Natural skin care products cover a wide range of items meant to help keep the skin healthy and vibrant, without using artificial or harmful ingredients. Natural skin care has been used for thousands of years, and many modern products evolved directly from ancient practices in herbalism and traditional medicine.
The skin is the largest organ on the human body, and is also one of the most complex. Since it comes into contact with foreign agents on a daily basis, it is susceptible to any number of ill effects. Ranging from fungi, bacterial infections, and yeasts, to sun damage, wrinkling, and loss of elasticity. Natural skin care aims to protect the skin from damage, and to help rejuvenate and revitalize it.
For millennia, humans have been using the natural world to find sources of skin care. Many of these ancient techniques sound strange and repellent to us, blending things like raw milk, bile, and even scat to make masks and salves, but at the time they were very popular. Other ancient skin care techniques are still used to this day, especially a handful of plants that seem to work wonders.
Although there are many folk remedies in the world of natural skin care, there are also a number of herbs that have been shown in clinical studies to have positive effects. Chamomile, for example, is used as a mild anti-inflammatory in caring for the skin. Also possible is witch hazel, which can act as a strong astringent, not unlike rubbing alcohol.
Tea tree oil is perhaps one of the most popular natural skin care products. The tree itself has been used in Australia for millennia, for treating wounds and an entire range of skin conditions. In the 1920s, the West began to extract the oil from tea tree, and papers were published reporting on tea tree oil’s incredible anti-microbial properties. When antibiotics became popular in the post-War era, the use of many natural skin care products waned, and tea tree oil was forgotten. In the 1970s, however, as natural skin care products became more popular, more people started using it, and in recent years, with a number of antibiotic-resistant strains of skin conditions appearing, tea tree oil is again on the rise as a natural skin care product.
Aloe vera is another popular natural skin care product, used to treat wounds and as a general moisturizer. Many natural skin care products on the market today have aloe vera in them in some quantity, to help rejuvenate and moisturize the skin. Aloe vera also has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, helping to keep fungi at bay and the skin clean and clear.
Honey is yet another product used for millennia as a natural skin care product. Honey is an antimicrobial, and is also a strong antioxidant. It is used in natural skin care to help rejuvenate the skin, and to protect it from sun damage, locking in moisture and keeping the skin fresh and vibrant. Other natural skin care products include jojoba oil, which is an excellent natural moisturizer and skin softener, and shea butter, which can help treat a number of skin conditions and reduce stretch marks.
