SkinCare or SkinPoison?

Your skin is a living organ. It breaths, drinks and carries topically applied substances through to the rest of your body. Caring for your skin is like eating. We have become very concerned about what we eat in recent years - this is very good. But, an idea that is only beginning to bloom is that you eat through your skin too. What do you want your body to eat? This question needs to be considered when choosing your skincare and bath products.

Currently, the personal care industry has no regulation. This is very unnerving, especially when the FDA Office of Cosmetics and Colors states that ?a cosmetic manufacturer may use almost any raw material as a cosmetic ingredient and market the product without an approval from the FDA?

Manufacturers are allowed to twist their claims, by exaggerating or even outright lying. With this slack industry, it becomes nearly impossible for the consumer to know for sure what they are getting. Labels like ?organic?, ?cruelty-free? and ?hypo-allergenic? can have little to no meaning. Manufacturers can even hide behind an organic label without disclosing all of their chemical ingredients.

The Environmental Protection Agency states that 89% of 10,500 ingredients commonly used in personal care have not been adequately evaluated for safety. Among these ingredients are carcinogens, penetration enhancers, allergens and harmful impurities that can cause cancer, inhibit fetal growth, cause nerve damage, disrupt hormones and cause other severe reactions.

So what?s a pampering bath loving soul to do? Educate yourself, read labels, shop from companies who have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics (that?s us, close to the bottom of the list), and keep your eyes out for our next personal care article.

Ivy Mills has been researching chemical sensitivity and natural alternatives for over five years and has brought her knowledge to the marketplace in her company, Valhalla Essences. Her personal experiences have fed a passion to help others with the same problem. Ivy welcomes others to share their stories and experiences on her blog, Peaceful Power.

Cleopatra's Beauty Secrets

The Legendary Queen of Egypt was known for her exquisite complexion. One of her secret beauty treatments, the milk and honey bath are still being used today.

One of the main ingredients, Milk, contains lactic acid, which helps to exfoliate your skin. The lactic acid in milk is an alpha hydroxy acid, which helps to cleanse the deepest layers of the skin.

Honey has an abundance of health properties. First of all, it is composed of sugars like glucose and fructose so it is also a gentle alpha hydroxy acid. It?s made up of both minerals and vitamins to help nourish and heal the skin. Since it also contains phytochemicals that kill viruses, bacteria, and fungus, it?s has a natural anti-inflammatory effect which heals wounds quickly. This makes honey a good substitute for wound dressings.

Here are a couple of ways to enjoy these 2 main ingredients found in her ancient beauty secrets.

Cleopatra Honey & Milk Bath

Ingredients
?1/2 Cup Powdered Milk
?1/2 Cup Raw Honey
?2 teaspoon Jojoba Oil (optional)

Mix ingredients in a large bowl and pour your warm bath. Soak for up to 20 minutes to infuse these beneficial ingredients in your skin. This recipe makes enough for one bath.

Milk & Honey Rinse for Wrinkled Skin

Ingredients
?1 oz raw honey
?1 Cup skim milk
?2 teaspoons aloe vera gel

Combine Ingredients in a jar and shake well. Apply to your face morning and evening with a cotton ball. Store mixture in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Incorporating these beauty recipes in your daily regime will help you to experience healthy, vibrant, and ageless skin.

Danielle Sims explored her library of alternative health, herbal books, and aromatherapy books and created a blueprint for making her own body wrap formulas at home. Now she offers this information in an e-book entitled Wrap Yourself Slim: Body Wrap Exposed. Monthly newsletter is also available at her web site. For more information go to Body Wraps Exposed

Dry Skin Causes and Solutions For Great Looking and Feeling Skin

Dry skin, also referred to as xerosis or eczema or asteatosis, and erroneously as icthyosis, is a multi-faceted condition which periodically afflicts most of the population regardless of race or sex at one time or another, and through a wide age range. Dry skin may become more pronounced with aging if not treated when young. The symptoms of dry skin range from mild to severe, and may afflict virtually any part of the body. Arms, hands and legs are most frequently involved. Most dry skin conditions arise from conditions which can be modified or prevented and treated without medical intervention.. People residing in areas where climatic conditions include cold dry air accompanied by strong winds are most often affected during the winter months. Dry skin results from lack of water in the outer layer of skin cells known as the stratum corneum. When this layer becomes dehydrated it loses its flexibility and becomes cracked, scaly and sometimes itchy. The stratum corneum contains natural water-holding substances, including urea, which retain water seeping up from the deeper layers of the skin. Water is also normally retained in the stratum corneum by a surface film of natural oil (sebum) and broken-down skin cells, which slow down evaporation of water from the skin surface.

The skin dries out when too much water evaporates from its surface. This increases as we get older, and is made worse by washing, because hot water and soap remove the layer of natural oil on the skin surface. When urea is applied to the skin it penetrates the stratum corneum, where it readily absorbs and retains water. This increases the capacity of the skin to hold moisture, and the skin therefore becomes rehydrated. The moisturizing base that the urea is mixed in, especially when it contains Shea Butter or Jojoba Oil, also provides a layer of oil on the surface of the skin, which helps prevent water from evaporating from the skin surface. Both actions soothe and soften the skin, and reduce the scaling and itching of dry skin conditions such as eczema and ichthyosis.

Common dry skin should be treated by:

1. Decrease the frequency of bathing/showering; maintain tepid water; and limit the duration to 5 minutes or less.

2. Use a mild bar soap. Liquid soaps are more drying. Avoid glycerin soaps and those which contain deodorants.

3. Always apply a good moisturizing lotion after bathing/showering. Eucerin lotion is a moisturizer that contains urea as the active ingredient. Urea is a substance that is found naturally in the skin, which by its nature is very attracted to water. It is used to help rehydrate dry, scaly skin. Lotions and creams which contain urea, Shea Butter and/or Jojoba Oil are effective in mild to moderate cases of dry skin, whereas lighter petrolatum-containing lotions should be applied for less severe conditions. Petrolatum is the chemical name for Vaseline.

4. Operating a humidifier in your home during cold climates, especially in the bedroom, may add moisture to the air and protect the skin when the heat is on.

5. Apply a moisturizer-sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or greater to all areas of the body exposed to the sun.

6. Finally, and very important, drink plenty of water and liquids to keep the skin moist from the inside.

We can't rule out other pathology. Dry skin may be a symptom of a more complex problem, i.e.Ichthyosis commonly referred to as fish-scale skin. This is a medical problem and must be treated by a physician specializing in dermatology. The origin of this condition is frequently hereditary with associated metabolic factors, i.e. under active thyroid. In addition to those precautionary measures indicated for the treatment of dry skin, your physician may prescribe a topical steroid and various emollient creams and lotions.

If you want to learn more about Hygiene and Health issues, especially for kids, Please visit KidsHygieneAndHealth.com

Kaaryn Walker is the creater of KidsHygieneAndHealth.com Offering free advice for hygiene and health related issues for youth and teenagers. Kid's Hygiene and Health has an Ask the Expert section which covers such topics as body odor, skin conditions, oral hygiene, etc.