Whilst skin care has been carried out for millennium, the people then did not have the choice of natural or synthetic products. Unfortunately, the advent of the synthetic skin care preparations all but killed the herbal based 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.

Perhaps it is our fast paced lives and the ease with which we can purchase just about any synthetically produced item that has helped with the decrease in using natural preparations.

Even herbal skin care products have been commercialized and many commercial natural 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.

However, it seems that things are changing fast and more people are now opting for natural and herbal skin care routines. Whilst 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. Herbs like dandelion, chamomile, lime flowers and rosemary are often used with other herbs like tea and are used as herbal cleansers.

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.

Products containing extracts of tea have also been found to be very effective treating people that have received too much UV radiation from the sun.

Herbal extracts can also be used in the form of oils like tea tree oil, lavender oil and primrose oil which are the more popular of herbal skin care products.

Bananas, apple and melon have hydration properties and are very good for the skin, which is why so many manufacturers use them in bath and shower gels etc.

There are very few if any adverse reactions to herbal skin preparations which is why they are often preferred over commercially available synthetically produced products and some people still make them at home.

Whilst 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 natural or synthetic skin care products.