Natural Makeup Safe Beauty
Natural Makeup: Beauty Beyond Skin-Deep
By Anna Lynn Sibal
Does your makeup really make you look beautiful? We women spend thousands of dollars every year on makeup. We use it to hide our flaws and blemishes as well as enhance our best features. When we need to look presentable and attractive, we turn to makeup to create the magic for us. But do these makeup and beauty products that we use truly make us beautiful beyond skin-deep?
If you are using regular makeup brands, you would be surprised at how much harm to which you are potentially exposing your skin. Have you looked at the ingredients of your makeup products lately? Does your makeup include substances like sodium lauryl sulfate and parabens in its list of ingredients? If the answer is yes, then you had better throw away your makeup and switch to natural makeup.
The Hidden Dangers of Regular Makeup
More and more studies are proving that regular makeup manufactured conventionally pose harm to the skin. In case you are not aware of it yet, a lot of the regularly manufactured makeup products available in the market today contain ingredients that you will also find in paint thinners, industrial detergents and other industrial-grade products with a petroleum base. It is almost like rubbing gasoline on your face to make yourself look pretty.
These ingredients are toxic to the body and can cause serious harm through long-term use. Chief among these ingredients are sodium lauryl sulfate and parabens. Sodium lauryl sulfate strips the skin of its natural oil. It causes dryness and irritation, not to mention makes the skin more susceptible to allergies.
Parabens, on the other hand, are used as a makeup preservative and have the ability to mimic estrogen. Studies are now showing that parabens are carcinogenic and lead to diseases like breast cancer. They can also affect the female reproductive system.
Natural Makeup: The Safer Alternative
If you want to go the safer route on the path to beauty, it may be best to forego conventional makeup and switch to natural makeup products instead. Ideally, natural makeup does not contain synthetic chemicals or petroleum-based ingredients that are harmful to the skin.
Among natural makeup products, you are likely to find products classified as mineral makeup and organic makeup. Mineral makeup products are created from finely ground and purified minerals straight from the earth, substances like titanium dioxide, zinc oxide and mica, and sometimes mixed with cornstarch.
On the other hand, organic makeup products are made from substances derived from plants grown without the benefit of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. They also use ingredients from animals grown in a more natural setting and not exposed to synthetic feeds and supplements.
As mentioned above, natural makeup does not contain synthetic additives that are toxic to the skin. With natural makeup, you face a lot less risk of developing allergies, clogged pores, acne and other skin problems. You also do not have to worry about developing serious ailments from exposure to carcinogens.
However, it is important for you to determine first if the natural makeup products you are buying are truly natural. Some products out there are labeled and marketed as all-natural but contain synthetic chemicals. Read the labels and do your research before you make your purchase.
Also see: Coconut Oil Hair Conditioner
Easy Natural Cream Recipe
How to Make a Natural Cream for Your Face – Easy Recipe
By Anna Lynn Sibal
The face creams that you get from the drugstore or the health and beauty section of the department store can be very expensive. And even if the face cream is expensive, you have no real guarantee that the product will not have harmful effects on you after long-term use unless it is certified to be a truly natural cream for your face. For all you know, that product is laden with petrochemicals also used in industrial plants to clean off engine grease.
If you find commercially manufactured face creams to be expensive and if you want to be sure that the gunk you use on your face is a true-blue natural cream, then why not try making your own face cream?
You will be surprised at how easy it is to make your own face cream. The ingredients may already be readily available in your kitchen or can be easily bought from the grocery store. As for tools, all you need to have is a pan, a couple of spatulas, a couple of containers, measuring cups and measuring spoons, a stove and a blender.
Preparing the Base Oils for Your Natural Cream
Making your natural cream starts with preparing the base oils. For your base oil, you will need:
What you do here is to mix the oil and the beeswax in your pan over very low heat until the beeswax has completely melted. Once this is done, get this mix out of the pan and into a container, and then let it sit until it cools down to room temperature.
However, if you want the oil to be richer, you can add in a teaspoon of olive oil, lanolin oil, jojoba oil or avocado oil after the beeswax has melted. In this case, continue mixing over a very low heat until the beeswax is completely melted. Make sure that you add these richer oils after the beeswax has melted the first time and that you limit the amount to just one teaspoon. Take the mixture out of the pan and set it aside. Let it cool down to room temperature. It can take a number of hours for the oil base to cool down so it is best to leave it overnight.
Preparing the Essential Oils for Your Natural Cream
The essential oils are the important component of this natural cream recipe. So, while you are waiting for base oil to cool down, you can prepare your essential oils. For this you will need:
It is up to you to choose what essential oils to put in your natural cream. You can use chamomile, rose or lavender if your skin is the normal or dry type. For oily skin, you should use lemon, lavender, rosemary, tea tree or bergamot. Sandalwood and ylang-ylang also works for dry skin.
Putting It All Together
When your base oils are already at room temperature, it is time to put all the ingredients for your natural cream together. For this part, you will need your blender. Pour in your distilled water in the blender; it is very important that your water is at room temperature when you do so. Add in your essential oils. If you have benzoin oil, two drops of it into the mix will be nice as it is a natural preservative and is good for chapped skin.
Turn your blender on at medium speed and then slowly pour in your mixture of base oils and beeswax. You know your natural cream is ready when the entire mixture starts looking thick and creamy. Get it out of the blender and into a container, label it and put it in the fridge. If you keep it in the fridge, it will last for around three to four months. If not, then you can enjoy it for 30 days.
This recipe for natural cream is easy to make and is absolutely good for your face. After you try it out, you will never go back to commercially made face creams again.
Easy Natural Toothpaste
Is it possible we’re cleaning our teeth with toxic chemicals? One word answer: Yes!
Fluoride, just like chlorine, is a toxic chemical, it is caustic, a health hazard if ingested.
And what are the other ingredients in the toothpaste?
Well, good luck with that one!
They are not listed and for good reason – they are all harmful chemicals.
Easy Natural Toothpaste
Baking Soda Toothpaste
Ingredients: a dab of baking soda and water
Put a small amount of baking soda in the palm of your hand. Wet the head of your toothbrush and brush.
Really simple and easy – you can also add sea salt to help fight plaque.
Coconut Mint Toothpaste
Ingredients:
- 4 Tbs Coconut Oil
- 6 Tbs Baking Soda
- 25 drops of Peppermint Oil (also try spearmint, etc)
- a dash of liquid stevia extract
Soften the coconut oil on the stove using the warm setting. Mix in the baking soda, stevia and essential oil of your choice. Once mixed, pour into a container and let it sit until it turns into a paste.
Apple Cider Vinegar Healthy Weight Loss
Apple cider vinegar can offer a weight loss boost thanks to acetic acid.
According to research, obese people who took in 1 to 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar daily melted significantly more body fat and belly fat than a group taking a placebo – despite being on the same diet and exercise plan (1).
Vinegar also helped lower bad-for-the-heart triglyceride levels and systolic blood pressure at the end of the 12-week study.
Apple cider vinegar is also loaded with nutrients.
It contains vitamins C, E, A, B1, B2, B6, as well as beta-carotene and bioflavanoids. In addition to its excellent potassium supply, apple cider vinegar also contains trace minerals including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and boron.
Most vinegars on the grocery store shelves have been pasteurized, even distilled and filtered. This kills all the good nutrients.
Try to find natural apple cider vinegar – raw, unpasteurized, organic vinegar and enjoy them in your diet.
1. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2009 Aug;73(8):1837-43. Epub 2009 Aug 7.
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