Many women love makeup, artistry, fantasy and the fun of it. While this fascination seems harmless, real dangers lurk in every potion that lines department store shelves—dangers that can lead to skin problems and diseases like cancer. Many of the components in our body and beauty care products originate from the same petroleum that runs our cars and heats our homes. Whereas most of us wouldn’t sip engine oil, we often lick it from our lipsticks, rub it into our eyes and soak in it in the bathtub. The long-term effects of petroleum chemicals in our bodies have only lately become evident. Using herbs for making your own skin care products is a better choice. Herbs that help to preserve youthful skin are chamomile, calendula, rosemary, sage and mallow. Camomile and calendula are used for soothing and curing irritated skin. Rosemary and sage tone skin cells while mallows are used as smoothers and emollients. The best way to use these herbs is to make a tincture of one teaspoon of the herb to one cup of alcohol or apple cider vinegar. Natural preservatives are better for you than synthetics, but being sure you don’t have a reaction to the tincture before you use it. A lot of people are sensitive to natural fragrances, citrus fruit, alcohol and vinegar. For example if you’re allergic to ragweed then you might have sensitivity to camomile. You can test for sensitivity to natural preservatives the same way you do for chemical.
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