Skin Care Products? Following directions This is actually a lot more important than most people think.

 This brings us to another problem with natural skin care products. A naturally sourced ingredient, such as the various forms of paraben, may still be potentially hazardous. Just think about it - would you put arsenic or lead on your skin? No of course you wouldn't. But, they are natural, so what's the problem? Natural substances too can also be deadly poisons. Applying this to skin care products, you might be looking for a product that is natural and contains AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids), which we know help to remove dead skin cell layers which in turn helps to remove fine lines and wrinkles, revealing new vibrant skin. Now, you could buy a product that lists as one of its ingredients AHAs, it might even contain AHA in its name, or you could buy a product that contains a concentrate called papain, which is a natural substance from the Papaya fruit. So, yes papain is natural and yes this product could, depending on other ingredients, be called a natural skin care product. However, papain is a concentrate and as such many people have experienced side effects because the papain is present in too high a concentration for some people. A truly, holistically natural skin care product would not contain papain as an extract. Rather it would contain Papaya fruit itself. You see, the whole fruit still contains papain, however, it also contains other ingredients in the papaya that modify the excessively strong effect of the papain. 

Choosing such a product will, at least to a large extent, reduce any Dermaclear potential side effects from the papain, because the product is naturally balanced and contains naturally balanced ingredients that will benefit your skin rather than burn it. The results of removing fine lines and wrinkles may take a little longer, but are overall better and you reduce the chance of 'burning' your skin with a concentrated AHA. Remember AHA stands for alpha hydroxy acid and we all know acids burn our skin. How To Use Natural Directions for use are a communication by the manufacturer of a product to their consumers about how to use and get the best results from a particular product. It has been our experience, that most people who purchase our natural skin care products do not read the directions and use our products the same way that they have been using their previous brand. This however, may or may not be the correct way to use our products. Properly formulated products contain ingredients in sufficiently high quantities to achieve a desired effect if used in accordance with the product's directions. Using more does not mean better or quicker results, rather using too much can have adverse effects or no more effect than the lesser quantity. Conversely, if for example, the product's directions suggest that it be used 2 or 3 times a day using it merely once is not likely to produce the desired effect in most cases. This is obvious when we think about taking medicine. We read the directions and take the drugs, herbs, or what ever, as prescribed and hopefully we get the desired result. 

So why is it that we do this when it comes to taking medicine, but ignore it (for the most part) when it comes to using skin care products or other personal care products? Reading the instructions carefully and following them ensures that a) you are not wasting your money, and b) you should get the desired results. Good and Bad Reactions from Using Skin or Personal Care Products There are several possible reactions you may experience. There are good reactions and negative reactions. Let's look at good reactions to begin with. Good Skin Reactions to New Products Herbs, essential oils and most of the other ingredients that you'll find in our range of products have a medicinal actions and are included for a specific purpose, that is, the formulations that make up our various products were originally designed to treat particular skin health issues. This intent, though we do not actively promote this, continues to this day. As you probably know, there are three basic skin types; Normal, Oily and Dry. In addition, your skin may also be sensitive, prone to allergic reactions or under the influence of hormonal changes that are taking place in your body. The herbs and essential oils in our products are specifically chosen to normalize the skin given one of the skin types. The herbs and essential oils will have a therapeutic effect on the skin's structure and function in order to provide an environment under which your skin will start to function normally again. 

Similarly this is relevant for sensitive skin that tends to react inappropriately to different stimuli. It is possible, for example, that an individual with sensitive skin who is using our products for the first time, will experience a reaction which they may see as being a negative reaction. This however, may well be totally the opposite to what is actually taking place. You see, in order for your skin's health to improve, it has to change. This change may appear at first as a worsening of a particular skin issue and this will understandably be interpreted as a negative. Under normal circumstances however, this type of reaction, if the products are continued with, will only last for a few days and following this time the skin will improve and end up much healthier. This process is sometimes referred to as 'A healing crisis', and is actually a good thing to happen. It signifies that the ingredients are doing what they are supposed to, that is they are repairing and normalizing the skin's functions. This is a normal and in fact good reaction. Bad Skin Reactions to New Products Obviously there are times when a new product may actually cause a bad skin reaction. Unfortunately a bad reaction often appears very similarly to a good reaction. So how can you tell the difference and what should you do? The first thing to do when ever you purchase a new skin or personal care product is to test it to see if you have any adverse reactions to this product. 

Below is a detailed outline and links that will provide you with all the information you need to test a new product in order to determine whether or not your skin is going to react adversely to it or not. Test the Products to Avoid Allergic Reactions Another important aspect to using any skin care, personal care or cosmetic products, whether they are natural or otherwise, is to test the products first in order to see if you are allergic to any of the ingredients. To do this, follow the steps described in our article "The Skin Patch Test", which will provide you with a simple, yet effective step-by-step test that you can easily do at home over a 24 hour period, to reasonably ensure that you will not experience major adverse reactions to the ingredients in products you want to use on your face, or anywhere else on your body. This test is simple and very effective. Finally, before you purchase a product, look at the ingredients list and see if the ingredients are easily recognisable. As a rule of Thumb, if the ingredients are easily recognizable it is more likely that the ingredients are of a natural source and have not been excessively modified. If on the other hand you need a chemistry degree to understand what the ingredient is, it is likely not to be a holistically-natural ingredient. It may still be a natural ingredient, but it is likely that it has been isolated and is used in a concentrated, possibly even synthetic form. For the most part, most 'natural skin care products' widely available in the market place are far from natural or that matter organic. 

Most have minimal quantities of some natural ingredient in an otherwise non-natural product and are referring to the one natural ingredient in the product, rather than the nature of the product itself. Hopefully this article will clarify some of the confusion that exists about what is a natural skin care product and what is not, help you to choose natural skin care products that will actually live up to your expectations, and clarify why using natural skin care products is a healthier choice. One of the key differences between conventional skin care and natural or organic skin care is not the "active" ingredients such as green tea or vitamin c, which excluding water may make up to about 5% of any product, rather it lies with the base ingredients. In natural skin care, the base ingredients are often a mix of vegetable oils and butters or waxes in contrast to the synthetic ingredients often found in conventional skin care. The use of base oils has enormous benefit for the skin. Instead of being an inert (non-active) synthetic carrier for the active ingredients, base oils contain nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids that support and nourish the skin. I would go so far as to count base oils as active ingredients in skin care. So, in fact, in natural products up to 95% of any product has a supportive "active" effect on the skin. In comparison, the synthetic base ingredients in conventional skin care by enlarge, lack significant therapeutic benefit.