Skin care is not something new as it has been in practice since ancient times, when herbal skin care was probably the only way to take care of skin. The skin care market changed forever when chemical based products became available which have taken over the skin care market from herbal products. The greatest tragedy is the loss of so many natural formulas that were once commonplace but now only a small number of the people still use herbal products on a regular basis.

It is probably our laziness not to produce our own and the ease with which large companies can supply them that has been the real downfall of the wonderful, natural products. Even herbal skin care products have been commercialized and many commercial herbal skin care products have to be mixed with preservatives in order to increase their shelf-life, hence making them less effective than the fresh ones made at home.

Growing numbers of people are going back to the old ways and using herbal products made in small batches by tiny companies that specialize in using the old techniques. The increase of commercially available herbal products is not likely to lose to much ground though to these small independent companies but do you know what sort of products I am referring to?

Aloe vera is probably the best known which is an extract from Aloe plant and is one of the best examples of herbal skin care product plus freshly extracted aloe vera is a natural hydrant that helps to heal cuts, treat sun burns and in soothing skin. The cleansing properties of herbs like dandelion, chamomile, lime flowers and rosemary are often only activated when they are mixed with other herbs; tea is a good example of this.

To protect from infection and help the skin, the herbs lavender, marigold, thyme and fennel can be used, all of which have antiseptic properties. Tea plays an important part in herbal skin care and tea extracts are used for treatment of skin that has been damaged by UV radiation.

Many herbal products contain oils taken from the plants themselves in diluted and undiluted for like tea tree, primrose and lavender oils. Certain skin conditions can also be helped with oils extracted from plants in herbal skin care preparations.

Obviously the greatest benefit of using natural products is there is hardly ever any reaction to their use, something that the synthetic products cannot claim. So, herbal skin care is the way to go but this does not mean that you totally discard the synthetic products and you should accept the fact that some skin orders might need usage of clinically proven non-herbal skin care products.

Finally, never disregard the importance of skin care and maintenance products because the skin has an important job to do and needs assistance itself sometimes.