Tag: huden

#11. Loofah and skin care

The official name is Luffa aegyptiaca, or Egyptian Luffa. It is a cucumber-like fruit, but belongs to the gourd family. When the fruit is ripe, it can be eaten. If it is left hanging and overripe, it gradually dries out and a fibrous substance is left behind. Once the fruit is harvested, the skin can be removed and the fibrous material can be cut up, sold and used as a bath sponge.

The sponge feels hard when dry, but soft when wet. The sponge then feels like a firm terry cloth, which is still rough enough to remove old skin cells. Using the sponge while massaging activates all skin functions and increases blood circulation in the skin, which slows down the aging process of the skin. Regular use of the loofah keeps the skin young, fresh, shiny and radiant. The loofah can also be used for a facial scrub. 

The skin

The skin is an organ, just like the heart, kidneys, and liver. Its total weight is one sixth of the body weight. The skin is a complex and active organ, a mantle, which acts as a protective layer between the body’s sensitive tissues and everything outside the body. The skin is not only a barrier, it is also involved in maintaining body temperature and internal moisture, neurosensory functions and natural resistance to infection and disease. The aging process affects the skin in several ways. The epidermis thins and the rate of renewal decreases dramatically as we age, and in women especially after menopause. Most skin care is primarily aimed at slowing down the aging process, slowing down the formation of wrinkles. When we start real skin care on time, our skin stays healthy much longer and skin diseases and wrinkles are less likely.

Skin care

The skin can be nourished both from the outside and from the inside. Since the skin is a natural tissue, it is logical that a natural oil is the best product for caring for the skin’s surface, that is, the outside. An oil that has everything in it for that care is olive oil. You can apply this oil directly to the skin, but you can also add 10 drops of essential oil, of your choice, to 10 cl of olive oil. You can buy essential oils at a health food store. After washing and scrubbing with the soapy loofah, rinse your body. Then put a little olive oil in the palm of your hand, and spread the olive oil over your still damp body. Then dry your body. The oil penetrates the skin quickly because it is warm.

Skin Care Products

A. The Exterior of the Skin

Let’s look at the following image. We will see an enlargement of the skin surface. A natural soap, such as Cretan-Garden soaps, is an excellent remedy for removing sebaceous gland fat, sweat, body odor, dirt, bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Skin, with hair, dead skin cells, clogged pores, bacteria and viruses (iStock)

When you use a fatty soap, such as an olive oil soap 1, a very thin layer of olive oil remains on the skin after washing and drying. That is excellent, because that layer protects the skin. Using olive oil also as a body oil after washing, showering or bathing, the skin is supported even more in its elasticity, moisture and condition. Olive oil is high in vitamins E and K, both of which are very important in skin care. Olive oil is also a panacea after sunbathing, or even sunburned skin. Daylight is very healthy for the skin, but it is necessary to protect yourself from excessive direct sunlight. Even then, olive oil is a good way to protect your skin additionally.

B. The interior of the skin

By eating healthily and regularly, drinking enough water, green tea and fresh fruit juice, you keep your skin healthy from the inside out. Fruit, green organically grown and unsprayed vegetables and also organic olive oil are good for healthy skin. Alcohol dries out the body and skin. As a result, the skin can age and premature wrinkles can appear. 

Skin condition

By being active every day, being in the fresh air, and getting enough sleep, living in a well-ventilated house, you give your blood enough oxygen and that oxygenated blood is very necessary to prevent rapid skin aging. In the next picture we see young skin on the left and older skin on the right. You can see that the older skin is thinner, contains less fat in the lower layers and the blood vessels contain darker blood: it is blood with little oxygen.

Adapted from Characteristics of the Aging Skin – PMC (nih.gov) with permission from Dr. Miranda A. Farage

Antioxidants protect the skin from aging

Oxidants (free radicals) are aggressive substances which are created in the body by stress and subcutaneous tensions, among other things. These aggressive substances are also produced by radiation from cell towers, Wi-Fi, smart meters and all other wireless devices.

An excess of free radicals or a lack of antioxidants causes oxidative stress: damage to healthy tissues and cells in our body. The result is uncontrolled cell division, faster aging of the body and a greater risk of health problems [source]. Oxidants, free radicals, cause tissue and skin damage. Antioxidants fight oxidants, but electromagnetic radiation reduces the effect of antioxidants. This has been scientifically researched and proven in several studies. Latest study: see here. Avoiding radiation as much as possible is therefore a good choice. In addition, it is important to support antioxidants with vitamins A, C and E, and the mineral magnesium.

Vitamin E is abundantly present in olive oil and rosemary2 (herb). In addition to vitamin E, olive oil also contains vitamins A, K and the minerals iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Daily use of olive oil in meals, but also as a skin care product 3 4, is therefore recommended. 

More recommendations

….that help reduce stress include:

  1. Therapeutical massage:
  2. Acupuncture
  3. Walking
  4. Hiking
  5. Sport
  6. Gardening
  7. Yoga
  8. Meditation
  9. Phytotherapy:
  10. Aromaterapy / videos:
    • essential oils like lavender, orange, pine, cypres, Ylang Ylang, sage
  11. Dr. Bach flower therapy:
  12. Disable / turn off
    • all electromagnetic radiation from wireless devices at night by using airplane mode on laptop, and your phone
    • turn off WiFi and Bluetooth

Additional information

Footnotes

  1. Cretan-Garden soaps are pure olive oil soaps, enriched with herbal extracts and essential oils ↩︎
  2. Cretan-Garden Rosemary soap ↩︎
  3. Recipe for a home made skin conditioner ↩︎
  4. Recipe for a footbath ↩︎

#5. Exfoliation of the skin

What is exfoliation?

Your skin naturally sheds dead skin cells to make way for new cells. Exfoliation is the removal of dead skin cells from the surface of your skin using, for example:

Exfoliation can improve the appearance of your skin, but if not done correctly, it can do more harm than good. It is best to choose safe materials.

  • Washcloth
  • Loofah
  • Dry brush

I find dry brushing – a bath brush that has the right strength for the skin – to be a very excellent daily aid in really improving the condition of my own older skin. In the figure below, you can see the difference between younger and older skin. One of the differences is the blood vessels: in older skin, they are darker red, which means there is less oxygen. When you brush your skin, blood circulation in the skin improves. 

Adapted from Characteristics of the Aging Skin – PMC (nih.gov) with permission from Dr. Miranda A. Farage

More :

  1. Blog Cretan-Garden: #10. Loofah and skincare
  2. What Does It Mean to Exfoliate? Why You Should and How to Start – Healthline
  3. Dr. Berkowsky’s Vital Chi Skin Brushing System™ – Natural Health Science
  4. Skin care in the aging female: myths and truths – PubMed
  5. The truth about dry brushing and what it does for you – Cleveland Clinic

#1. The Skin

The skin is an extremely sensitive organ that is kept healthy due to a constantly regenerating, ingenious circulatory system of water, lymph, blood and fat. Due to the complexity of the skin, to understand how the skin is built up and how this organ works, it is useful to watch one or more educational videos about it. I have compiled these in a video list.

Photo by cottonbro 

How to maintain healthy skin?

Since the skin is nourished in the skin itself via the body’s systems and not on the surface, it is important to eat healthy food and drink enough water (1-2 litres per day) in addition to other liquids such as coffee, tea, soup, juice, etc. Coffee and black tea dehydrate the body. Breathing fresh air, while being physically active, contributes to optimal digestion and thus also to healthy skin. Daylight is also part of natural skin care. Daylight creates a natural vitamin D that is absorbed and transported by the skin into the body. Maintaining the skin from the outside is part of daily hygiene to keep bad odours, bacteria, viruses and fungi away, to avoid diseases. Skin-friendly body oils moisturise the skin, and, together with exfoliation and massage, they are a way to keep it vital, elastic and shiny.

1. Soap

It is astonishing that soap manufacturers of, for example, the very popular Aleppo soap Savon de Marseille and Castile soap do not provide information about the pH value. The pH value of all natural soaps is 9. Cretan Garden soaps are natural soaps, comparable to Aleppo soaps, and also have a pH value of 9. This pH level is related to the formula of handmade natural soaps according to ancient traditions. There are manufacturers of the so-called neutral soaps, or so-called ecologically degradable soaps, who also do not provide any information about them. There are natural soap manufacturers who add natural acidic substances from, for example, aloe vera to lower the pH level. For me, it has been a conscious choice to follow the old traditional methods and formulas. Although the Cretan-Garden olive soap is alkaline, the skin only needs 15 minutes to return to its own pH. The benefits of olive oil, herbs and essential oils in the soap are still present in the thin film that remains on the skin, nourishing, protecting and keeping the skin elastic.

*Advice. If the soap is used for scalp and hair washing: use rosemary soap, and argan oil after washing, on towel-dried hair if you have dry and/or curly hair. Grey hair can also be very dry. Argan oil is also used in the so-called Moroccan oil, but argan oil is pure oil and does not contain perfume or other chemicals. To make argan oil more yours, you can mix a drop of essential oil with argan oil in the palm of your hand before spreading it over your hair, and rub it into the hair and scalp for about a minute.

*Advice for using soap on the skin on the face: Do not use soap too often. Use lukewarm water and dry the facial skin.

2. A skin friendly body oil

Cretan-Garden: Recipes for a skin conditioner

Note: the recommended amount of drops of essential oil per 200 ml of olive oil for a body oil is a safe total. On the Aroma Therapy Foundation website it is written that the total depends on the power of each individual essential oil: they are all different in weight, which means that a drop of lavender is lighter than a drop of oregano, for example. They recommend 20 – 40 drops per 100 ml of olive oil. I recommend a maximum of 20 drops per 200 ml of olive oil, for use on the body and face. Your skin may react to it anyway. Advice: test your homemade body oil on a small spot on your arm, and wait to see how your skin reacts before using it on your entire body. 

Do not use body oil as a sun oil. You can use it as an after-sun treatment. Protect your skin from the sun with a cream with a high protection factor. However, the best protection is to avoid direct sunlight, by wearing a sun hat or sitting in the shade.

3. Exfoliation of the skin

Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the outer layer of your skin. If done well, in a way that suits your skin type, it creates a bright, healthy complexion because the circulation in the skin has improved. The correct way to exfoliate allows for better absorption of body oils and creams. See also the Cretan-Garden blog post: Exfoliating the Skin.

*Tip: the skin on your face should not be exfoliated in the same way as the skin on your body. Because the skin on your face is constantly exposed, dealing with temperature variations, air pollution, an overdose of aggressive sunlight, dry indoor air in the winter, air conditioning in the summer and winter, the skin on your face needs gentle care. No form of exfoliation is gentle, unless you use a washcloth carefully.

4. Therapeutical massage

Since Wikipedia offers a very excellent article on massage, types of massage, massage in history and massage therapies, I will just add a few notes.

Massage stimulates muscles, blood circulation, organs, metabolism in the cells, balances the body systems, removes blockages of chakras, creates a bridge between your mind and body, and also activates the skin, because the skin is the medium between the hands of the therapist and the body under the skin. To get used to a therapeutic massage, one can start with a foot massage. Videos: playlist 1, playlist 2

A professional and therapeutic Thai massage is a possible next step: you wear comfortable clothes. Videos: playlist.

The professional and therapeutic Abhyanga (“oil massage”) is a form of Ayurvedic therapy that involves massaging the whole body from head to toe with Dosha-specific warm herbal oil. Self-massage is also possible. Abhyanga massage improves skin health. Healthline published an article about it. Video: Abhyanga self-massage. Video: Abhyanga massage India

5. Fresh air

The skin is our natural boundary between our inner physical body, our inner world, our Self and the outside world. Human development, linked to so-called civilisation, led to changes in habits, and in clothing. Our ancestors did not wear clothes, they used the skin and fur of the animals they killed for food, to protect against the cold. They did not live in closed houses, but in caves, huts or tents. Fresh air was a constant factor. The air was not polluted at that time. The skin could bathe day and night in clean air. Fresh air and oxygen are necessary to keep the skin in good condition. Opening windows, at least an hour or two per day, is a must to keep air hygiene optimal. 

Going for a daily walk, also in winter, in an environmentally friendly area, creates healthy blood circulation. The blood is enriched by breathing in pure oxygen. The blood system also transports oxygen to the skin.

6. Daylight

We are the descendants of humans who lived in the open air, with an abundance of daylight. We must realise that our skin did not change as much during evolution as our habits in clothing and life. We live almost constantly in a closed house, office, workplace, car or any form of public transport, with artificial light. Natural light, daylight, is essential for our well-being, and for maintaining healthy skin. Note: daylight is created by the sun, but being in the full heat of a scorching sun is not healthy. The shade also provides natural daylight.

7. Water and healthy food

What you eat and drink can significantly affect your skin’s health. Drink at least a litre of water per day, in addition to any other liquids like coffee, tea, juice, or soup. Healthline has excellent information on good foods for healthy skin.

Photo by Arnie Watkins

Related information

More:

  • Cretan Garden: Scientific research on olive oil, the use of olive oil on the skin, essential oils, cold-processed olive soap and herbs.
  • Medical News Today: Benefits of olive oil for skin and face.
  • Mayo Clinic – a non-profit American academic medical center focused on integrated healthcare, education, and research – Does drinking water give hydrated skin?
  • Healthfully: The effects of sunlight[daylight, admin] and fresh air on the body
  • Healthfully: Vitamin D & Extreme Sweating

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