Natural Skin Care Tips
Taking care of your skin isn’t just about looking great (though that’s a nice benefit to doing so), it’s about protecting your body from some of the negative effects of the environment, including the sun. While there are tons and tons of products out there that say they can help you protect or improve the way your skin looks, many of them are loaded with chemicals that can cause problems with your skin and other parts of your body.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Over the last few years, there has been a great movement away from lab-created skin serums and towards green, natural skin care that harnesses the power of plants and other naturally occurring compounds to rejuvenate the skin. At The Happy Labs, we started our company with the express goal of providing the most powerful and helpful plant-based products to people who are devoted to taking care of themselves naturally. From our joint and muscle salve to Happy Hands lotion with organic actives, we’re always searching for safe and effective plant extracts and oils that offer relief and great looks!
On this page, we want to provide you with a quick overview of what makes natural skin care different from traditional skin care products, and give you some quick and easy tips that will transform your skin care routine into a clean beauty regimen that you’ll love to do!
When you’re done, stop by our online store to find some clean beauty and CBD products that are a natural fit for your natural self-care!
What’s Different About Natural Skin Care?
The easiest way to think about natural skin care is to think about it as basically the polar opposite of traditional skin care. While there is no doubt that many of the products on shelves today are safe to use, there is also a lot of evidence that shows that many products from some of the most well-known names in skin care and beauty are full of dangerous chemicals that are known carcinogens or known allergens. Most of those dangerous chemicals are used in “safe” amounts, but if the thought of putting Formaldehyde, a common chemical used to embalm dead bodies, on your face gives you pause, just know that we feel the same way!
When these companies began adding these ingredients to their products, they either weren’t aware of their dangers or the results were good enough that most people didn’t care. Couple that with lackluster oversight, and you have skin care products that are loaded with compounds that you wouldn’t want anywhere near you if you knew what they did.
Clean beauty is about rejecting harmful chemicals and embracing the power of compounds that are found in nature. As it turns out, not only has nature provided us with a seemingly endless number of ingredients that can improve the way our skin feels and looks, a great many of those compounds are hypoallergenic and offer benefits beyond smoother, more beautiful skin!
In the sections below, you’ll find some tips and tricks for having younger-looking, softer, healthier skin, as well as some common skin care ingredients that you’ll want to avoid if you want to reduce your contact with chemicals.
The Most Important Ways to Keep Your Skin Looking and Feeling Great
The following information is by no means an exhaustive list of ways to help your skin feel and look great, but it is a great place to start. You’ll also see that we tried to make this advice as broad as possible in order to help the widest range of people with various skin types, needs, and allergies.
Reduce Stress
Talking about reducing stress is, for a lot of people, one of the fastest ways to increase their stress, but it’s an important part of your overall health and your skin health. One of the ways that stress can have a negative impact on your body is because it increases the level of cortisol in your body. Cortisol is a stress hormone that, while immensely important in situations of fight and flight, throws your entire body out of whack. It can change your digestive system, alters immune system responses, and changes your mood. Too much cortisol in your body for too long can create chronic and more severe stress.
Here’s a few other reasons that stress is bad for you and your skin:
- Stress prevents us from getting good sleep
- Stress prevents us from working out as often as we should
- Stress prevents us from making the best choices about the food we eat
- Stress can lead to depression and anxiety, two states where we have a hard time making good choices
We could expand on all of those points here, but we’d rather show you in the sections below how important it is to reduce stress by showing you the positive effects that come with lowering your stress levels, eating better, sleeping more, and making better choices.
Get More Sleep
Every part of your body benefits from more (and better) sleep. Getting enough sleep every night elevates your mood, reduces stress, and makes your skin look better. People who get enough sleep usually notice that they have fewer wrinkles, smaller and lighter bags under their eyes, and less droopy eyelids.
While the common wisdom says that at least eight hours of sleep is required to get all of the benefits of sleep, everybody is different and you may require more or less sleep. In addition to getting enough sleep, the quality of your sleep is also incredibly important. To improve the quality of your sleep, don’t look at your phone for at least an hour before you go to bed, don’t watch TV in bed, and make sure you go to sleep at the same time each night. A consistent sleep schedule can work wonders!
If you’re looking for a little help with your sleep, make sure to check out our Chill Pills and Good Night Pills. We brought together a handful of great natural ingredients, including organic CBD, to help you relax and sleep better.
While the common wisdom says that at least eight hours of sleep is required to get all of the benefits of sleep, everybody is different and you may require more or less sleep. In addition to getting enough sleep, the quality of your sleep is also incredibly important. To improve the quality of your sleep, don’t look at your phone for at least an hour before you go to bed, don’t watch TV in bed, and make sure you go to sleep at the same time each night. A consistent sleep schedule can work wonders!
If you’re looking for a little help with your sleep, make sure to check out our Chill Pills and Good Night Pills. We brought together a handful of great natural ingredients, including organic CBD, to help you relax and sleep better.
Exercise More
A 2014 study at McMaster University showed that people over 40 who exercised regularly had skin that was half their age! While the reasons behind this are complicated, it makes sense — keeping your body in shape helps it stay more youthful. Regular exercise also helps people get more, higher-quality sleep, which we’ve already discussed the benefits of.
Protect Yourself From the Sun
This one should be obvious, but there are tons of people who spend a lot of time and money on their skin care without utilizing one of the easiest methods for protecting your skin: avoiding too much time in the sun. The sun causes premature aging, wrinkles, sunspots, and can elevate your risk of skin cancer. When you exercise or recreate outside, wear a hat, long sleeve shirts, and pants, and apply a natural sunscreen to the parts of your body that aren’t covered by your clothing. Your skin will still absorb Vitamin D but it will absorb a lot less dangerous UV light.
Drink More Water
Water is the stuff of life! Without enough water every day, your skin will look and feel dry and tight, not to mention all of the other negative impacts that dehydration can have on your body. While each person is different and requires a different amount of water each day, if you aren’t sure where to start, there are helpful apps and calculators online that can give you a good starting point and remind you throughout the day to drink more water (and to track your progress).
Try to incorporate more fresh vegetables and fruits into your diet, along with leaner meats and healthier fats. Find foods that are loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help reduce the production of free radicals — unstable molecules that damage the body. Start small — even the tiniest adjustments can have tremendous benefits when we look at the long haul.
If drinking enough water is difficult at first, make small changes to start. Over time, they can have a big impact. For example, if you’re used to drinking a cup of coffee and a glass of juice for breakfast, swap out the juice for water for a week. Not only will you cut a lot of sugar out of your diet, you’ll be providing your cells with the hydration you need. Get a water bottle and carry it with you. If you feel thirsty, take a sip. Every drop helps!
Try to incorporate more fresh vegetables and fruits into your diet, along with leaner meats and healthier fats. Find foods that are loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help reduce the production of free radicals — unstable molecules that damage the body. Start small — even the tiniest adjustments can have tremendous benefits when we look at the long haul.
If drinking enough water is difficult at first, make small changes to start. Over time, they can have a big impact. For example, if you’re used to drinking a cup of coffee and a glass of juice for breakfast, swap out the juice for water for a week. Not only will you cut a lot of sugar out of your diet, you’ll be providing your cells with the hydration you need. Get a water bottle and carry it with you. If you feel thirsty, take a sip. Every drop helps!
Eat Healthier Foods
While a lot of us were probably told at one point in our lives that greasy food gives you bad skin or can cause you to break out, the truth is a little more complicated. If we’re eating a lot of processed foods that are high in sugars, unhealthy fats, and unnecessary carbohydrates, we’re going to feel less inclined to work out. If we don’t work out, we don’t sleep as well. If we don’t sleep as well, we get more stressed. More stress means worse skin. Eating healthful foods is an important part of the chain of good skin and overall health.
Try to incorporate more fresh vegetables and fruits into your diet, along with leaner meats and healthier fats. Find foods that are loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help reduce the production of free radicals — unstable molecules that damage the body. Start small — even the tiniest adjustments can have tremendous benefits when we look at the long haul.
Try to incorporate more fresh vegetables and fruits into your diet, along with leaner meats and healthier fats. Find foods that are loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help reduce the production of free radicals — unstable molecules that damage the body. Start small — even the tiniest adjustments can have tremendous benefits when we look at the long haul.
Exfoliate
If you have a skin care regimen, exfoliation is probably already a part of it. If it isn’t, it should be. Exfoliation is the process of removing the dead skin cells from your body. If dead cells are left in place, your skin can look and feel dry, dull, and, well, lifeless! Getting rid of old, dead skin allows the fresh skin cells that your body is constantly making to shine.
While there are many, many chemical exfoliants available, physical exfoliation is generally a safer, cleaner way of 86ing dead skin cells. Physical exfoliants can include scrubs with physical media that scrubs and washes away these old cells, or it can be an object like a brush that does the same thing.
We recommend trying a few different methods until you find one that is easy to incorporate into your routine and that leaves your face looking and feeling great. Always remember to remove your makeup and wash your face with your normal face wash before exfoliating to get the best results.
While there are many, many chemical exfoliants available, physical exfoliation is generally a safer, cleaner way of 86ing dead skin cells. Physical exfoliants can include scrubs with physical media that scrubs and washes away these old cells, or it can be an object like a brush that does the same thing.
We recommend trying a few different methods until you find one that is easy to incorporate into your routine and that leaves your face looking and feeling great. Always remember to remove your makeup and wash your face with your normal face wash before exfoliating to get the best results.
Read Labels
Understanding what you are putting onto your skin is one of the most important steps you can take to reduce the number of chemicals you are exposed to. It’s a good rule of thumb that the fewer ingredients you see, the better, and that you should look for skin care products that have as many natural ingredients as possible. If you can’t pronounce something on a label, or if you do some research online and all you see are complex scientific writing, you might not want to splash it all over yourself.
Clean beauty is about using what nature has provided us with and avoiding chemicals that we just don’t understand the long-term effects of. We are exposed to so many chemicals and environmental contaminants each day thanks to pollution that it isn’t a good idea to add more to the mix.
Clean beauty is about using what nature has provided us with and avoiding chemicals that we just don’t understand the long-term effects of. We are exposed to so many chemicals and environmental contaminants each day thanks to pollution that it isn’t a good idea to add more to the mix.
If you’re looking for healthy, plant-based skin care products and a range of CBD products,
What To Avoid When Buying Skin Care Products
This isn’t a comprehensive list, but these are some of the most common, and potentially most dangerous, chemicals that are found in a lot of skin care products.
Fragrance
For a lot of people, fragrances are an important part of which lotions and skin care products they use. While there are some natural scents that are well-tolerated and smell great, some fragrances are the result of complex engineered chemicals that can cause allergic reactions. If you moisturize a lot using scented lotion and you notice that your skin is red or itchy.
Parabens
Parabens were originally added to beauty products in the 1950s to help slow spoilage and reduce mold growth. While they may have had the intended preservative effects, they also came with a number of negative effects, including penetrating your body and staying there. One study found parabens in the majority (19 out of 20) of patients with breast cancer. While that doesn’t mean that these chemicals caused the cancer, it proved that these chemicals enter the body and don’t leave. Parabens have also been linked to disrupted hormone function. Some scientists believe that parabens mimic oestrogen. Too much of this hormone has been shown to lead to an increase in breast cell development and the growth of tumors.
Phthalates
Phthalates are common compounds used in many different products that we use every day, from food packaging to a wide variety of personal and skin care products. While originally regarded as safe, recent studies have linked these chemicals to a number of health issues, and the government has even banned the use of phthalates in some products and limited their uses in others. When you’re looking for skin care products, do your research to find lotions, balms, and scrubs that are phthalate-free.
Thanks for checking out this page! If you want to learn more about clean beauty and skin care, make sure to check out our blog. We update it regularly with tips and information about our line of natural skin care products. Head on over to our store to find some excellent organic products that can help your skin look and feel younger!