The Goal: Gorgeous Skin
Have you ever stared in the mirror and felt frustration at the state of your face? At a loss to know where to begin to treat and care for your skin?
Skin Challenges
While we are all unique individuals, skin problems are thankfully common enough that yours probably fall into one of the following categories:
Too Dry
Dry skin can be caused by many things; environmental factors such as the cold or wind, poor nutrition, exposure to chemicals via harsh soaps or detergents, lack of hydration... The list goes on! The result can be dry, flaky, itchy, uncomfortable skin. When your skin is dry, you start to develop more wrinkles and your existing wrinkles become more apparent. Overall, the result can be a tired look that obscures the real you!
Too Oily
You want your skin to glow - but not shine due to overproduction of oil! Oily skin is more common during adolescence due to an increase in androgen levels, but oily skin can still be an issue in later years. It can be triggered by humid weather, stress, your menstrual cycle, and cosmetics/beauty products. Genetics and diet also play a significant role. While oily skin tends to make wrinkles less prominent, it can also make your skin look greasy or shiny, and you can end up with acne due to clogged pores.
Acne
It’s hard to feel confident with blemishes on your face. For better or worse, acne is one of the most common skin problems. Acne occurs when hair follicles become clogged by oil and dead skin cells. If the blocked pores get infected with bacteria, the skin will become inflamed. Acne is typically triggered by hormones, stress, diet, and certain medications.
Irritation/Inflammation
Skin irritations can occur in a myriad of ways; one example is eczema. Also known as dermatitis, eczema is in fact a group of diseases and the result is inflammation of the skin. The causes can vary but the symptoms usually include itchiness, red skin, and a rash. Not only can eczema flares be irritating and/or painful, they’re also often quite embarrassing as the inflamed area can be quite unsightly.
Wrinkles
Wrinkles are a natural outcome of aging but one we all still tend to fight. Not only does your skin become less elastic as the years go by, but the production of natural oils decreases and dry skin naturally looks more wrinkled. Fat in the deeper layers of skin also diminishes. Exposure to the sun or smoking can accelerate the aging of the skin, and certain repetitive facial expressions will leave grooves in your face. Sigh - the only time when smiling can be a problem!
Bumpy/Uneven texture
Bumps on the skin can have many causes such as allergic reactions, acne, or skin conditions such as Keratosis pilaris, which is marked by an overgrowth of a protein called keratin. This causes small bumps around hair follicles on the body, giving your skin an uneven look, which makes makeup application a tricky business. These bumpy patches are also very common on the backs of the arms and the backs of the thighs and legs.
Sallow/Unhealthy Colour
The main causes of sallow skin or poor colour are anemia, smoking, and vitamin deficiency. Lack of proper circulation can also play a role. While these issues are primarily treatable via diet and healthy lifestyle, your skin care routine can certainly help counter some of the effects.
Understanding your Skin’s Needs
We all want to have that natural glow but it doesn’t always seem to occur, well, naturally. Sifting through the volume and variety of products available on the market that promise us derma-happiness can be confusing and complicated, not to mention, expensive.
Skincare has become such a massive industry and the big skincare companies are funneling more and more money into marketing and chemical development. What they don’t want you to know is that skincare doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it shouldn’t be complicated. All of those ingredient names that you can’t pronounce are not the answer to beautiful skin.
Smooth, supple skin and even skin tone are within reach, and can be achieved with 100% natural, pure ingredients.
A Sensational Solution: Shea Butter
The great news -- and what the cosmetic industry doesn’t want you to know -- is that 100% natural Shea butter can address all of the skin conditions and challenges that you’re contending with. That includes all of the gripes that we’ve listed above: dry skin, oily skin, acne, irritation, inflammation, wrinkles, bumpy skin, uneven skin tone and texture, unhealthy colour, and many other skin ailments.
First of all, skin dryness. Keeping your skin hydrated is key to your skin health and to your appearance. Shea butter contains natural moisturizers. In fact, the moisturizing elements that occur naturally in Shea butter are similar to those produced by your own skin. Shea butter also contains a significant amount of Vitamin F, which is made up of fatty acids, the deficiency of which can lead to dry skin in the first place.
Next, oily skin/acne. You might think that using something with the word “butter” in it would be a mistake to use on your skin. Quite the opposite! Shea butter is comparatively less comedogenic than other oils, and is frequently used to treat acne because of the fatty acids in the Vitamin F. People who are acne prone tend to have low linoleic acid content in their skin, so Shea butter addresses this need, helping to clear the skin.
Shea butter also contains an antioxidant called cinnamic acid. While “acid” also doesn’t sound like it would be something that’s good for your skin, it’s precisely this property which not only acts as an anti-inflammatory, but as a natural sunscreen. In fact, Shea butter naturally runs somewhere between a 3 to 6 SPF!
Not only do its anti-inflammatory properties make Shea butter ideal to treat skin inflammation and irritation such as eczema, it also provides protection from sun damage. While the sun-kissed look may seem desirable, achieving a lovely color in your skin shouldn’t come at the expense of your skin’s health. Thankfully, Shea butter can improve blood circulation and promotes cell regeneration. Moreover, avoiding sun damage means preventing premature aging and wrinkles.
Speaking of wrinkles, Shea butter has yet another benefit in the form of Vitamin A, which is the most effective vitamin for preventing and reducing or removing wrinkles by boosting collagen production. Not only that, Vitamin E, another antioxidant found in Shea butter, may help prevent damage caused by free radicals.
Free radicals can do everything from change the skin color to cause it to lose its elasticity by breaking down the skin’s collagen. Vitamin A and E are defenses against this, but Shea butter also has healing properties for when damage has already taken place.
Seed oils have two properties - the moisturizing fraction, and, the healing fraction. Most natural oils have a healing fraction of less than 1%. Comparatively, Shea butter has a healing fraction of 5 to 17 percent that gives it the ability to heal and repair skin damage. The result is that using Shea butter can reduce the appearance of bumps, scars, stretch marks, and many other undesirable conditions.
Shea Butter Secrets
Are you surprised by how this product from a sacred tree can transform your skin? Amazingly, Shea is an excellent multi-purpose product that can address skincare needs and beauty desires.
It’s an incredible product derived from a tree considered sacred in Africa and it can help you care for AND heal your skin, so you can reflect the light you carry within!