by Kim Fabrizio

Created on: February 28, 2010

For years we have heard that we need to eat good healthy foods to keep our heart healthy, our weight down and to avoid cancer. “Good food is good for you” is an easy rule to live by and makes sense to us.  But we have neglected to apply these rules to our skin, our bodies largest organ. 

Skincare products are a multi-billion dollar industry with most ingredients difficult to pronounce and almost always needing a scientist to define for us.  Since we aren't likely to find a scientist to assist us in our local drugstore skincare aisle,  we take for granted that the big name skincare companies are doing the right thing with their products. Really expensive products must mean the product is good for our skin, right? 

Wrong. Here are some common ingredients in skincare products we would never knowingly eat. Remember anything applied to the skin is transferred directly to the bloodstream, just like vitamins, medicine and food we swallow. Acrylamide: Known to cause breast tumors. Parabens; Nitrosamines ; Toluene;  Triclosan ; Mineral Oil ; Petroleum –birth defects and cancer. Even some ingredients that are thought to be safe are really not good for the skin like glycerin. Glycerin attracts water, eventually drying out the skin rather than adding moisture. 

Natural, good for you, very expensive skincare is available now just about anywhere as well. But why spend money for pretty bottles and packaging when you can make exceptional skincare right in your kitchen? Skincare almost good enough to eat! Skincare that is effective for cleaning, moisturizing and anti-aging. 

Get started by first making a shopping list and then get ready to enjoy beautiful, healthy skin for a fraction of the cost by making your own skin "smoothie".  You will look beautiful on the outside and feel great knowing you are doing great things for your skin and your wallet! Ingredients can be found in health food and grocery stores.

Ingredients:    Aloe Vera Gel: organic, food grade.   Olive Oil.   Organic Apple Cider Vinegar.  Tea Tree Oil.  Vitamin E Oil.  Peppermint, Clove, Lemongrass, Spearmint, Sage, Rosemary essential oils. Sea Salt. Cane sugar.

Skin Smoothie:  Mix 3 Tablespoons aloe gel, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 25 drips tea tree oil, 15 drips vitamin e oil together in a bowl with a whisk until well blended.  For mint/clove scent: add 15 drops each mint and clove essential oils. For lemongrass, add 30 drops lemongrass. For herbal, 15 drops each peppermint, rosemary and sage.  This smoothie is now the base for multiple uses for skin and hair. (You could probably eat it but don't.)

Use full strength as a scalp treatment .Add 2 tablespoons to your favorite shampoo and conditioner. Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of sugar or sea salt to smoothie to make your own sugar or salt scrub. Sugar scrub is very effective on the face and body, salt scrub on the body. Sugar and salt exfoliate, aloe helps heal and protect new skin, apple cider vinegar is a natural alpha hydroxy, Tea tree oil is an anti-bacterial and olive oil has been known for centuries to restore youthfulness as it cleanses skin.

Use scrubs once or twice a week. Add smoothie mix to your favotire face wash for daily use.

Learn more about this author, Kim Fabrizio.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.