Glowing Skin, Naturally - Super Natural 20% Vitamin E Facial Oil
 
 
Ever been out for a hike in the wet? Notice how your boots can really soak up the moisture. Of course, how saturated they get depends on how well protected they are. Neglect them and you can bet your blisters they'll be sopping wet, especially if they're made of leather.

It's not so different with your own skin. The dryer your skin becomes, the thirstier it gets. Give that parched skin the chance to absorb some moisture and it'll lap it up like a cat in a desert. But is water what your skin really needs?

There's a lesson to be learned from those boots. Make a habit of drowning them and leaving them to dry out and pretty soon the very same leather that was once so soft and supple will turn hard and rigid and start to crack.

How do you give those boots TLC? You give back one vital ingredient the leather had when it was protecting the animal it came from. Oil. Oil lubricates, softens, protects.

You'll have noticed that while the boots were wet, the leather was more pliable and softer than when it was bone dry. But the effect is short-lived. Worse than that, every time you leave those boots to dry out, they seem to leach yet more moisture into the atmosphere.

There's a parallel here with our own skin.

Sit in a bath too long and your skin will wrinkle as it drinks in water. Yet that moisture doesn't get further than the outermost layer of the epidermis, the stratum corneum. Your body is waterproof. The only part that allows water in is that outermost layer. It's here that free amino acids, lactic acid, urea and salts mingle to form what is known as natural moisturizing factors (NMFs). It's these NMFs that suck in water at every opportunity. Man, they can't get enough. See, their job is to keep the stratum corneum soft and plump by seeking out and holding onto moisture.

In a nutshell, that's why the first rule of skincare is Apply a Moisturizer.

But wait. There's more to learn from that wizened old pair of boots.

Just as leather ends up drier than it was before it got wet, so repeated use of a water-based moisturizer can result in skin that is drier than it would be if you left it alone. It's only the repeated use of the moisturizer that keeps the skin healthy and glowing. This is because too much water applied to the surface of the skin can dilute those moisture-loving NMFs to the point where they start to evaporate.

The answer? Look to those boots one more time.

Your body produces its own "oil" - a waxy substance called sebum. Unfortunately, as we age, our sebum-production "factory" starts to slow down. The net result is that the stratum corneum can no longer hold onto moisture the way it did when we were fresh out of high school.

What to do? You guessed it. Give it the same loving care you'd give your faithful footwear. Put the oil back in. A good dressing with cold-pressed, plant-based oils, preferably organic will work wonders.

And keep you in great shape for decades to come.

(c) Copyright Alexa Charmant 2010. No unauthorised reproduction.

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Vitality, good health, radiant beauty. Glowing skin conveys all this and more.

It's also an indication of how well you're looking after your skin and allowing it 'do its own thing'.

The more I discover about skin care, the more I see the need to keep everything as simple as possible.

Anti-aging serums and high-tech nanoparticle skin rejuvenating creams? Not for me.

You can't get better than a skin care regime specifically designed to aid and enhance the body's innate ability to take care of itself.

Here are my top seven tips for a beautiful, glowing complexion.

1.    Protect against sun damage
2.    Drink water throughout the day
3.    Cleanse with cleansing milk
4.    Do NOT use a toner after cleansing
5.    Keep it simple
6.    Get plenty of antioxidants

1: Protect against sun damage

Discovering this late in life can be a bit depressing if you've been a sun worshipper. But it's never too late to take action.

Sunlight is a great provider of vitamin D, which we need for good bone health and a correctly functioning immune system. But:

- stay out too long
- avoid the middle of the day
- take advantage of shade
- and choose your sun block carefully (see below).

Choosing a sun block

Choose a sun block based on mineral reflectors, such as titanium dioxide, rather than one that uses chemical agents.

Many modern sun creams are chock full of chemicals. Can using them day after day for hours on end actually be good for your body? Rather you than me.

2: Drink water throughout the day

Ignore the doubters. Skin definitely appreciates a good top of up H20.

Then again, so do countless other parts of the body, from your digestive system to your brain.

If you've never been much of a water drinker before, I suggest you try it.

My skin is certainly a lot smoother and plumper when it's well hydrated.

Aim for six to eight glasses a day.

3: Cleanse with cleansing milk

We all have our preferences, and cleansing milk is mine for good reason.

Cleansing milk contains more oil than water. This draws out grease and impurities like a magnet without damaging the skin's natural protective barrier.

Go for a PH-balanced cleansing milk with AHAs, such as lactic acid. This loosens the 'glue' around dead skin cells and stimulates regeneration.

It's also a good idea to exfoliate once or twice a week using a warm, damp face cloth.

4: Do NOT use a toner after cleansing

Surprised? Listen up.

The outermost layer of your skin contains something biologists call natural moisturizing factors (NMFs).

These little guys are hydroscopic: they love water and drink it in at every opportunity.

Trouble is, they don't know when to stop. They'll guzzle away until they get so diluted they can't hold onto what they've got.

Next thing you know, they're giving that water out to the atmosphere through evaporation.

So instead of soft and supple, skin, you can end up with skin that's dry and flaky.

The main culprits here are toners, spritzers, water-based gels or any other 'light moisturizers' that contain more water than oil.

So do your skin a favour and dump these potential 'de-moisturizers'.

5: Keep it simple

The labels on some skincare products read like a recipe for chemical soup.

Of course, by law, every ingredient has been tested and passed as safe. But what of the combined effects of all these chemicals?

Can we know for certain that we're not damaging our long-term health by continually putting them in our bodies?

- no parabens (widely used as a preservative)
- no mineral oil (which has no nutritional value)
- no synthetic perfumes
- no synthetic colors

6: Get plenty of antioxidants

Antioxidants help cancel out and undo the damaging effects of free radicals.

This damage occurs at a molecular level and reckoned to be a key factor in the formation of wrinkles. You can't stop it happening any more than you can give up your need for oxygen.

But what you can do is make sure your body is has a regular and plentiful supply of antioxidants.

Many skin care products contain ingredients with antioxidant properties, such as vitamin A - which may be listed as retinol - vitamin E and rosemary extract.

But lots of common foods do the job. The best include beans (red, kidney, pinto), berries (cranberry, blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, raspberry), artichoke hearts, apples, prunes and pecans.

7: Take care of your skin's protective barrier

Skin is remarkable. But without proper care, it simply won't perform as well as nature intended.

The skin's outermost layer skin is made up of flattened (keratinized) cells. These cells are entirely different from the deeper skin layers. Their purpose is to protect and preserve; they are our first line of defence.

Skin with a dull, dry, lifeless appearance is out of balance. It no longer has the necessary composition of oils and water to do the job it was designed to do.

Sebum is the body's natural moisturizer. But as we age, our body produces less and less sebum. This can lead to dry, flaky skin and the so-called visible signs of aging.

To restore the balance, we need to step up our intake of essential fatty acids. The most natural way to do this is through a properly balanced nutritional program. You can also give your skin a helping hand from the outside with a specially formulated skin care product.

You want an oil, rather than a cream, ideally one with a blend of natural, organic, cold-pressed, plant-based oils. Something like Super Natural 20% Vitamin E Oil.

To sum up

In a perfect world, your skin would look after itself and we'd all have a naturally beautiful, glowing complexion.

But life isn't like that. So why not follow these seven tips to help keep your skin looking and feeling wonderful?

(c) Alexa Charmant 2010. No unauthorised reproduction
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