Skin care is not something new as it has been in practice since ancient times, when herbal skin care was probably the only way to take care of skin. The skin care market changed forever when chemical based products became available which have taken over the skin care market from herbal products. Not only have many of the recipes been lost but herbal products are not as popular as they once were as science has gradually changed people's attitudes towards skin care.



There are a number of reasons why we have gradually turned our backs on natural skin care products but probably the biggest is the huge commercial market which herbal preparations could never keep up with. Even herbal skin care products have been commercialized and many commercial herbal skin care products have to be mixed with preservatives in order to increase their shelf-life, hence making them less effective than the fresh ones made at home.

It seems that increasing numbers of people are becoming more discerning and using herbal skin care products again from companies that are specializing in making small batches of these products. While commercial manufacturers can produce them cheaper then that is how the majority of us will buy them but do you know what they actually are?

Although one of the more common herbal products, aloe vera has other properties other than just helping sunburn; extracted fro the aloe plant it also hydrates skin and can be sued on cuts as well. Other household herbs like dandelion, chamomile, lime flowers and rosemary are good at cleansing but usually when they are in combination with other herbs.

You may not know about the herbal antiseptic qualities of other herbs like lavender, marigold, thyme and fennel and the use of lavender water and rose water have been known to have skin toning properties for a very long time. Tea plays an important part in herbal skin care and tea extracts are used for treatment of skin that has been damaged by UV radiation.

You may also be familiar with herbal oil extracts like tea tree, primrose and lavender which are the most popular and used for a variety of reasons. Certain skin conditions can also be helped with oils extracted from plants in herbal skin care preparations.

Obviously the greatest benefit of using natural products is there is hardly ever any reaction to their use, something that the synthetic products cannot claim. While herbal products will probably remain popular as there are so few reactions to them that there will be times when synthetic products will be necessary for certain skin disorders.

If you want your skin to look for your whole life, you will take care of it irrespective of whether it is with herbal or synthetic skin care products.