How to Make Your Own Chemical-Free Moisturizer

Essential oils of many types are very good 100% natural moisturizers. However, it is important to note that you need to choose the right kind of oils for your own skin if you want to use them as a moisturizer.

For example, dry skin is best treated with richer, heavier oils such as olive oil or sesame whereas combination or sensitive skin would be better treated with lighter oils such as jojoba, avocado or grapeseed.

As an example of how you would use oils in this situation and assuming that your skin is dry, you could apply a mixture of olive and vitamin E oil directly to your skin. Alternatively, a combination of olive oil, eggs and lemon juice (better known as mayonnaise) is also extremely good for dry facial skin.

All-round natural moisturizer: For an excellent all-round natural moisturizer that will work with almost any skin type, mix together half a tablespoon of cocoa butter, two tablespoons of beeswax, 2 teaspoons of boiled water, three tablespoons of sesame oil and two tablespoons of both coconut and olive oil.

Start by mixing the grated beeswax with the water so that the wax can be melted over a low heat. Mix the cocoa butter with the wax before gradually stirring in the three oils.

Once the ingredients are well mixed together, remove it from the heat so that it can cool and thicken. Before it does so however, make sure that the mixture is transferred into airtight glass containers that can be kept in the refrigerator so that the paste stays usable for a long as possible.

Each of the individual ingredients serves a different purpose. For example, coconut oil is rich in vitamins as well as fat to soften your skin, whereas cocoa butter protects the skin against the worst ravages of the elements, particularly the wind and the rain.

Glycerin for dry skin: If your problem is dry skin, then glycerin is a natural emollient, a substance that moisturizes, softens and limits the harshness of your skin condition.

For this treatment, you are going to drop 5 teaspoons of gelatin into 2 cups of hot water. Once the water has cooled, add three tablespoons of glycerin plus any essential oil that you want to add to give the mixture a lovely fragrance. You could for example use an oil such as rosemary to give a mixture a relaxing aroma before applying it to your skin.

Dry skin moisturizing solution: For this dry facial skin treatment, you need 2 ounces of olive oil, 4 ounces of shea butter, 2 teaspoons of vitamin E oil, six drops of essential lavender oil and 1 teaspoon of active royal jelly which you should find in the refrigerated section in your local health food store.

Once you have all the ingredients, mix them together over a high heat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Once it has cooled, keep it in airtight container in the fridge to prevent the mixture spoiling. This is a fantastic treatment for dry skin, but unfortunately, it is one that you can only make in small batches because the royal jelly is active.

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Nevertheless, it's very well worth doing if your problem is dry skin.

Skin Care Ingredients to Avoid

Most moms use skin screens, moisturizers and other skin care products on themselves and on their kids. However is any of the ingredients actually harmful to your kid? Here is a look at some of the things we find in skin care products that you might want to avoid.

Artificial fragrances: Quite often, these chemically produced artificial fragrances will be listed on the label as nothing more than ‘a fragrance'. Unfortunately, chemicals like these are often irritating, especially if you have sensitive skin. If your skin is sensitive and you suffer headaches, dizziness or rashes after using a particular skin product, the chances are pretty good that the culprit is an artificial fragrance. You should therefore stop using it immediately.

Artificial colors: Avoid any products that suggest they contain artificial colors for exactly the same reason that you would avoid artificial fragrances. These cause cancer!

In the UK and Australia, artificial colors are usually described as ‘E numbers' whereas in the USA, they will have an FD & C code number together with a description of the color. Some food colorings are known to be potentially harmful, in some cases possibly carcinogenic, so any skin care product containing them should definitely avoided.

Diazolindinyl Urea: This is a preservative chemicals that is sometimes used in make up and skincare products. This chemical is known to be toxic and can cause contact dermatitis and other skin problems, so it is one that should be avoided.

Methyl Paraben and Propyl Paraben are two chemicals that are used as preservatives to extend the shelf life of skincare products and make up. Once again, there is some evidence that these two chemicals are toxic and that they might be a cause of allergic reactions as well as breast and other forms of cancer.

Somewhat ironically, there is also evidence that a combination of parabens and sunlight accelerates skin ageing as well.

Propylene Glycol: Propylene glycol is a synthetic organic glycerin that is used in many different ways including in skincare products (as a moisturizer) and make-up.

This petroleum-based plastic is such a powerful solvent that it can eat through a steel tank in 48 hours, which is why it has to be stored in plastic drums. In the USA, the EPA considers propylene glycol to be so toxic that it insists on workers wearing protective clothing, goggles and gloves, yet it is used in some products in strengths of up to 20%.

Given these facts, it is perhaps not surprising that this is a chemical that is known to cause severe allergic reactions in some people.

In my next blog entry I will give you some more advice as to what chemicals to avoid in skin care lotions and sunscreens! After all we have to keep our families safe!