My switch to organic skin care has been a happy one. I used to have a number of skin problems with using commercial beauty and personal hygiene products. Now that I use organic, my skin and body feel so much better. I want to introduce you to some of the organic personal care items I used to have trouble with, but not anymore!

Organic cleansing gel

The skin on our face gets treated so harshly on the daily. Yet so much of a woman’s sense of beauty is derived from the look of her skin. Considering how many environmental factors are working against my face in addition to my daily skin care routine, the quest to reduce chemicals in my life naturally shifted to how I take care of my face.

I have combination oily skin, so it can be especially hard to find a good facial cleanser. The beauty regimen I had before included a conventional face washing foam that noticeably stripped the skin on my face of its protection. It did an excellent job at getting rid of the dirt and make-up of the day, but it also seemed to take with it a whole layer of my skin. The harshness of the chemicals inside these commercial facial cleansers left my face red and tingling. Without applying moisturiser, I would literally sting for hours. This didn’t seem normal to me.

So I searched high and low, until I found that an organic solution. The plant ingredients in my organic facial cleansing gel brought the relief I was looking for. While effectively cleansing, the cleansing gels made from organic ingredients are so gentle that I can often skip moisturiser now if I feel like it too.

Organic moisturisers

As I mentioned before, the harsh chemical laden facial cleansers left my skin feeling raw and painful. So skipping moisturiser was impossible for me. But the moisturisers had their own set of drawbacks too.

“Normal” petroleum based moisturizers are known to suffocate the skin and hinder its ability to self-regulate. In the morning when I woke up, my face felt like I’d been sleeping in the sweltering heat of Bangkok – my whole face would often be covered in a sticky film of grease. So my combination oily skin and the moisturiser together resulted in clogged pores and breakouts. And it also meant I had to wash my hair more often, because this film of grease migrated to my hair during sleep.

Switching to organic completely changed that. The ingredients in organic skin care are combined to actually support the sophisticated mechanics of the skin itself, helping it to rejuvenate and regulate itself. What I loved about organic moisturisers is that my skin seemed to drink it up. Applying make-up afterwards also felt like it didn’t absorb inside, meaning I could use less of it.

Organic face masks

Most women’s skin care routine also involves some type of facial mask. I used a commercial face mask a couple of times a week before, but I also have friends that use one every day.

Leaving some chemical laden liquid to dry and absorb into my skin for 20 minutes seriously concerned me. Sure, they contained a few helpful ingredients, like hyaluronic acid, but the rest of the ingredients looked like the label of my shampoo. I considered even giving masks up, wondering if this really helps me to retain my youthful skin or perhaps even unwittingly works against it.

There is no such concern with organic facial masks. Most of the ingredients used are completely natural. Certified organic means that 95% or more of the ingredients are plant sourced. This means that, instead of a few nutritionally valuable ingredients, my face now basks in a plethora of beneficial herbs and oils.

Organic toothpaste

The mouth is another place on our faces where many chemicals enter our bodies. Not just the food, but also the products we use to take care of the mouth are to blame. I personally started to get more and more sensitive teeth as the years passed by. I didn’t link it to commercial toothpaste at first. But with increasing public awareness on the effect of fluoride found in commercial toothpastes, I made a switch to organic.

I was concerned though whether I would get more cavities with organic toothpastes, having been indoctrinated into believing that only commercial toothpastes help to effectively combat bad teeth. The truth is that I don’t have a problem with sensitive teeth anymore. And, while I used to always have one or two cavities in my yearly dental checkups before, I haven’t had a cavity in a few years now.

I hope my story will motivate some of you to also experiment with switching to organic skin care and hygiene products. Not only is the switch good for you, but you would also be supporting our animals and the environment. Certified organic means cruelty-free and the ingredients come from farms that use environmentally sound farming practices.

Source by Nelita Ley