Skin Brightening Mask

Does your neck or rest of your body have darker skin tone than your face? It's because your body is protected by clothes whereas your face and hands exposed to the sun all the time. Although this tone difference is significant in summer you may have it in winter too.

You can make some facial masks at home to remove tan. Wash your face with a proper cleanser.  Mix one table spoon yogurt with 2-3 drops of lemon. If possible use strained yogurt. Apply the mixture to all your face and neck. Wait for 20 minutes and rinse. If your skin feels tight, apply moisturizer. Yogurt and lemon is popular skin whitening nutritions. Plus, yogurt moisturises and smoothes your skin out. Do not go out when you have the mask on because lemon has asid which can be harmful under sun. If you use this mask for 15 days, you will be suprised with the result.

OLIVE OIL BEAUTY TIPS

Olive oil is the beauty secret of many celebrities. This wonderful natural oil has no any side effect and it has many benefits on health when eaten so it's very commonly used in beauty cures. You don't have to be at home all day to get benefits of it. Try putting olive oil in some glass jars and carrying in your purse. Here is how to use it daily;

- If you wash your hair often and it makes your hair dry, then try using olive oil as hair conditioner. Just put a few drop in your hads and apply it to your hair and comb after bath. You will have perfectly soft hair when it dries.

- Apply it to chopped lips, elbows and knees especially in winter. 

- Apply it to your feet before going sleep and wear cotton socks, you will have suprisingly smooth feet in the morning.

- To remove your eye make up, dip a cotton swab into olive oil and dap it on your eyelashes. If you have dry or normal skin, use olive oil to remove all of your make up.

- Men can use olive oil before shaving as a shaving cream to protect their skin from damage.

Weekend at home? Try relaxing with olive oil.

- Mix enough amount of olive oil with almond oil and apply it to dry hair, wait for 30 min and wash it. This will repair your hair.

- If you have back-neck pain, massage this areas by using olive oil and relax.

- Apply olive oil to your arms, legs and all of your body to regain lost moist during bath and have a smooth skin.

Skip using chemical hair conditioners, after bath lotions and baby oils as all of these contain harmful chemicals to protect their content. When you use them, these chemicals are absorbed by your skin and passed to blood by capillary vessels. Olive oil is a perfect alternative to these products.

NATURAL BRANDS

In the previous article we saw how to avoid damageful chemicals. Now we will see the list of most popular natural brands. However not all the products of these brands are natural and they might have some unwanted chemicals in them. So be sure you check the ingredients before buying.

Aubrey Organics - http://www.aubrey-organics.com/

Aveda  - http://www.aveda.com

Dr. Hauschka - http://www.drhauschka.com/

Honeybeegardens - http://www.honeybeegardens.com/

Id Bare Minerals - http://www.bareescentuals.com

Janeiredale - http://www.janeiredale.com/

Josie Maran - http://www.josiemarancosmetics.com/

Juice Beauty - http://www.juicebeauty.com/

Lavera - http://www.lavera.com/

GETTING RID OF CHEMICALS

Today we are going to get rid of cosmetics containing harmful chemicals and replacing them with healthy items having recycling packages. Cosmetic producers are interested in our money more then our health and the result is painful. You can find the scary sale strategies of pharmaceutical industry in old books. You earn your money by spending all your time and energy, make sure where you spend it does not damage your health and environment.

We need a big table and 2 boxes labelled as “Throw away” and “Keep” for our Project. Collect every cosmetic and personal care products on the table including make up items, shampoos, soaps, parfums, creams, after shave lotions, natural and organic products in your home and bag. We are eliminating them by label. If the product has any certificate such as BDIH or ECOCERT then put it in “Keep” box. For the rest, check if the products have any of the ingredient below;

Benzoyl Peroxide: Frequently used in acne products, the MSDS states: “Facilitates action of known carcinogens. … Possible tumor promoter. May act as mutagen; produces DNA damage in human and other mammalian cells in some concentrations. Also, toxic by inhalation. May be harmful if swallowed and in contact with skin. Eye, skin and respiratory irritant.” 

DEA (Diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine), & TEA (Triethanolamine): This foam booster is a skin/eye irritant and causes contact dermatitis. Easily absorbed through skin to accumulate in body organs, even the brain. Repeated use resulted in major increases of liver and kidney cancer.

Dioxin: Won’t appear on an ingredient list. Often contained in antibacterial ingredients like triclosan, emulsifiers, PEGs and ethoxylated cleansers like Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Dioxin causes cancer, reduced immunity, nervous system disorders, miscarriages and birth deformity. It’s a hormone-disrupting chemical with toxic effects measured in the parts per trillion–one drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools! Our bodies have no defense against its damage. Most visible example was Yushchenko, the Ukrainian President, who suffered from dioxin poisoning and looked old overnight.

DMDM Hydantoin & Urea (Imidazolidinyl): Just two of many preservatives that often release formaldehyde which may cause joint pain, cancer, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness, and loss of sleep. Exposure may irritate the respiratory system, trigger heart palpitations or asthma, aggravate coughs and colds. 

FD&C Color & Pigments: Synthetic colors from coal tar contain heavy metal salts that deposit toxins in skin, causing skin sensitivity / irritation. Absorption can cause depletion of oxygen and death. Animal studies show almost all are carcinogenic. 

Parabens (Methyl, Butyl, Ethyl, Propyl): Used as preservatives and aren’t always labeled “parabens.” They’re used in deodorants and antiperspirants and have been found in breast cancer tumors. Parabens, as xenoestrogens (hormone disruptors), may contribute to sterility in male mice and humans. Estrogen-like activity causes hormone imbalance in females and early puberty. 

PEG (Polyethylene glycol): Made by ethoxylating Propylene Glycol. Dangerous levels of dioxin have been found as a by-product of the ethoxylation process. PEGs are in everything including personal care, baby care and sunscreens.

Phthalates: Xenoestrogens are commonly found in many products, usually not listed on labels. Health effects include damage to liver/kidneys, birth defects, decreased sperm counts and early breast development in girls and boys.

Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol: Petroleum plastics act as surfactants (wetting agents, solvents). EPA considers PG so toxic it requires protective gloves, clothing, goggles and disposal by burying. Because PG penetrates skin so quickly, EPA warns against skin contact to prevent brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities. There is NO warning label on products where concentration is greater than in most industrial applications. 

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES): Detergents and surfactants that pose serious health threats. Used in car washes, garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers and 90 percent of personal-care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experienced eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation–even death. SLS may also damage skin’s immune system by causing layers to separate, inflame and age. 

Sunscreen chemicals: Avobenzone, benzphenone, ethoxycinnamate, PABA are commonly used ingredients that are known free radical generators and are believed to damage DNA or lead to cancers.

Triclosan: Synthetic “antibacterial” ingredient with chemical structure similar to Agent Orange! EPA registers it as a pesticide, posing risks to human health and environment. Classified as a chlorophenol, chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans. Tufts University School of Medicine says triclosan is capable of forcing emergence of ’super bugs’ it cannot kill. 

Source : Planetgreen.discovery.com

Put any product containing any of these into the Throw Away box. If any item has no label on it, then put it in the same box too, because cosmetics have effects-side effects like medicine and they should have prospectus likewise. The user should be warned about the result. For example, if our colorful, lovely nail polishes had prospectus, many of us would give up using them.

We should also check our natural/organic products. I bought many creams, shampoos and other stuff from Yves Rocher just because they are herbal and natural. However I was wrong, there is Sodium Laureth Sulfate in the shampoos and Paraben in the sunscreen. I e-mailled them about it and they said FDA doesn’t think that these chemicals are harmful. They might be right but these chemicals are harmful as explained above. I also bought many soaps from Lush because they are hand made. And when I saw chemical ingredient I asked them and they said there is min. amount of chemicals in their products. Let’s say you use the product every morning regularly and that min. amount of chemical will accumulate in your organs. Then our body will respond to us.

Unfortunately some of the ingredients are not written on labels. In this case I recommend using certificated products.

We will talk about what natural products to buy in our next article.

5 TIPS FOR DRY SKIN

Global warming and melting icebergs made us miss the winter. And now the winter has come with all its beauty, painted everywhere white. Due to the fact that we stay in warm places, have bath with hot water and stop sun care in winters, our skin loses hydration and gets dry. Here are some tips to protect it;

Drink plenty of water. It hydrates your skin, cures from inside out. Water is important for all organs to function properly.


   Use a natural moisturizer . Applying a moisturizer before going out is very important to prevent drying. Instead of a cream with chemical ingredients, you can just apply a natural massage oil to all of your body.  Practice some facial exercises after applying the oil to increase blood circulation.


  Do not lick your lips as it causes cracking more. Use a lip balm instead. Or you can apply the natural oil on your lips.


  Wear several layers of clothes instead of wearing 1 layer of a thick cloth and make sure the closest layer to your skin is made of cotton, because synthetic clothes cause bad smell and sweating.


Sleep at least 8 hours in a dark room daily. This is important both for your skin and body to relax. When you sleep enough, you will see how radiant your skin look and dark circles will disappear.

HERBAL REMEDIES-FACIAL TONER

Have you run out of your toner? Don't throw the bottle away, it's time to make our own lavender toner. I have been using this home made herbal toner for a long time, it cleanses my skin deeply and leaves an amazing scent. 

 

Boil 1 glass of water.

Add 2 spoons of lavender into the water and brew it for 5-10 minutes.

Wait until it cools and leach it.

Fill the toner in the bottle.

Our 100 % natural toner is ready. Lavender corrects blemishes, tightens up the pores and leaves the skin matt. If you have a dry skin, apply a natural moisturiser after the toner. Remember keeping it in a cold place in the winter and put it in refrigerator in the summer. There is no any chemical in it so we need to protect it.

The skin absorbs whatever we apply on it and this absorbed stuff pass into the blood directly which is the same as eating them. Our point of origin is "If you cannot eat something, don't apply it on your skin." Do you know that this lavender toner is a relaxing lavender tea which strengthens liver?

  

NATURAL EYE MAKE UP REMOVER

 

Eye area is the most delicate part of our skin that is affected from environmental factors. It is very important that the make up products for eyes and around the eye area are all natural because chemical contents cause irritation and return to us as wrinkles.

As well as the eye make up products, eye make up removers should be natural. Almond oil has been used as a beauty product for ages and now it is time to use it as a make up remover. Enough amount of almond oil on a cotton ball can be used to cleanse the skin from dirt, moisturize the area and protects it from wrinkles.

However this application is not enough for lashes. We need help of Q-tips. Couple of almond oil drops on the Q-tip purge the lashes and help the lashes grow faster, ticker. The important point here is not to pull the eye lids during cleaning and not to use the same Q-tips for both eyes to prevent any infection.

Almond oil can also be used to clean all face make up on dry skins. Before buying it, make sure that production method of the oil is cold press. Many oils on the market are produced by refining cold pressed oil again and again. That discreases effectiveness of the oil. 

If you want to benefit every drop of this vitamin E, phosphor, magnesium, potassium and calcium rich oil, ask your salesperson how it is produced.