By Amber Humphries
Autumn marks the start of the fall season. It is when leaves change color from brilliant green to beautiful shades of orange and yellow before falling. It is also the perfect time for picking fresh local apples. If you aren’t fortunate enough to live close to an apple orchard you can still find fresh local fruits at your nearest farmers market. Most people use fresh picked apples to make delicious dessert recipes like apple pie. This year try apples for something other than dessert, they make the perfect ingredient for natural skin care recipes.
Creating your own natural skin care products containing apple will provide your skin with an extra dose of Vitamins A, B, C and E, along with collagen and elastin. Vitamin A has a wide range of natural skin care benefits that help with anything from acne to eczema. Vitamin B is known for its skin care benefit of retaining moisture. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that protects the skin from sun damage while helpingto promote collagen production. Vitamin E is another powerful antioxidant known for its moisturizing abilities. Vitamin E is also believed to help reduce the appearance of scars and stretch marks.Collagen and elastin keep skin appearing youthful and will help with the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Take advantage of all the natural skin care benefits apples have to offer by making this simple anti-aging mask.
Ingredients:
1 Fresh apple
2 Tablespoons of raw honey
Directions:
Peel and core the apple. Then finely chop it into small pieces and put into a small bowl. Next, mix in the tablespoons of raw honey until well combined. Spread the mixture onto your face and neck allowing to sit for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, rinse well and pat dry.
For a natural skin care scrub that exfoliates, try this apple and oatmeal scrub recipe.
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons of rolled oats
1 ½ Teaspoon of cornmeal
1 Tablespoon of honey
½ Medium apple
Directions:
Peel and core the apple. Then finely chop it into small pieces and set aside. Add the oatmeal, honey and cornmeal into a separate bowl. Using a fork mix the oatmeal, honey and cornmeal together until you’ve created a paste. Using a food processor combine the paste mixture with the apple pieces until blended. Using a circular motion gently scrub the mixture onto your face. Then rinse with warm water and pat dry.
Also, a good natural lotion for dry skin protects against the elements, prevents moisture loss while still allowing the skin to breath, reduces the absorption of toxins, and is free of toxic chemicals (some skin care ingredients are even worse than chemical pollutants.)
Almost everything you do can cause dry skin. Spending time in the kitchen; washing your hands frequently while cooking; doing the dishes and cleaning can leave hands dry and irritated. Over exposure to water and chemicals damages the skin’s natural protective barrier and strips the skin of essential moisturizing oils. When gardening, your hands are often in the dirt and can come into contact with some dangerous chemicals. The weather can also wreak havoc on your skin. Harsh winds can chap and dry skin causing it to become uncomfortable. You must protect against the elements with a shielding lotion.
