Using Natural Remedies and Common Foods for Great Skin Care

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Simple and Natural Solutions for Better Skin

Here are a just a few natural skin care remedies and foods you can try for common skin ailments and complaints. You'll be very pleased with the results:

• Avocados are a wonderful treatment for dry skin: mash half an avocado, smooth it onto your face, leave it on until it dries, then rinse off.
• Baking soda: use it once a week, rub your skin with baking soda while in the shower, for a smooth, silky feeling. You can also do this on your face to remove black heads.
• Cucumbers : use cool cucumber slices over your eyes for ten minutes or more to alleviate puffiness.
• Egg yolk mixed with honey makes for a really great mask: put on your skin, leave it on for 20 minutes, and rinse off. Excellent for sensitive skin. Honey gives a tingling/ticklish sensation, so if you are sensitive to that, use the egg yolk alone. For those with eczema, try using egg yolk instead of soap. It doesn't smell great, but it will heal your damaged skin. To tighten and refine pores, whip up the white of an egg with a pinch of alum and apply it to your face as a mask. Rinse off after about 20 minutes with lukewarm water.
• Fresh tomatoes are great for the oily areas of your face because they cleanse the pores. Rinse thoroughly immediately after using the tomato juice. (Please make sure to test the tomato juice on your arm first, as your skin may be sensitive to it).
• Grapes and Honey: grapes are great skin moisturizer as they contain collagen and alpha-hydroxy acids naturally. Mash together the grapes with just enough honey to make a paste, and apply to your face as a mask. Leave it on for 20 to 30 minutes as you relax, then rinse off.
• Green Tea: add a few drops of green tea extract to your lotions, astringents and other beauty products. This helps to protect the skin from free radical damage.
• Lemons (fresh): useful for removing freckles and age spots. Often does the same job as expensive “fade creams.” Squeeze the juice of ½ a lemon into a bowl, then use a cotton ball to wipe the affected areas/spots with the lemon juice (but do not apply near the eyes). Do this two times a day. Onions also can be used for removing freckles and age spots. Slice a red onion in half and rub on the spot twice daily. Continue until the spot(s) fade.
• Olive oil makes a great moisturizer: this healthy fat is good for you, and is great for your skin. You can also use it to soothe sunburned skin.
• Rice (Dry, short grain): gently rub a small handful of dry rice against your face for a few minutes to remove dead surface skin cells and to improve your skin texture. Reportedly, Japanese women have used this beauty tip for centuries.
• Strawberries can be used to add color to pale or sallow skin. Mash ½ cup, place in blender and apply to your face. Leave in about 10 minutes and rinse in lukewarm water.
• Vinegar can work wonders for smelly feet and armpits. Mix water and vinegar 50/50, and use in place of deodorant: it will keep the unpleasant sweat smell away, without any irritation. As for your feet, if you suffer with athlete's foot, a week of vinegar foot bath will help a lot, sometimes completely getting rid of your condition.
• Water —you know what to do with it. Drink 8 glasses of water every day to keep your skin well hydrated and cared for from the inside out.

References:

Prescription for Nutritional Healing: A Practical A to Z Reference to Drug Free Remedies, Minerals, Herbs and Food Supplements by Phyllis A Balch, CNC and James F. Balch, M.D.

Your Skin From A to Z by Jerome Z. Litt