Skin Care the Natural Way using healthy ingredients from your cupboard

There's an article in the NYTimes today about Natural Organic Beauty which points up the problem in buying products made by large companies, even when they're sold in Health Food Stores and purport to be "natural". There's also a lot of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) in that article about the problems with buying stuff that isn't synthetic, problems such as shelf life and the bacteria that result in stuff that doesn't contain preservatives, and the FUD is being spread by the Corporations making the stuff and their lapdog, the FDA.

A number of years back I had lunch with a gal who was a top chemist in one of the big chemical companies. Her job was to create formulations for skin care. During the course of my questioning her about her work I noticed that she didn't wear any makeup. I asked her about it. It turns out that she wouldn't use any commercial products on her skin at all since, as she well knew, the products create an imbalance that addicts your skin to the products so that you don't stop using them, and if you do your skin is guaranteed to look like hell for awhile after you stop use. This is part and parcel of how corporations turn us as a society into "consumers". Problem is that the stuff isn't good for us, the resulting chemical coctail caused by mixing many of these products can be carcinogenic, and the devastation caused to our environment by the chemicals and their packaging (usually plastic containers of one sort or another, all made of oil and non-biodegradable) is unhealthy and unsustainable.

And even the "natural" products such as the Burt's Bees line (now owned by Unilever and being sold to Clorox) are made by those same chemical companies, and some of those "natural" lines are nothing but a bunch of greenwash. 

There's a simple solution. Make your own skin care formulations out of healthy and organic stuff from your cupboard, and make only enough for one use. No chemicals, no pesticides, no preservatives and no packaging needed!

Oatmeal, honey and egg are the three most common ingredients used for natural facials. Avocado, coconut oil or olive oil can be added for those with dry skin, lemon peel or carrot for oily skin. Witch Hazel makes a great toner and is inexpensive. And either sugar or sea salt with some of the other ingredients can be used to make an exfoliant. There are lots of great natural skin care recipes out there.

Not only will your skin love you for this, but so will the environment.