types and is easy to make. Avocado is rich in essential fatty acid and contains Vitamin E to help tone the skin and Vitamin A to improve elasticity.
Here’s how it goes:
Mash 1 tbsp. ripe avocado and combine with 1 tbsp. quark and 1 tbsp. buttermilk. Stir until the mask has turned into a creamy texture. Apply to a clean face and leave on for 10 minutes. Remove with a warm cloth.
Bring life to tired skin- Pineapple-honey Mask
In the cold and dark winter months, the skin can often appear dull and tired. The natural fruit acid from the pineapple will leave your skin glowing. Honey and nutrient rich coconut oil will bring back moisture to your skin.
Here’s how it goes:
Cut 50g of fresh pineapple into small pieces. Mix 1 tbsp. plain yogurt and 1 tbsp. honey in a bowl; add the pineapple and puree. Add 2 tbsp. white clay and mix until well combined and smooth. Melt 1 tbsp. coconut oil in a small pot and add to the yogurt mixture and whisk. Place the ready-made mask into the fridge for 5 minutes to make it firmer. Apply to a clean face and leave on for 10 minutes. Remove with a warm cloth.
Important: It is best to apply the mask at nighttime since the fruit acids from the pineapple can make your skin light sensitive.
Normal Skin- Buttermilk-Carrot Mask
Normal skin is smooth and subtle and generally supplied well with blood, but as you age, pores get bigger. This wonder mask acts as an astringent and will help tighten pores, and supplies the skin with calcium and protein.
Here’s how it goes:
Mix together 2 tsp. each of buttermilk and fresh pressed carrot juice with 1 tsp. flour. Apply mask with a flat brush on face and neck for 15 minutes. Remove with a warm cloth.
Purify oily Skin- Clay-Herbal Mask
Green clay will help cleanse blemished skin and regulates oil production. Combining fresh herbs, honey and ginger, this mask has an antibacterial, detoxifying and anti-inflammatory effect.
Here’s how it goes:
In a small pot, bring water to a boil and put in 10g of fresh or dried rosemary, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Take out rosemary and let the broth cool down. Wash 30g of parsley and cut into small pieces. In a separate bowl, combine 2 tbsp. bentonite clay with 1 tbsp. green clay, 1 tsp. Manuka honey and 1 tbsp. grape-seed oil. Add the prepared parsley and 1 tbsp. fresh ground ginger to clay mixture.
Calm down Sensitive Skin- Honey-Almond Mask
Someone with sensitive, irritated skin, that suffers from red and/or dry spots will benefit from this mask. Honey and almond flour will bring your skin a fresh, youthful feel.
Here’s how it goes:
Mix together 1tbsp. honey, 2 tbsp. almond flour, 1 tbsp. whipping cream, and 1 egg yolk, until a creamy texture has resulted. Apply to face, neck, and décolleté and let it absorb for 30 minutes. Remove with a warm cloth.
Anti-aging: Tighten mature skin- Potato-puree Mask
Who would have thought that potatoes can be beneficial to all skin types? Applying mashed potatoes tightens your facial contour and will leave your skin feeling fresh. Potatoes are bursting with vital vitamins, amino acids and minerals.
Here’s how it goes:
Mash 1-2 large potatoes with milk until a creamy texture has been prepared. Whisk 1 egg yolk into mash potatoes. Apply warm mask to face and cover with a warm cloth and let sit for 20 minutes. Remove mask with warm cloth; rinse remainder off with warm water first and then immediately with cold water- so the pores tighten.
Choose Natural!
Of course, you will not always have the time to make your own mask, or even feel like making one. Still, I want to emphasize the importance of choosing only natural skin care products. The term ‘natural’ tends to indicate products that are free from synthetic compounds and ingredients. You can rest assured that what you are using is having a net positive effect on your body and skin.
The human skin wraps and protects our bodies. It constitutes a living, dynamic tissue system. It has the remarkable ability to absorb applied products, partially or completely, into the bloodstream. In fact, up to 60% of the products we use on our skin are absorbed and deposited into the circulatory system. For instance, the average woman absorbs 30 pounds of the ingredients contained in moisturizers over sixty years, which is why it is becoming increasingly more popular for people to start using natural products that are not as harmful for the skin and will not cause any long-term harmful effects.
Take advantage of all of the wonderful, safe, and effective actives available in skin care today, without the unnecessary, harmful chemical additives and preservatives. If you are not sure, further investigation into the root of the company and its true operating philosophies is key.
The SeaFlora Organic Facial
You may also choose to come in for one of our new Thalassotherapy-based facials using Seaflora products. They are made up of a mixture of nutrient- laden whole seaweeds and rainforest botanicals, offering you an authentic, effective and luxurious spa experience. Seaflora seaweeds are the only certified organic seaweeds in the world used in skincare products.
Wild seaweeds are rich in vitamins. Did you know wild seaweeds contain higher levels of vitamins A, B1, B2, B5, B12, and C, pantothenic acid, folic acid and niacin than fresh fruits and land vegetables?
Seaweeds are also an important supply of 60 trace elements. They are a primary source of B12 and significant amounts of vitamins E & K and an excellent source of over 12 minerals, including potassium, calcium, iodine, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc & manganese. In addition to these nutrients & minerals, seaweeds are a treasure of nutritional concentrates that include all amino acids that help firm and renew tissues and fatty acids to increase fluidity of cellular membranes and to reduce inflammation. They also contain high levels, about 10 times more concentrated levels than land-based plants, of beta-carotene and polysaccharides to slow skin’s aging, treat acne, irritated skin, or eczema problems.
This health-giving facial is definitely the way to go for ladies and gentlemen with allergies or chemical sensitivities, or who simply want to avoid harsh chemicals found in many beauty products.
In celebration of our 5-year-anniversary this year, we are giving out one gift certificate per person in the amount of $ 25.00, towards any health and beauty service. Use it towards one Seaflora facial, or even better, get a series of five facials for the price of four and save even more!
We would be happy to answer any questions on this article, homeopathy or any other service offered at K-W Homeopathic Medicine and Wellness Clinic. Just give us a call at (519) 603-0505, or book an appointment online.
All the best,
Jennifer Schwens
RPN, Medical Esthetician
