Mango to Shea and back again

December 23, 2016

Shirl J

So, one of my passions is natural skin and hair care. I offer a few really good products in my shop. So with this blog post I wanted to let you get a peek behind the scenes; into the main ingredients I use and their benefits. Hopefully this will help you choosing the right product for your skin and hair.

Shea Butter: Shea butter has the ability to soothe, hydrate and balance your skin. It is used as a moisturizer for dry skin and eczema, as a dry scalp treatment, for chapped lips and to help soften cracked dry skin on heels, elbows and knees. Shea butter has natural anti-inflammatory properties that have been known to heal scrapes, cuts and burns; relieve sunburn and rashes; take the sting out of insect bites; and ease the pain from muscle fatigue and arthritis. Shea butter has been used for centuries as a wrinkle reducer. Shea butter contains essential fatty acids, along with vitamins A and E, which are imperative to maintaining your skin's elasticity and suppleness.

Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is a powerful moisturizer that is beneficial to restoring dry or flaking skin. Unlike your average moisturizer that contains a lot of water and likely synthetic ingredients, coconut oil helps to strengthen skin tissue more deeply and eliminate dead skin cells while absorbing quickly into your skin. Coconut oil also helps to delay the occurrence of wrinkles because it contains antioxidant Vitamin E, known to protect skin cells from damage over time. The Vitamin E found in coconut oil soothes eczema, sunburn and psoriasis, and its antiviral and antifungal benefits even help to treat bug bites. Coconut oil contains 3 fatty acids: capric acid, lauric acid and caprylic acid. Each of these acids kill candida, a common cause of fungal infection on your skin.

Jojoba Oil: Due to its anti-inflammatory effect, jojoba oil is used in folk medicine to assist in wound healing, treat skin infections and other skin afflictions, and even slow the aging of skin. It's used topically to calm eczema and psoriasis symptoms. You can also apply it to your skin to soothe sunburns and reduce inflammation from an injury.

Olive Oil: Olive oil is truly a powerhouse when it comes to hair, skin and beauty. Its rich, moisturizing properties make it ideal for use on your hair making it healthier, stronger and shinier. Rich in vitamins A, E and antioxidants, olive oil helps protect the keratin in hair and seals in moisture.

Bees Wax: Acting as a surfactant, beeswax, when blended into cold creams and other skin lotions, forms a protective barrier on the surface of the skin. This barrier provides a film of protection against irritants while still allowing the skin to breathe. This barrier may also aid in protecting the tender skin on your lips. Using a lip balm that contains beeswax during cold weather to reduce your chances of developing chapped lips.

Rose Hip Oil: Rose hips oil contains transretinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A that is also known as tretinoin. The acid invigorates and regenerates skin, firming as well as fighting fine lines. It helps treat sun-damaged skin by lightening it, regulating the turnover process by which old, damaged skin is replaced by younger, fresher-looking skin. Rose hips oil is a natural lipid that can improve your skin's flexibility and permeability.

Mango Butter: The mango is full of moisture. Mangoes not only nourish the body internally, but they also provide skin with sweet treats. These include moisture, and vitamins A, C and E, which work to combat free radicals. Free radicals are found in the sun's rays and air pollution. When applied to the skin, mango butter has the ability to protect it from the sunburn as well as sooth sunburned skin.