Looking beautiful in your own skin

ALWAYS HEALTHY SKIN
Looking beautiful in your own skin.
Our beautiful skin takes a constant bashing from whatever it meets or touches. Apart from the physical cuts and bruises that skin suffers, apparently normal, beautiful skin may itch and come out in rashes. Why is this? The main culprits are the chemicals that our skin meets every day. Irritant chemicals are in everything we wear, touch or sleep with, in the washing powders and cleaners with which we clean everything, in our upholstery, carpets, and furnishings, in the beautifiers we use, in the medicines we take, in our food and drink, and in the very air we breathe.
*CONSIDER THE CHEMICALS IN NEW CLOTHES When clothing and bedding touch the skin, itching and rashes can occur because of the impregnated chemicals used to treat the cloth. Starches, stiffeners, preservative treatments and pigments in new clothing and bedding can cause skin itching and rashes.
- HOW TO PREVENT skin irritations from chemicals and pigments in new clothes and bedding You get what you pay for! Generally speaking, the more expensive it is, the fewer the irritating chemicals in the cloth, or at least, the kinder and less irritating the chemicals will be. This is true with the exception of cheaper used or second hand clothing and bedding bought from Charity shops or 'nearly-new' sales, which have had their chemicals mostly washed out of the cloth. So here is the trick to save your skin. For new items of clothing, or new sheets, decide to have them dry-cleaned, or washed with non-biological washing powder/liquid to start removing the chemical treatments the cloth had added to it during manufacture. Older clothes and bedding are the most comfortable because they have had all their chemicals washed out of them and they don't irritate the skin any more.
*BUT, BE CAREFUL AND CONSIDER THE CHEMICALS IN WASHING POWDERS AND LIQUIDS Powerful stain removers in 'Biological' washing powders/liquids contain enzymes. These enzymes are added to help clean your washing by digesting out food and other stains during the wash cycle.
- HOW TO PREVENT enzymes causing skin itching. Either stop using biological washing powders/liquids all together, or make sure there is plenty of rinsing to rinse them out of the cloth, because otherwise these enzymes can irritate the skin. The enzymes in the cloth literally try to digest you, where the cloth touches the skin, by attacking areas of skin that are already weak or broken.
*CONSIDER THE CHEMICALS IN UPHOLSTERY, CARPETS AND FURNISHINGS. It is well known that chemicals used to treat upholstery, carpets and furnishings, in particular fire-retardants, can cause skin irritation.
- HOW TO PREVENT fire retardants causing skin irritation. Almost all cloth products bought for the home are compulsorily fire-retardant treated. You can prevent these chemicals from meeting the skin by covering upholstery with comfortable cushions, throws or covers so your skin doesn't meet the chemicals. Carpets and curtains also release their chemicals into the air as we walk over or brush by them. Frequent cleaning and good ventilation of rooms is important. Vacuum up the chemicals; beat carpets and shake curtains outside. Open those windows and doors frequently to freshen your rooms.
*CONSIDER THE BEAUTIFIER CHEMICALS YOU USE. For centuries, man has tried to copy the gunk we were covered with when we slipped out into the world. The gunk that made us beautiful in our mother's eyes. This natural oily 'gunk' is what our skin manufactures constantly to keep us beautiful and protect us from irritants in our environment. So, you get what you buy! The cheaper the beautifiers that we put on our skin, the more likely it is that they contain synthetic chemicals unkind/harmful and irritating to some of us. The more expensive the beautifying product, the more likely research has been done to bring it closer to the natural 'gunk' make-up, kinder to the skin. There are advocates who say Use nothing at all and let the skin return to its habit of providing natural moisturisers and lubricants. But, whatever your decision, cover up from the sun, bathe with natural soap and shampoo ingredients like aloe vera and plant oils, and avoid hard cakes of soap and use harsh shampoos with colourants packed with chemicals sparingly, because many of these chemicals such as parabens can cause skin itching, rashes and allergies to appear. Try natural henna powder [not the chemical-loaded henna paste] for beautiful hair.
*CONSIDER THE MEDICINES YOU TAKE. Medicines almost always come packaged with accompanying chemicals that can cause side-effects that irritate our skin both outside and inside. Did you know that skin wraps into the inside of the body from the mouth, ears, nose, eyes, anus and urethra [right inside the body for considerable distances]? In fact, the digestive tube or gut, at least 22 feet long in an adult, 7 meters of tubing stretching from mouth to anus, is completely lined with skin which also becomes easily irritated. Flaky, hot, spotty itching skin, acid reflux, indigestion, the return of bile into the mouth, retching, feeling and being sick, having diarrhea, may be caused by the medicines we take. These are our body's protective actions to expel irritant chemicals.
- SO, WHAT TO DO? Of course, prescribed medicines recommended by the doctor must be taken, and the body's reactions accepted until the illness is over. However self-prescribed medicines should be avoided and the natural curative abilities of your body be allowed to take over. At the least sign of ill-health, let the body have its say first. Very often, stopping taking extra chemicals and not using beautifiers, etc, will help the body restore its natural equilibrium. Some of us are luckier than others: the skin adapts very quickly to some chemicals, and our gut lining renews itself after a few days. TLC is a superb treatment - give your skin some 'tender loving care' by regularly giving it a rest from the chemicals it meets every day.
*CONSIDER FOOD AND DRINK. Many chemical additives in food can cause skin itching and rashes, both inside and outside the body.
- WHAT TO EAT AND DRINK? The more processed the food is the more likely it contains chemicals that can irritate the skin, inside and out. The more 'natural' or recognizable a food is, the more likely it has fewer chemicals in it, like organic fruits and veg. Wash chemicals off raw foods before eating. Peel where possible. Give the body a rest from heavily processed foods in packaged manufactured 'ready meals' and give the body plenty of time and water to recover from the onslaught of poisonous alcoholic drinks. Yes, drink plenty of water. Help your liver and kidneys de-toxify all the irritant chemicals in food and drink, before, after and while you eat. Overload can cause liver and kidneys to fail, slowly and gradually over our lifetime, a condition reflected in the skin on the outside by spots, itching, rashes, allergies, tiredness, and a sallow appearance of ill-health. No amount of beautifiers can alter you from the outside. 'You are what you eat'. It's really true!
* CONSIDER THE AIR WE BREATHE. Many chemicals in air are skin irritants and poisons, especially in the city. Do you inhale cigarette smoke? Do you travel in traffic fumes every day? Do you never open a window? Do you never shower or brush your teeth frequently? Do you never get out to the park, gardens, the countryside or seaside to breathe fresh air? Good luck with staying beautiful in your own skin.