Body Care

A. Vogel:
Body Care

Body Care

“Nature provides everything we need to protect and maintain our health.”
Alfred Vogel (1902-1996)

Natural Body Care Products - Keeps Skin Healthy - Gifts of Nature for the Skin

Why should you use natural body care products? What makes natural products important when it comes to healthy, younger skin? Are natural products better than synthetic products? The skin is the largest organ of the body. It is our protector against pollution from the outside. The body's skin allows absorption into the body as well. People with allergies require natural skin care products because they cannot stand the chemicals. Constant bombardment of the chemicals from food, water and the air indoors or in the environment makes it even more important to put natural products on the skin.

It matters what types of body care products are slathered onto the skin. Our health is directly related to the chemicals of products because the manmade chemical compounds in most body care products are absorbed into the skin. The skin and body care companies make products like gels, creams, pastes and foams that promise everything from shinier hair to clearer skin. Read the labels on most body care products and you will be amazed at the chemicals involved. Artificial colouring, coal tar, artificial thickeners, petrochemicals and preservatives make up a great deal of the body care industry. You want your external portions to reflect a caring, respectful attitude to your health. After all, as the old adage goes, ‘If you don’t take care of your body, where are you going to live?’

It’s no good just slathering expensive creams on our outer portions. The outer skin cells are shed about 28 days after their formation, having worked their way to the surface. Working on the outer layer of skin in the hope of improving skin quality is therefore silly, as this part is dead!

What can go wrong with the skin? One of the key concerns is obviously spots, pimples and blemishes. Flaccid, saggy, un-toned skin is also common. Acne rosacea is another area of concern that tends to surface in middle age.

So what does your skin need in order to shine?

Skip about!

If you are coping with life by lying back on your sofa and contemplating the ceiling, it is unlikely that your tissues are being well served with blood and all the nutrients it contains (e.g. oxygen, iron), nor that they are having the wastes drained away properly. If your muscles are not moving, nothing will flow correctly. If you want your skin to look rosy, get some regular exercise and pump the blood to it!

If circulation is particularly poor, get some Ginkgo biloba to stimulate micro-circulation (the flow of blood into the tiny capillaries that serve outlying areas of the body). Don’t smoke, of course – it reduces oxygenation of the skin and is bad for circulation (just in case you didn’t know…). It also causes free radicals, which contribute to the formation of wrinkles!

In order for your epidermis to look good, the connective tissue underneath must be firm. Imagine a tarmac road built on poor quality, crumbling subsoil. As cars drive on it, it will buckle and subside. Similarly, skin built on poor foundations will pucker and wrinkle, losing its tone.

Firm up
To firm up your epidermis, the underlying layers must contain sufficient silica, one of the key building blocks for connective tissue. Lack of the tarmac-supporting silica will show up as slack, flaccid skin, thin hair, hair loss and fragile nails.

The inner layer of the skin (the dermis) has been shown to thicken within three months of taking Silicea, with fewer wrinkles being apparent externally. It makes the skin strong and smooth.

You need to drink water for this to work though. There are still people who think that 20 cups of coffee per day is a good fluid intake. Alcohol also dehydrates the skin and fizzy water is no good either, containing none of the hydrating properties of the natural water. Hydrating your body will reduce bags under your eyes, caused by kidney strain.

When you have plenty of water available to your tissues, the transport will be better, so wastes will be removed more effectively – fewer spots and blemishes.

Shed the stress
Adrenalin (produced when we are stressed) causes blood to be drained away from the smaller blood vessels in the skin to the major organs – heart, lungs, etc. This leaves you looking pallid and drained. Stress also prevents good sleep, and whilst we are asleep we repair – tissue is rebuilt and regeneration work goes on all over the body. Lack of sleep doesn’t just give you dark shadows around your eyes, but reduces skin condition generally. Stress hormones also cause spots, which is probably one of the key reasons we are seeing so much adult acne. Take vitamin B (which deals with stress and helps to heal the skin) and Passiflora tincture to calm you down.

Passiflora

Stamp out the sugar
Acne is known as ‘skin diabetes’ in some naturopathic circles, and a problem metabolising sugar and other refined carbohydrates will have a negative effect on the skin.

Centaurium

Acne rosacea, for example, is frequently connected to poor digestion. Improving the strength of the digestive system with stomach bitters such as Centaurium is very useful, and avoiding sugar, caffeine and highly processed foods helps too. A thorough lymphatic cleanse using the fresh herb tincture complex of Calendula, Echinacea purpurea and Viola tricolour may help.

Calendula	Echinacea purpurea

Vitamin B and Essential Fatty Acids are also excellent for skin health. If you want to clear your complexion with a quick blast of healthy drinking, reach for organic carrot juice. Yummy!

Any persistent, ‘mystery’ skin condition can be tackled with Viola tricolour tincture on its own. This nourishes the skin from inside and removes wastes that might be causing skin to look dull and scruffy.

Viola tricolour

How about tantalising talons?
As well as giving you splendid skin, Silicea will strengthen your nails. If you find they are brittle and snap easily, try Urticalcin as well, as this will quickly firm them up.

When you use body care products from nature, you show respect for the environment and your personal health. Enjoy life and stay healthy by using products of nature on your skin.