|
|
|
Acne Cure With a Pill, What Else Is Working Today?
One of the most frustrating and embarrassing skin conditions
faced by nearly every teen, and many adults, is Acne. This
condition is caused by pores in the skin becoming clogged, and
the skin's natural oils becoming trapped. The pores usually...
Adults Don't Get Acne! Do They?
Skin problems not only effect those in their teens, adult acne is also a very common occurrence, in today's society. Adult women are more apt to suffer from acne than men. Adult men are at higher risk in terms of permanent scaring,...
Organic juices for constipation
Organic fresh made juices have cleansing and laxative action, which will help you eliminate constipation. Taken regularly they will help you have daily bowel movements.
Organic juices contain loads of mineral, bioflavonoids, vitamins, enzymes,...
Smooth Moves--Practical Advice For Healthier Skin
If there was one good reason for a wish to return to childhood, it might be to recapture the beautiful, blisfully aromatic, smooth skin we all had as babies. Sadly, we don't grow younger and our skin does not stay clear and smooth. Puberty hits...
Why use Mineral Make-up without Bismuth Oxychloride?
The use of Bismuth Oxychloride in almost all of the best-selling mineral powder make-up today is unfortunate, because the vast majority of acne and roseacea sufferers will use these products, and find that they also irritate and aggrevate their...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA's)
Alpha hydroxy acids (AHA's) are widely promoted in Women's and beauty magazines. Much is written about their effectiveness of preventing wrinkles and slowing down the aging processes in your skin... but do you know what they are? Should you use them on your skin? Are they natural? Should they be in your natural skin care products?
In the following article we will attempt to shed some light into these questions and give you all the information you need to make an informed choice.
Alpha Hydroxy Acids: Do they belong in natural skin care products?
What are they?
Do they benefit our skin?
Are they a natural ingredient in skin care?
Alpha hydroxy acids (AHA’s) are Fruit acids, which are weak organic acids derived from various sources such as, grapes, apples, sugar cane, maple, pineapple, papaya, willow bark, lemon, lime, sour milk, blackberries, yoghurt and cider, and play an important role in skin care.
Fruit acids are natural exfoliants that perform a number of functions at the level of the stratum corneum on the skin's surface. They loosen and dissolve dead cells from the skins surface and help to regenerate new skin cells, aid in the control of acne, smooth rough dry skin, improve the texture of sun-damaged and aging skin and retain moisture which leaves your skin healthy and vibrant.
That is basically a good thing, but as usual, many companies are using concentrated extracts, or worse still, synthetically manufactured AHA’s or BHA’s (beta hydroxy acids), and that is not a good thing.
When scientists comes across a ‘new substance’, so to speak, they have a tendency to want to make it better than nature’s version… more concentrated for quicker results… and so on. Unfortunately, this usually brings with it side effects and sometimes actual physical damage.
A natural ingredient – just what exactly does that mean? Does it mean it is a substance that nature created and it has been added to a product in order to make that product natural? No, a natural ingredient is an ingredient that is, where ever possible, present in it’s natural form, for example AHA’s can be extracted and then added to a product, thereby the maker of that product can claim it contains ‘Natural ingredients’. Or the AHA’s can be use in a product in the form of an extract of Papaya with all the other ingredients present in Papaya fruit. This is a more balanced set of ingredients which work together to achieve a desired effect, thus it is a truly natural ingredient.
Let me give you an example: Aspirin (a very commonly used pain killer) is derived from the bark of the white Willow tree. The substance or the
active ingredient is called Salicylic acid, a BHA. This is the stuff that reduces pain. It is also the stuff that can cause Stomach ulcers….
Now, the herbal extract of the white Willow bark does not (or is much less likely to) cause Stomach ulcer. Why? because the herbal extract contains many other ingredients that are contained in the bark which the extraction process brings out. Some of these substances are mucilaginous (Porridge is mucilaginous) which means they are slippery and when taken internally, they cover the membrane of the Stomach (the lining) and prevent the salicylic acid from causing ulceration – clever, isn’t she, that Mother Nature woman?
Sometimes you will hear these additional ingredients referred to as “phyto-chemicals”. This is very current topic today with respect to Vitamins and other ‘natural’ supplements.
What does all this have to do with natural skin care? Well, as I have written before. Natural skin care is not necessarily natural and one could debate back and forth what ‘natural’ is, or what it should be. One thing is certain, natural skin care products should not contain any ‘un-natural’ ingredients, be they synthetically produced or in ‘purified / isolated form’. Natural should be as close as possible to the way it is found in nature.
That is not to say one should not use Vitamin E as a principal ingredient in a cream, but it should not be of a synthetically derived form. Wheat germ oil, for example, is very high in Vitamin E and contains many other phyto-chemicals, which are nourishing to the skin.
At Wildcrafted Herbal Products we choose to define natural as ‘the way nature created it’, so we prefer not to use isolated natural ingredients. Instead, we choose to use ingredients from plant extracts, essential oils, carrier oils and other extraction processes according to Naturopathic principles, which preserve the integrity of the plant or relevant plant parts.
We hope this clarifies some of the confusion which is propagated in the media and provides you with information you can use when next looking at ingredients on natural skin care products.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.
Join our Natural Skin Care Newsletter – it’s fun, free and Informative and you receive a free eBook on natural skin care.
|
|
|
|
|
| Acne.org |
| Information on acne, medications and treatment of scars. Includes a regimen for keeping skin clear. |
| www.acne.org |
|
| AcneNet |
| Dermatologist-reviewed information about acne, which lets people know that today virtually every case of acne can be resolved. |
| www.skincarephysicians.com |
|
| What is Acne? |
| Information about the different types of acne lesions and what causes acne to develop. |
| www.skincarephysicians.com |
|
| Questions and Answers About Acne |
| Illustrated information on causes of acne skin lesions, and tips and information on common treatments, their side effects, and current research. |
| www.niams.nih.gov |
|
| Acne Resource Center |
| Acne, Nutrition, Research on Acne and Important Tips for Getting Acne Free. |
| www.acne-resource.org |
|
| Acne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Acne is a group of skin rashes that have different causes. Acne vulgaris - most commonly experienced around puberty, typically of the face and ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Acne vulgaris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Different types of Acne Vulgaris: A: Cystic acne on the face, B: ... The vernacular term bacne or backne is often used to indicate acne found specifically ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| MedlinePlus: Acne |
| From the National Institutes of Health; Questions and Answers about Acne (National Institute of ... Select services and providers for Acne in your area. ... |
| www.nlm.nih.gov |
|
| MedlinePlus Interactive Tutorials: Acne |
| Acne. Start Tutorial. Starts multimedia presentation with questions. Requires Flash Player. Download Flash. download button for flash player. ... |
| www.nlm.nih.gov |
|
| Acne Treatment by AcneHelper.com |
| Resource for acne treatments and prevention. Learn tips and techniques to stop pimples, zits and blackheads for good. |
| www.acnehelper.com |
|
| Acne |
| Acne Creative bring brands to life through advertising, design and product ... Commercials, music videos and other film formats are made by Acne Film. ... |
| www.acne.se |
|
| Acne Jeans |
| About · Collection · Acne Studios · Contact · Press/Retailer · Work at Acne Jeans · Newsletter · Shop (EU). Copyright © Acne Jeans. |
| www.acnejeans.com |
|
| Acne |
| If you're almost a teen, chances are pretty good that you have some acne. About 8 in 10 preteens and teens have acne, along with many adults. |
| www.kidshealth.org |
|
| Acne - treatment and causes of pimples and blackheads |
| What are the causes of acne and which skin treatments are most effective - BUPA health information factsheet. |
| hcd2.bupa.co.uk |
|
| Natural Acne Treatment Information |
| Acne and Diet · The Risks and Side Effects of Prescription Acne Medications ... This is a great jumping off point for natural acne treatments. ... |
| www.absoluteacneinfo.com |
|
| ASG www.stopspots.org ! | Index Acne, Pimples, Blackheads, Zits ... |
| Information and support on acne, including top ten tips, beauty tips and problems. |
| www.stopspots.org |
|
| Acne.net - Acne & Skin Treatment Resource |
| Introduction to several forms of acne and some available treatments, by a dermatologist and medical school professor. |
| www.acne.net |
|
| Acne.com - Acne Treatment Information |
| Acne.com - Acne Treatment Information. Your source for Acne information on the web. Learn more about what causes acne and how you can fight acne. |
| www.acne.com |
|
| Acne – Complete medical information regarding acne and its ... |
| Complete medical explanation produced by doctors regarding acne, its causes, myths of causes, treatment on your own, and treatment by doctors. |
| www.medicinenet.com |
|
| AAD - Acne |
| Acne is a skin condition which has plugged pores (blackheads and whiteheads), inflamed pimples (pustules), and deeper lumps (nodules). |
| www.aad.org |
|
|