Vitamins for Your Skin

When picking the right skin product it is a good idea to check the ingredients to see if it has the right skin nourishing combination. Good product should contain most if not all of following vitamins to keep skin supple and healthy:

a) Vitamin A

Vitamin A is in charge of maintenance and repair of vital skin tissue, and is the key to healthy skin. Lack of vitamin A can cause skin dryness and wrinkles.

b) Vitamin B Complex

Vitamin B complex contains the nutrient, biotin, which forms the basis of nails, skin, and hair cells. It is anti-inflammatory, it hydrates the skin cells and gives a healthy glow to skin.

c) Vitamin C

In skin, vitamin C can help collagen production. This in turn reduces wrinkles, improves skin texture, and reduces photo damage.

d) Vitamin E

The trick to getting soft touchable skin is vitamin E. It regenerates skin and can improve appearance of acne scars.

e) Vitamin K

Vitamin K is your secret weapon to fighting dark circles and bruises. This vitamin helps fade discolorations on the skin, reducing puffiness and dark circles that so many of us suffer from.

While off the shelf cosmetic product can come packed with artificially synthesized vitamin groups, you really want to go as organic as possible. Organically sourced vitamins absorb into skin better and are more potent bringing better overall skin benefits.  Whenever possible choose the facial products that source vitamins from organic ingredients.

When it comes down to your skin, healthier is better. Please check out our  great selection of organic products at Nina Bella Organic Collection.

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Dry Skin Formula

Dry skin comes with its own unique set of challenges. Flakiness, dry patches, wrinkles and irritation are just tip of the iceberg, and dermatitis, itchy rashes and eczema are real issues. The fact is dry skin care requires advanced moisturizing care. There are plenty of choices out there. There are also plenty of chemicals you will be exposed to when using industrial moisturizing creams. In the long run that may bring more damage then good. This is why more and more people turn to natural dry skin care.

Once again, by a rule of thumb, turn to natural plant and essential oils. Plant oils are a perfect mix of antioxidants that protect skin, vitamins and minerals that nourish skin and natural moisturizers that keep skin well hydrated. And you do not have to worry about chemicals or harmful additives. Plus creating your own dry skin formula can be fun and will not break the bank.

When coming up with your own dry skin formula, do your research. You want to select oils based on benefits suited to your particular dry skin issue, that being patchiness, flakiness or – yes – eczema. This way you can customize your formula by aroma, consistency and particular concern you might have. Sweet orange oil, a powerful moisturizing agent is the best place to start. Add a mix of two or more plant oils and some essential oils and voila – you are there. It is that easy.

Here is an easy starter dry skin formula to try:

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup grape seed oil

¼ cup jojoba oil

1 tablespoon sweet orange essential oil

Mix olive, grape seed and jojoba oil together. Add sweet orange essential oil and mi well. Apply a small quantity of ready formula over dry skin and massage in until absorbed. Repeat three to four times a week or best results. Store formula in dry place, away from sun.

Compliments of Nina Bella Collection – your Canadian organic bath and beauty care manufacturer.

Plum Oily Skin Treatment

Roughly 30% of population suffers from oily skin. Oily skin is caused by over-active sebaceous glands that produce skin oil which acts as skin lubricant. Over accumulation and buildup of oil on the skin surface interferes with natural skin cycle, leads to clogged pores, blackheads and dead skin cells buildup causing skin thickening, shininess, blemishes and pimples. This is why oily skin often has enlarged pores, dull, rough and worn appearance. On the upside, oily skin is very resistant, less prone to wrinkling, ageing and bad weather. That, however, is small comfort to those of us who have to reach repeatedly for oil and shine minimizing products, heavy powders and mattifiers in desperate attempt to quench the daily oil spill.

Like in everything, when treating oily skin, moderation is the key. Over stripping skin oil leads to skin dehydration as the skin natural protective layer is removed and over-stimulation of sebaceous glades so that even more oil is secreted in a desperate attempt of our skin to protect itself. Best results are achieved by using natural and organic face cleansers formulated especially for oily skin. Any natural/organic skin cleanser with pH close to skin’s natural pH, 5.4, is a good bet. Getting one is as simple as looking in your fridge and making your own, natural and cost effective oily skin tonic. Try one of our favorites – plum tonic:

Ingredients:

4 ripe plums, green or black
1 tablespoon of mineral water
1 teaspoon of essential lavender oil

Remove plum pits and skins. Pure cleaned plums with mixer.  Separate plum juice from the pulp. Add essential lavender oil and mineral water to plum juice and mix well. To use apply generous portion of plum tonic to clean skin and let rest 20 minutes before rinsing off. Pat dry. Apply three times a week for best results. Store plum tonic in fridge for up to one month.

Visit us soon for another edition of Nina Bella Collection favorites!

Cure Cold Sores with Lavender

Cold sores are annoying small, painful, fluid-filled reminders of how our body can react to colds, stress and weather. Popping around the mouth, lips and nose cold sores are painful, persistent and usually last for days, leaving most of us scrambling after concealers, powders and heavy creams that can make the problem worse. It is common nuisance – about 60% of the population suffers from cold sores at some point in their lives. And because cold sores are caused by a virus, they are contagious, hard to get rid of and often reoccur. This is why a golden rule of not picking cold sores with our hands applies and why they spread around the face when we do.

Today I will share with you a fairly simple and effective way to treat and prevent cold sores naturally. All you really need to do is spend 5 minutes making a simple tonic with lavender essential oil. Known for its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties lavender has been used a natural cure for cold sores and skin inflammations for centuries. To make your own lavender cold sore tonic do the following:

 Ingredients:

8 drops of lavender essential oil

8 drops of peppermint essential oil

1 teaspoon of glycerin

½ cup warm water

½ cup of witch hazel

Add lavender and peppermint essential oils to 1 teaspoon of glycerin and mix well. Add to ½ cup of warm water and mix well. Add ½ cup of witch hazel and mix well. To use dab a generous amount of tonic on affected areas with cotton compress and let dry. Apply two times a day until cold sore clears. Store the tonic in cold place for up to 3 months. Shake tonic well before each use.

Cure Freckles

The mighty freckle – charming on a 5 year old and a nuisance for adult skin.  Freckles are a natural consequence of genetics often made worse by sunburn. Genetics predisposes skin to skin to produce melatonin causing freckles after sun exposure. Most commonly seen are simple and sunburn freckles. Simple freckles are usually light yellow to tan, round, pea sized and most commonly seen on a face. Sunburn freckles are often darker, with irregular borders, larger and most commonly seen on upper back, arms and shoulders. They are most commonly treated with costly laser treatments, cryosurgery and freckle creams. Fortunately there are less invasive, more natural and significantly less costly solutions.

Freckles are fairly easy to treat by simple preparations from common ingredients found in kitchen. Apple vinegar in combination with lemon juice can go a long way toward curing freckles on a dime budget.

Freckle Buster Tonic:

Ingredients:

½ cup of organic apple vinegar

½ cup of water

1 tablespoon of organic lemon juice

Mix organic apple vinegar and water well and boil over medium heat for few minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. When cool, add lemon juice and mix well. To apply, gently dab the preparation over freckles with a cotton swab or a soft cotton cloth.  Let dry. Apply once a day for two weeks to lighten freckles. Store the preparation in a fridge for up to three weeks.

For more simple ideas on at-home organic skin care solutions check out Nina Bella Collection and enjoy a wonderful selection of affordable organic products.