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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Jojoba Oil in Organic and Natural Beauty Care

Jojoba is evergreen tree, native to the Sonoran Desert in the American Southwest. It requires minimum amount of water and manure to cultivate, is extremely resistant to plant diseases and insects, and perfect choice for dry, arid regions. Jojoba oil is extracted from nuts of jojoba trees and used in variety of applications from food to beauty.

Contrary to the popular belief, jojoba oil is not oil at all. Chemically it is a mixture of liquid wax esters. The only reason it is called so is because is it an oil-resembling liquid.  It is a highly stable, oxidation resistant liquid wax with high molecular weight, meaning it can stand for a long time without becoming rancid.

It is most commonly used in its refined and unrefined form. Unrefined jojoba oil is a clear golden liquid while refined jojoba oil is a colorless and odorless liquid. Based on purification and processing, jojoba oil is additionally divided into four grades:

• Grade one
  • Pure and natural type jojoba oil, with a golden or yellow color, preferably used in organic and natural cosmetics.
• Grade two
  • Refined and bleached jojoba oil that is colorless.
• Grade three
  • De-colored and deodorized grade, commonly used in mainstream cosmetics.
• Grade four
  • Molecular distilled oil that is very expensive.

Grade one jojoba oil is most similar to skin sebum which is why it is preferred as an additive to many skin care and hair care products. It is non-toxic, non-comedogenic, non-allergenic, anti-bacterial and non-irritating, so it does not clog pores and does not cause allergic reactions. This makes jojoba oil a logical choice for natural and organic bath and beauty products.

Being similar to skin sebrum, jojoba oil is readily absorbed into skin and does not leave oily residue like other oils do. It has a high content of beneficial minerals and vitamins such as Vitamin E, so jojoba oil is very nutritious and unparallel in dry skin and hair care. If that is not enough, jojoba oil is a strong antioxidant which protects skin from the damaging effects of free radicals which ages skin prematurely.  This is why 90%of all jojoba oil produced is used in the cosmetic and hair industry. Many bath and beauty organic and natural products are also built and manufactured around it.

Who knew such an unassuming little oil wannabe could be so good at keeping us beautiful?

For ideas on how to use jojoba oil in everyday beauty care, follow Nina Bella Collection blog and visit our website!

Peppermint Foot Treatment

Dry, calloused feet are never a welcome or a pretty sight. Whether just for cosmetic or practical reasons, most of us will agree that dry calloused feet are an annoying and persistent nuisance. Dryness can be caused by variety of factors, from genetic to environment. The most common denominator seems to be exposure to harsh cleaning agents, walking barefoot, cold weather and yes – natural tendency toward having dry skin. Whatever the reason, loss of natural skin oils will cause feet skin to loose moisture which in turn causes dryness. This, in combinations with poor footwear choice, flat feet and general lack of foot care, can lead to corns, calluses and bunions. Left untreated, this can bring about skin cracking, bleeding and infection. In other words, cranky, painful, dry, tired looking feet.

But there is hope! Wearing cotton socks, avoiding going barefoot and well fitted shoes are a great start towards preventing dry calloused feet. Adding foot soaks, pumice stone scrubs and comprehensive foot moisturizing treatment will go a long way toward healing dry callused skin. Here is one of our favorite natural foot treatments which uses almond oil to moisturize, lemon to exfoliate and peppermint essential oil to smooth and refresh dry foot skin:

 Peppermint Foot Treatment:

 Ingredients:

 6 drops of peppermint essential oil

¼ cup almond oil

¼ cup lemon juice

Add peppermint essential oil to almond oil and mix well. Add lemon juice and mix well. To use apply a small quantity of ready Peppermint Foot Treatment to clean dry feet. Rub in well until fully absorbed. Use four times a week for best results. Store ready mixture in the fridge for up to three weeks.

Treat your feet kindly and your feet will treat you kindly in return!

Enjoy this and more natural treatments from Nina Bella Collection every week!

Peppermint Essential Oil: Ancient Beauty Secret

Peppermint essential oil, originating from mystic East, is one of the worlds’ oldest medicinal plants. Believed to enhance the well-being of digestive and respiratory system, to promote body cleansing, to eliminate odors and to help with mental fatigue, peppermint essential oil has been widely used for over 3000 years as far back as ancient Egypt and Rome.

Even today we revel in the old world luxury by adding peppermint essential oil to our bath and beauty products. As the science comes to bear, the secrets behind this popular plant are revealed and understanding of its benefits better understood.

Peppermint from which the essential oil is extracted is a hybrid mint plant, a natural cross between watermint and spearmint. Easy to cultivate and extremely durable peppermint is spread worldwide. It is typically found in moist areas habitats, dotted with natural streams and ditches. Being a hybrid, it is usually sterile, producing no seeds and reproducing only vegetatively by spreading by its rhizomes. However, it can grow anywhere, and that is why it remains a popular plat additive to cosmetic, bath and beauty products.

Peppermint oil is steam distilled from the partially dried tops of the plants, just before the flowering as this produces the most fragrant oil. Peppermint essential oil extracted from mature flowers results in lower grade, less-sweet and complex oil.

Chemically peppermint essential oil is made of menthol, often used as food and toothpaste additive, menthone, menthyl esters, numerous minerals and nutrients including manganese, iron, magnesium, calcium, folate, potassium, copper and omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Menthol, menthone and menthyl esters are responsible for a natural minty scent peppermint lends to bath and beauty products. They also create a cooling skin sensation in low concentrations and warming skin sensation in higher concentrations. The cooling sensation comes from a natural ability of peppermint oil property to constrict the skin surface capillaries in low dilutions. This also allows peppermint essential oil to act as natural analgesic and decongestant which is why is often found in natural migraine and sinus inflammation aids. In higher concentrations, body reacts to cooling by triggering heat response creating warming skin sensation. And this is a root cause of high applicability of peppermint essential oil. Add a little to soothe and cool and add more to warm and relax.

Together with its minerals, vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids delivers analgesic and soothing care or plump and increase skin tone and elasticity as needed which is why you will often find natural skin care products listing peppermint oil. The trick is to go for products that have peppermint essential oil, not the fragrance oil.

Be careful with peppermint essential skin oil in bath and beauty products. While it is tempting to go for higher concentrations due to combined cooling heating effect, adding too much will irritate skin and that beats the whole purpose. Stay away from products that exceed higher than 5% peppermint essential oil concentration and you will be fine.

Want to know a natural secret for get rid of tired, achy feet? Simple! Use a generous hand-full of peppermint oil bath salt in warm water and soak your feet for 15 minutes. You will love it, your feet will love it and most of all your family will be love seeing you relaxed and pain free.

Enjoy reading about our peppermint essential oil solutions and more at Nina Bella Collection website and blog.