Countdown begins! Within a month, various national and global festivals will start. Like Halloween, Dussehra-Diwali, Eid, Christmas, and many more festivities are in pipeline. Every year, people from different parts of the world are preparing for such a celebration and continue to end with a New year celebration. During festivals, we all are busy for preparation to celebrate the occasion, but have you prepared your skin so that this sensitive organ can withstand the harshness of chemicals?
People love to do makeup by applying heavy cosmetics on their skin for enhancing their aesthetic beauty to the zeal with the festive mood. I also love to experiment with different looks during the festivals to feel the change all around. But I am very much careful about my skin health.
Skin is one of the sensitive parts of our body and often react with chemicals. Although in the market different branded herbal cosmetics are available. And I prefer them to my makeover. But some herbal cosmetics are not completely chemical-free. Therefore, I start preparing my skin to withstand the harshness of chemicals before the arrival of the festive season. In this blog, I will provide some useful tips to increase skin tolerability as well as an herbal treatment to treat skin sensitivity reactions that occur after heavy makeup.
How to prepare your skin to enhance tolerability?
Stimulate collagen formation by peel off the dead skin layer
Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) are different organic acids like glycolic acid, citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, and lactic acid which are naturally present in many herbs, superfood, and dairy products. AHAs are a suitable option for all types of skin with minimal risk to easily peel off the corneocyte cohesion and also prevent re-thickening of the stratum corneum. Thus, collagen development stimulates. [1]
In dermatological practice, AHA peels have been popularly used for many years. Alpha-hydroxy acids containing cosmeceuticals are already manufactured by different cosmeceuticals companies. But I prefer the natural regimen, as they are the safest option. From my research, I came to know Alpha-hydroxy acids can foe of human skin if proper concentration does not maintain. [1] But NitaNaturale promotes natural ingredients to cure and care for health issues including skin health. Here are some easily available natural sources of Alpha-hydroxy acids:
- Include sugarcane or grape juice in your diet
If you are not a diabetic patient, then drink daily small glass of sugarcane juice and grape juice alternatively during the festive season. Both are natural sources of glycolic acid, which is effective against phototoxicity and skin inflammatory conditions and support skin health. [2,3]
- Apply Banana mask
You can also apply a banana mask on your skin. Glycolic acid present in banana can penetrate the skin and naturally exfoliates the skin and prevent aging symptoms. Glycolic acid present in banana can act as chemical peeling. If you develop acne, melasma, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, or superficial scarring after exposure to heavy makeup, then you also apply a banana mask. But you have to patiently follow the regimen for 16 weeks to heal naturally. [4,5]
- Horse chestnut extract
If you prefer to use some ready to use herbal Alpha-hydroxy acids product, then you can buy Horse chestnut extract. It contains mandelic acid, a type of AHAs which has strong antioxidant and antiaging properties which impart skin cell-protective benefits and safer to use as a herbal cosmetic ingredient. [2, 6, 7]
- Wash your face with buttermilk
Buttermilk is a fermented milk product that is an excellent source of lactic acid. Although a different type of alpha-hydroxy acids is present in different natural sources, lactic acid is an excellent natural moisturizer. [1] Chemical cosmetics often cause skin dehydration. Therefore, washing your skin with buttermilk helps to maintain the skin moisture balance and prevent skin dryness and associated skin problems like wrinkle formation, skin cracking, etc.
Strengthen the protective function of the epidermis
Beta-carotene is a common carotenoids pigment present in many fruits and vegetables like apricots, carrots, guava, pumpkins, peaches, cantaloupes, sweet potatoes, and mangoes. You may not know, 100gm of guava contains 140+μg retinol and considered an excellent source of retinoids. [8] Intake of these fruits or applying fruit masks can naturally supply retinoids in skin tissues, as Beta-carotene converts to retinoids in our body. Retinoids are the ultimate source of vitamin A.
- How to apply Sweet potato face mask
Retinol, a derivative of vitamin A penetrates the stratum corneum layer of the skin and helps to generate new skin cells and strengthens the epidermal protective function. It also upholds the skin moisture by reducing transepidermal water loss. Application of Retinoids can prevent collagen and extracellular matrix degradation by inhibiting metalloproteinases activity. [9]
The sweet potato face mask is easy to apply on the skin to provide an adequate supply of retinoids. Boil sweet potato to make it soft. Mash and add a small amount of honey to give a sticky consistency. Apply all over the face and neck. Stay for 15 minutes and wash off with lukewarm water. In addition, a bowl of guava, or peaches, or carrot salad are retinoids-rich snack options.
- Combination of Alpha-hydroxy acids and retinoids with natural ingredients
A combination of Alpha-hydroxy acids and retinoids is an effective treatment to improve skin tolerability. [10] Different cosmetic manufacturing companies have already marketed this combination formulation. Those who do not use these cosmeceuticals and prepare their own natural formulation, then I recommend take a half glass of fresh grape juice, and mix it with yogurt and ripe pulp of guava. You can add one teaspoon of bentonite clay to prepare a smooth face mask.
Control pigmentation
Pigmentation disorder is a common outcome of skin reaction. Controlled melanin formation is the treatment goal to solve pigmentation disorder. Citrus fruits containing ascorbic acid is an effective treatment for hyperpigmentation. A human trial result found that 96% of the effective result of ascorbic acid against hyperpigmentation within eight weeks treatment period. [11]
- How to apply lemon juice topically
Squeeze lemon juice on a cotton ball and apply all over the facial skin. Wait till the juice dries naturally. Apply it alternative days. You may feel skin irritation immediately after the application of the juice, but soon it will go. In case, you have experienced any side effects, then discontinue it.
- Include soy product in your diet
Isoflavones and other phytochemicals present in soybean have photoprotective, pigment-reducing, and melanosome transfer inhibiting properties. Thus, the application of soybean extract is an effective treatment for facial hyper-melanosis and human trial results also support this efficacy. [11] Therefore, increase soy product intake during the festive season is not only a tasty option but also give your skin enough isoflavones to protect against pigmentation disorder.
- Increase skin immunity
Increasing skin immunity is an important step to prevent any microbial infections. You may hear about microbiota, a ‘friendly bacterial layer’ present in our gut wall to support the digestion process. Similarly, our skin also has microbiota. The topical application of probiotic for skincare is a novel approach to maintain the skin microbiota. The application of probiotics in skincare products improves the immunity of the skin by generating antimicrobial peptides and able to eradicate pathogens. [12]
Regularly apply yogurt on your skin
Yogurt is an example of a probiotic and a good source of lactic acid. Therefore, when you use any natural probiotics like yogurt or probiotic supplement it also supports your skin health. Therefore, regularly apply a yogurt mask on your skin to give protection against skin infection.
Uphold skin moisture
Aloe vera is one of the most popular herbal moisturizing ingredients used in many cosmetic preparations. Cucumber, almond oil, grape seed, jojoba oil, olive oil are also effective herbal ingredients that can uphold the water content of the epidermis layer of the skin. The clinical trial
result reported that the active ingredients present in herbs are useful to hydrate skin tissue and maintain the skin viscoelasticity. [13]
- Moisturize your skin with natural ingredients
You can collect aloe vera gel by scraping the leaves of the plant and apply directly on the skin to naturally moisturize the skin. You can also massage your skin with almond oil, or other mentioned options. Add cucumber to your salad preparation.
You should try all the above-mentioned herbal regimen during the festive season and feel the change of your skin texture.
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6017965/
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311494113_Hydroxy_Acids_Production_and_Applications
- https://digitalcommons.pcom.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1194&context=pa_systematic_reviews
- http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/5064/1/CD6376.pdf
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6195478_The_therapeutic_value_of_glycolic_acid_peels_in_dermatology
- https://bmcbiochem.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12858-018-0095-7
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18503457/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889157500909694#:~:text=Salak%20and%20guava%20were%20found,retinol%20equivalents%2F100%20g).
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6791161/
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jocd.12381
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5843359/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352647515000155
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2992143/