You would think that what we consider to be our day-to-day natural skin care products, would all contain ingredients that are actually good for our skin. But in many cases you would be wrong. You would think that the biggest brand names would be the safest bets, but again in many cases you would be wrong. Moreover you would think that the more expensive the product, the better the ingredients would be for you, but again in many cases you would be wrong.

Manufacturers are now falling over each other to introduce ever more obscure and fanciful ingredients to entice you to their so called natural skincare brands. In most cases the ingredients simply do not do what they claim or are in such a tiny quantity as to be absolutely useless. In some cases these ingredients can be actually harmful. Many use harmful chemical compounds to replicate natures natural essential oils, why? Because it is cheaper for them.

Over the last few years our daily lives have got increasingly contaminated with chemicals that are actually harmful to us. In our household cleaning products, in our home DIY products and in our daily cosmetics there are a frightening array of carcinogenic and potentially dangerous toxic chemicals. An NBC news report exposed that a research exercise had found some 95 chemicals that had been ingested into one woman's body and although individually none of these contaminants were at a dangerous level, the sheer number gives rise for concern. The point strongly made in the broadcast is that 75 years ago most of these contaminants just did not exist.

The older generations have always talked about the 'good old days' and even I sometimes find myself insisting that the weather on holidays was always better when I was a child. In reality much has improved for us, but when it comes to cosmetics I think we can still learn a lot from our Grandparents' or for the younger amongst us, from our Great Grandparents' generations. Life was simpler then and so were most (although not all) of the ingredients they used. They used more truly natural ingredients and most of their foods were naturally organic (although it was before the concept became mainstream). They knew that they had to protect their skin from the contaminants in the atmosphere (for coal produced smog was an even greater problem in their day) and they knew to keep out of the sun to avoid the ravages to the skin that prolonged exposure to the sun can cause.

My Mother tells me that her Grandmother was always telling her to drink plenty of water as it is good for the skin and that same advice is true today, as we know the importance of keeping our skin hydrated to keep it naturally plumped up and youthful looking.

Diet is also important for the skin and a balanced diet of fresh, ideally organic produce is as important for us as it was for the Victorians who knew nothing of long life frozen foods and the preservatives used in them.

So, Protection, Hydration and Diet remain as important today for a good natural skincare regime as they ever were.

How you look after yourself directly effects how you age and that can be true of us at any age. We know that prolonged exposure to the sun causes skin ageing so we should always use a sunscreen. Similarly, prolonged usage of products full of preservatives and chemicals results in large amounts of these contaminants being ingested into our bodies. The answer is to use products with fewer preservatives and chemicals. Fortunately there are now some great moisturisers that are made in small batches without preservatives and chemicals brought up to date with beneficial vitamins.

Fragrances are a must-have in our Hand, Body and Foot creams, but we should ensure that we only use products with pure essential oils. With our Day and Night Creams the emphasis is on what essential oils are most efficient workers for our skin. For instance, Chamomile can be beneficial for irritated skin as well as being known as a relaxing fragrance which is why it is ideal for a night cream. Geranium, as well as also having a gorgeous fragrance, has recognised healing powers. Lavender is a recognised healing agent and sunscreen (and bug repellent) but is often avoided by our younger generation through its association with Granny and bygone times. But Granny knew a thing or two about nature's little miracle worker.

So the route to youthful beauty is not through expensive so called miracle creams, but through emphasis on more natural skin care products without chemicals and preservatives, accompanied by a regular natural skincare regime including the right diet, exercise and skin hydration through drinking plenty of water.

You can find more information about natures natural skincare process here - Natural Skincare