Beauty Through Herbs

It is said that Nature is a great cosmetologist and chemist. All the ingredients required to beautify and maintain the skin, hair and health are available in the treasury of medicinal herbs provided by mother nature. Our ancestors had the art of using these medicinal herbs to enhance beauty. They had beautifully co-related 'health & beauty. But today we are moving away from these natural medicinal system and are willingly going under surgeon's knife or spend thousands on trying to achieve beauty through injections and interventions.

Skin is the mirror of health and reflection of good health means healthy skin. Skin becomes soft and shiny due to secretions of sebaceous glands, sweat glands maintain the body temperature and expel toxins. A mixture of both forms a protective covering called acid mantle. Balance of both is required for natural skin, if sebaceous glands secretes in excess the skin becomes more oily and pimple or acne prone and over stimulated sweat glands makes the skin rough. With excessive use of soap this balance is disturbed. Our skin today has to
face the environment, heat, dust, pollution, germs, stress etc so it is very important that we take care of the skin as part of our daily routine to maintain the health of face and to enhance beauty of the skin.

Traditionally face packs and masks are used to maintain facial skin, and Ubtan, oil massage, steam bath for the body. These treatments are classified in 3 categories in Ayurveda:

Doshaghna: the one which removes Dosha such as itching, inflammation, and other skin irritations.

Vishaghna: the one which removes poisons, toxins and

Varnya: the one that gives luster, glow and firm healthy skin.

Herbs like Aloevera, Orange peel (or any citurs peel ), Papaya has cleansing properties.

Amba Haldi( curcumma amanda), Neem, Basil, liquorice (Glycerrhiz glabra), Bavachi (Psoralea Corylifolia) are antiseptic

Ashvagandha, Ginseng, Nagarmotha (CyperusRotundus), Basil, liquorice are nutritive
Kachur sugandhi, Nagarmotha, Bavachi, Ambahaldi, Anantmu (Hemidesmus Indicus)l etc increases blood circulation

Sandalwood, vertivert, rose, lodhra, aloevera, red sandalwood, anantmul etc are also anti inflammatory

Ginseng, papaya, liquorice, manjishtha, rose, lodhra, anantmul are rejuvenating

Arjun, Harda, Triphala, manjishtha, neem (Azadirachta indica) are astrigent in nature

aloevera, rose, vertiveria geranium are moisturising

Amba haldi, cucumber, lemon, kachur sugandhi, aloevera, redsandalwood, tomatoes, anantmul are bleaching

Manjishtha (Rubia cordifolia), papaya, aloevera, ginseng, Nagarmotha etc are wrinkle control also.

HIDDEN DANGER IN YOUR HERBAL COSMETICS

Many consumers don't realize the hidden dangers lurking in their so called 'herbal products'. As the labels do not specify exactly what ingredients has gone into the products. A cream or shampoo cannot be made of just herbs or herbal extracts, and in absence of requirement of any safety tests of cosmetic products, many different untested chemicals and low cost synthetic compounds derived from petroleum goes into the product making it as dangerous and chemical cocktail of allergies.

Phthalates, or phthalate esters, are a top hazard in fragrance mixtures. And these fragrances are mixed with essential oils to give natural look and added to the herbal products for long lasting fragrances. These are a group of chemical compounds that are mainly added to plastics to increase their flexibility. Phthalates can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled causing a wide range of health and reproductive problems.

In contrast, natural fragrance ingredients such as essentialoils are obtained entirely from plants. When properly prepared, they have not been associated with significant adverse reactions. However, the natural ingredients are more expensive than synthetic chemicals, resulting in fewer skin care product manufacturers using them.

Similarly use synthetic preservatives such as Parabens (propylparaben, ethylparaben and butyparaben), While they are broad spectrum preservatives, it has striking similarity to the hormone oestrogen. Parabens could be mistaken for oestrogen by the body and disrupt the endocrine system causing depression or cancer.

A shampoo without Sulphates (sodium laurel sulphare or sodium laureth sulphate - foaming agents made from sulfuric acid, monododecyle ester and sodium) is arguably been called one of the most dangerous ingredients in products today. Used up to 15% in essential cosmetics like bath gels, shampoos, is corrosive by nature. It can dry out skin by stripping the protective lipids from the surface of the skin, weakening the body's natural moisture regulation mechanisms. Eats away at the follicle causing hair loss.