Skin Care With Baking Soda May Replace Many Products On Your Shelves

by Gloria MacTaggart

Baking soda has been used for just about everything - it can put out fires, remove oil and grease from clothing, clean vegetables, polish your silverware, get rid of nasty smells, and settle your upset stomach. But did you know it is also an excellent natural skin care product? Find out how to use baking soda for a clean, clear complexion.
One of the best skin care combinations is baking soda and apple cider vinegar. The baking soda cleanses and exfoliates and the apple cider vinegar acts as a toner and astringent. Both are natural products, free of harsh and irritating chemicals, and both have antibacterial properties. Apple cider vinegar is also loaded with excellent skin care nutrients, whether you drink it as a tonic or use it directly on the skin.
Here are a few recipes to get you started:
* As a cleanser and exfoliant, mix a couple of teaspoons of baking soda with a few drops of cold water and massage lightly into the skin. To tone afterwards, mix apple cider vinegar half and half with water and apply with a cotton ball. Follow that with an application of coconut oil or vitamin E to soothe and soften. The baking soda really cleans the skin while removing excess oils and dead skin cells. The apple cider vinegar is nourishing and closes the pores, and the coconut oil or vitamin E softens and nourishes at the same time.
* If you have problems with acne, try a honey masque after cleansing and exfoliating with baking soda. Smooth the honey directly on the skin, leave on for about 10 minutes and rinse with warm water. Follow with apple cider vinegar to tone. In this case, you don't need the coconut oil or vitamin E as the honey has already done the job. Using this routine, you may be able to eliminate acne medication and special acne skin care products altogether.
* As an all-over body scrub, try sprinkling baking soda directly onto a washcloth and rubbing down. It exfoliates the skin while cleansing, and gives a soft, even texture. Use a paste of baking soda and water to smooth away especially rough areas - elbows or heels - before your shower.
Why do people use baking soda instead of the hundreds of skin care products available? Primarily because it's natural - no harsh and irritating chemicals. Baking soda does a better job than most of the chemical-laden products and doesn't damage the skin.
However, using natural cleansers and exfoliants is not enough to protect your skin from environmental chemicals and pollutants - for that you need a shielding lotion. A good shielding lotion bonds with the outer layer of the skin to form a new protective layer than locks in natural moisture and keeps out chemicals. If you follow your natural cleansing routine with an application of shielding lotion, your skin will stay clean, soft and supple even when exposed to pollutants.
Many people have sworn off the chemicals used in most skin care products and replaced their cleansers, masques, exfoliants and even anti-aging serums with baking soda, honey, apple cider vinegar and other natural skin care treatment products. As a result, they've improved their skin and their overall health. Give baking soda a try and you should see the difference almost immediately. But don't forget the shielding lotion to protect your skin from the chemicals you can't avoid.
About the Author
Author, Gloria MacTaggart, is an expert author on skin care solutions and contributes articles on skin care for 21st Century Formulations. For more information, please visit http://www.SkinMDNatural.com.