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Natural Astringents To Refine Your Pores

May 21st, 2011 by

Here are 6 natural astringents you can use at home to refine your pores:

  1. Witch Hazel
  2. Rose Water
  3. Lemon-Orange
  4. Chamomile-Mint
  5. Sanadalwood
  6. Cucumber

I use witch hazel, rose water, orange water, cucumber and mint in my facial toner (along with other natural astringents), but you could follow the advice of the Indian Makeup & Beauty Blog and create your own homemade toner using any of these ingredients. Aside from being an effective way to deeply cleanse and refine you pores, it’s also fun and economical to make your own beauty products.

Here’s what they say about home-made toners in the article:

They can be easily made with things which are freely available in your kitchen or your fruit basket. Since they are prepared with natural ingredients, they do not have negative effects and they are gentle on your skin. Often, they are cheaper than the astringents obtainable in reputed shops dealing in beauty products; but, at the same time, they can effectively meet your daily beauty requirements.

Check out this blog. It is packed with really good beauty advice. Always a good read. And this post has tips on the best way to use a natural astringent toner, as well as how to make one for yourself.

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Hydrosol Pore Minimizers For Dry Skin

May 19th, 2011 by

Just because you have dry skin doesn’t mean you should skip the toner in your skin care routine. A good facial toner made from natural hydrosols is the best pore minimizer for dry skin. But be careful, not all toners are well suited for dry skin. Many facial toners, even natural ones, contain alcohol.  For oily skin, a little alcohol is fine, but not for dry skin.  Alcohol is very drying because it strips away natural oils.  Many skin care products rely on alcohol as a preservative to extend product shelf life.  It may be an inexpensive preservative but it does not help keep skin healthy.  So if you have dry skin, read labels carefully and avoid ones that have alcohol as a preservative.  Just because a product is natural, does not mean it will be well suited for your skin type.

Nature provides all the ingredients needed to make a good pore minimizer for dry skin.  Hydrosols, made from flowers and herbs, provide some of the best natural toners available.  A hydrosol is the water byproduct of the essential oil steam distillation process.  After the highly fragrant oil is extracted through steam distillation, lightly fragrant, astringent water remains.

Witch hazel provides one of the best natural toners for mature and dry skin. Not only is it a gentle astringent, it cleanses the pores without excessively stripping the skin of natural oils and, it heals minor cuts, scrapes and other skin blemishes too.  Rose water, green tea extract, and mint and apple cider vinegar also make soothing, cleansing toners for dry skin.

The astringent properties of a good toner cause pores in the skin to contract.  As the pores contract, they flush out dirt and debris from the skin leaving it smooth, healthy, and refreshed, with visibly reduced pore size.  Encouraging pores to contract with astringent toners keeps skin healthy too.  The smaller pores are, the better they keep out damaging bacteria and dirt.  Keeping pores tight and healthy means smoother skin and fewer breakouts and blemishes. Adding a natural astringent toner to your skin care routine cleanses pores and improves skin health.  Clogged pores become a thing of the past!Astringent hydrosols provide the added healthy properties of antioxidants that keep skin healthy in the face of damaging environmental conditions.

Use a toner as part of your skin care routine.  After cleansing your skin, soak a cotton ball and wipe it over the surface of your face and neck.  Allow the toner to dry for a few moments and then rub in your favorite dry skin moisturizer.  Cleansing, toning and moisturizing your skin morning and evening is all you need to keep skin healthy and glowing. In fact, once you start using the right products, you will find that all you need for beautiful, luminous skin is simple skin care. There is no need for more that four good products and as much time with them as you spend brushing your teeth.

Hydrosols are natural and gentle but they are far from weak.  Toners have active astringent properties that can cause a tingling sensation on your skin.  A little tingling is fine and it just means your skin is responding to the astringent nature of the toner but if the tingling persists for more than a few minutes, try a different product.

As scientists study the nature of plants, they find a seemingly endless array of complex chemicals.  As new beneficial chemicals are discovered, scientists seek to isolate them for use in manufactured products.  The result may be a cheaper product, with some of the healthy benefits found in the plant, but it’s not necessarily the best for your skin.  Plants contain many complex chemicals that react and interact with one another.  Isolating one and calling it beneficial means that all the interactions with other chemicals are lost.  The best way to make sure nature is working, as it should for your skin is to use products derived from natural, whole plant material. A natural, plant based astringent toner uses all of natures resources to keep your skin healthy and glowing.

 

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How To Minimize Pores

May 18th, 2011 by

I say younger and firmer LOOKING because there is no permanent way to shrink your pores. You can, however, minimize them some time. If you add these extra steps to your daily hygiene routine you benefit from smaller pores, firmer looking skin, and skin that is both clean and radiant.

Before we start, you’ll need to make sure you have the following items:

– Pore-refining face wash
– Cotton balls
– Toner
– Moisturizer
– Face scrub

How to minimize pores on your face

So far. I agree with everything in this article. All you need to minimize pores are four things: a good cleanser, a facial toner, a moisturizer, and an exfoliant.

I specialize in rejuvenating dry skin, so I use products that are, first and foremost, moisturizing. The only exception is the facial toner that I use. It works on all skin types, even though it is totally natural. That said, I still make sure my toner has no alcohol in it, so it is not too drying.

The key is to use four products that work for your skin type. And for me, I make sure they are completely natural, and, ideally, organic.  That’s where I part company with the author of the above article, who goes on to suggest you can get the job done with an all-in-one pore minimizing serum.

Frankly, I don’t believe in serums. I haven’t seen much benefit from them, and there is very little independent research showing that they do any good. Also, I wouldn’t be without my natural exfoliant either. There are so many benefits from using it a couple of times a week.

It’s not hard to have a smooth, luminous complexion. It should only take four really good products that are designed with your skin type in mind. And then you should be spending just a minute or so twice a day with them – less time than you spend brushing your teeth, actually. There’s no need for fancy-dandy serums and elaborate routines. However, you do need to have a routine that you can keep up with every day, because as the writer of the article ponts out, results don’t last for ever. That’s another reason why  it’s so helpful to learn about simple skin care that you can follow easily every day.

 

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How To Make Your Own All Natural Facial Toner

May 15th, 2011 by

A well-formulated toner benefits all skin types; unfortunately, most commercially made toners use harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances that over-dry and under-nourish your skin. For a truly skin-sational experience, create your own toner from simple natural ingredients.  TypeF.com

Read more at the above link about how you can make your own all natural facial toner. The basic ingredients are covered – rose water and apple cider vinegar – as well as how to use them to cleanse and stimulate your skin, leaving it smoother, and the pores minimized. I like to add witch hazel (so long as it is alcohol-free) and other botanicals in my facial toner, but you will really get a lot of benefit just from rose water and apple cider vinegar. They are a good place to start if you haven’t used natural toners before. You may be surprised by how effective they are. Some people don’t like the smell of vinegar on their skin, which is understandable. You can mute the smell with rose water, and get double the benefit. I use only organic versions on my own skin.

Read the rest of the TypeF article for more.

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Pore Minimizers That Work

May 14th, 2011 by

An interesting thread here about pore minimizers that work. It’s on the Fragrantica board. Here’s how it starts…

I have huge issues with pores. After persistent cleansing, masking, and seruming, I’ve seem to find a routine to cope with them. However, a major component of my routine has been discontinued: Clinique Pore Minimizer Refining Lotion. They’ve replaced it with Pore Minimizer Refining Serum.

If you are troubled by large pores, this thread would be worth joining so you can see the first hand experience of other people and the products they are using. There’s a discussion of what works, what doesn’t, what to look for, and what to avoid. Check it out at the above link, and pitch in with your questions and advice. The best source of information, I find, is actual users who are dealing with the problem and the products.

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Dealing With Blackheads

May 13th, 2011 by

Blackheads. They appear on our noses no matter how clean we keep our skin. While it may be tempting to attack them with fingernails, try to resist. Squeezing with your fingers can tear your skin and spread the pesky bacteria that lead to impurities.

Here’s a product recommendation by the DailyBeauty Blog.  It looks like it would be really helpful while you get busy minimizing your pores. Once that’s done, you won’t have to worry about blackheads so much. But in the meantime, you may find these pore purifying strips help keep your complexion clear.  They clean out the pores and deposit antioxidants in them to reduce future problems as well..

Check out Daily Beauty for the rest of the story

 

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Witch Hazel – A Natural Pore Minimizer You Can Rely On

May 6th, 2011 by

Witch Hazel - A Natural Pore MinimizerWitch hazel is a natural astringent and pore minimizer that has earned its place in beauty products and the medicine cabinet. With a long history of use both as a healing extract and a beauty aid, witch hazel is a natural part of good skin care. Using alcohol-based toners is drying, and dry skin leads to aging and discomfort. Using a witch hazel based toner is cleansing, tightening and healing without being excessively drying to the skin.

Witch hazel is derived from the North American native shrub Hamamelis virginiana. This shrub got its common name from the practice of water witching. Forked branches from witch hazel shrubs were used to detect underground water sources in this ancient and mystery filled practice.

The use of witch hazel goes back to the North American native populations. Native Americans used an extract from the bark as an all purpose remedy for skin problems. It was used for inflammation, eye irritations, cuts, insect bites, and infections. Early settlers soon realized the benefits of this native shrub and begin extracting and distilling witch hazel for themselves. It became a staple in early American medicine cabinets to treat internal and external ailments and remains in wide use today.

In beauty products, the astringent nature of witch hazel extract tightens pores and washes away oil and dirt particles from the skins surface.  It is an ideal pore minimizer. Plus, the antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial elements cleanse the skin and treat blemishes. Natural anti-inflammatory properties decrease puffiness, particularly around the eyes. Witch hazel also has natural anesthetic properties. Using a witch hazel based toner cleanses the skin and tightens pores while healing and reducing pain and inflammation around any blemishes, small wounds, and rashes.

The healing compounds are found in the bark and twigs of the shrub. Fall is harvest time for the witch hazel industry. As the heat of east coast summers turn to fall and winter cold, the tannins are found in the highest concentrations in the witch hazel trees. The bark and branches are made into small chips and then steam distilled. Once the distillation process is complete, the resulting extract is a pure, concentrated liquid that contains the many healing properties in witch hazel.

Traditionally witch hazel is preserved with alcohol. Many high quality witch hazel products have 15 percent alcohol or less, small quantities that are not generally damaging to the skin. But any alcohol is drying, particularly for mature skin and skin that is already prone to dryness. We use a high quality, double distilled witch hazel that does not include alcohol or other preservatives. Without the alcohol, your skin gets all the benefits of witch hazel extract without the drying effects of alcohol.

Using witch hazel-based toners gives your skin a natural glow, improves the tone and tightens pores while adding healing and soothing properties to your face care products. Make this natural pore minimizer a part of your daily skin care routine and enjoy healthy, glowing skin.

It is often blended with rose water, orange blossom water and other pH-balanced hydrosols to make a pore minimizing facial toner that is suitable for even the most sensitive skin.

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The Best Pore Minimizers

May 6th, 2011 by

Witch Hazel - A Natural Pore Minimizer

Witch Hazel

I’m not a fan of synthetic pore minimizers. They often have a temporary tightening effect, giving the feeling they are closing the pores, but over time, the results I have seen are not good. It’s as though they cause the skin to become stretched so that it looses some of its elasticity and you can end up with a bigger problem than when you started. So I only use natural products on my skin

These are the best natural pore minimizers I have found:

– witch hazel

– rose water

– orange water

– apple cider vinegar

– mint

– calendula

– elderberry flowers

– green tea

– cucumber

 

Rose

My recommendation is to look for products made from these natural astringents. They can help all skin types to:

– minimize the size of pores

– reduce eruptions

– restore pH balance

– sooth irritations

– leave skin refreshed and glowing

 

 

Hydrosol pore minimizers are ideally suited for dry skin, provided they contain no alcohol – some witch hazel extracts, for instance, often contain 14% alcohol. These are to be avoided in favor of alcohol-free extracts.

 

Calendula Infusing In Witch Hazel

 

Along with minimizing pores, we also want to deeply cleanse them. Cleansers are often alkaline and can cause the skin to lose its protective, acidic mantle. That sets the stage for a whole raft of problems. The solution is to use a product that is pH balanced so the skin is left in good shape after the deep cleansing has been done. Botanical toners do the job very well.

Calendula

I’ve found a natural exfoliant to be very helpful in getting deep into the pores and cleaning them out, The best I have found up to now are based on finely-ground salts – so finely ground they are like powder. That’s what worked for me back when I had acne, and I now use a natural exfoliant twice a week to make sure I get deeply into the pores and clean them. It makes a huge difference to my skin. Different oils can help to clean the skin, too. I especially like jojoba oil, as it dissolves any other oils that may be clogging my pores.

You can find out more about these products by clicking on the links in the Resources box on the right of the screen. I’ll be writing more about the individual ingredients and how they work to minimize the pores, and what you can do, naturally and simply, to create beautiful, luminous skin.

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