Anti-oxidants for the Skin – Can They Make a Difference?

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Anti-oxidants for the Skin – Can They Make a Difference?

Article Description:

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With all the recent talk about anti-oxidants and their importance

in protecting our health, nearly all of us have learned that we

should be eating and drinking more foods and beverages with high

anti-oxidant contents. But, what about skincare products that

contain herbs and plants that are high in anti-oxidants? Can they

help reduce aging when used topically?

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856 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2007-01-29 10:36:00

Written By: Jon M. Stout

Copyright: 2007

Contact Email: mailto:jon.stout@...

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Anti-oxidants for the Skin – Can They Make a Difference?

Copyright © 2007 Jon M. Stout

Golden Moon Tea

http://www.GoldenMoonTea.com

With all the recent talk about anti-oxidants and their importance

in protecting our health, nearly all of us have learned that we

should be eating and drinking more foods and beverages with high

anti-oxidant contents. But, what about skincare products that

contain herbs and plants that are high in anti-oxidants? Can they

help reduce aging when used topically?

Today, drugstore and department store shelves are full of

moisturizers and other skin care products made from fruits,

vegetables and herbs. The products promise to prevent aging, and

in some cases, even reverse skin damage that has already

occurred. The theory is that the same anti-oxidants that protect

our health when consumed as part of our diet can protect our skin

when applied directly to the face.

One study, reported by the UK Tea Council examined many of these

products, including those containing green tea, soy, pomegranate,

grape seed oil, aloe, horse chestnut, comfrey, chamomile, dates

and allantoin. The study reviewed the research behind skin care

products with each of these ingredients to determine what

scientific evidence exists to suggest that the products are

indeed effective on the skin.

After reviewing the research on each of the products, the study

showed that the only natural products with any evidence to back

up their effectiveness were green and black tea, pomegranates,

soy and dates have had any real clinical trials to give evidence

that the products are effective.

So, what products do you choose? Well, there are a wide variety

of products that contain at least one of the ingredients that do

have evidence to suggest that they are good treatments for the

skin. Highly recognized cosmetic companies like Murad and

Proactiv and Aveeno make products using these ingredients. Which

natural product you choose really depends upon the type of skin

problems you're having. Here are the most popular natural skin

care ingredients and the problems they can help to solve.

Soy – Soy's an effective moisturizer and offers anti-oxidants,

which can help prevent aging. In addition, certain soy proteins

have been shown to help with pigmentation problems, like sun

spots and other discolorations.

Pomegranate – Pomegranate is also full of anti-oxidants and has

been shown to be a cancer preventative. One study on pomegranates

showed that when breast cancer cells were exposed to pomegranate

extract they self destructed, leaving healthy cells intact. As a

skin treatment, pomegranates are best for healing; making it an

effective treatment for acne and any other skin ailments that

need to heal.

Green Tea – Green tea has some of the most powerful anti-oxidants

available. And, they're apparently just as effective when

applied to the skin as they are when part of a healthy diet.

Green tea has been shown to rejuvenate skin, actually

reactivating dying skin cells. Green tea does not penetrate below

the first layer of the skin, but even here it can have dramatic

results. As skin cells reach the epidermis they prepare to die,

and over the next week or so, they become dull as they're dying

off.

Green tea rejuvenates these cells, making them live longer and

removing that dull tired look that skin gets. So, a green tea in

your moisturizer can help improve the look of your skin almost

immediately. It's still important to exfoliate regularly to help

rid your skin of the cells that are already dead.

But, green tea may have cancer preventing effects as well. Other

studies have shown that green tea's anti-oxidants have a

scavenging effect on free radicals on the skin, and even on

abnormal skin cells. So, green tea may help rid your skin of

cells that might otherwise become dangerous skin cancer cells.

Doctors recommend using green tea cream under your sunscreen for

the optimal effect.

Green tea is also known to have anti-inflammatory properties. For

this reason it is sometimes an effective treatment for skin

problems like roseacia. Researchers believe that because of the

combination of anti-inflammatory properties along with the

anti-oxidant activity of green tea, it likely will have many

anti-aging properties once more research has been performed.

One question that arises when using any natural product on your

skin is whether or not the active ingredients can remain

effective after months on the shelf. It's a sensible question,

since we know that, from a dietary standpoint, fresh is best.

We still need more research on the subject, but it's certain

that you should use fresh products whenever you can. For example,

in addition to using a commercially available green tea product

as a moisturizer, try freezing freshly brewed green tea into ice

cubes to be used as toner. Just be sure to let the ice cube sit

out just a little bit to thaw, so that they don't burn the

skin.

Natural skin care products will likely gain more popularity as

more research emerges showing their potential. In the meantime,

there's no reason not to get a head start. Many natural skin

care products, like those that contain green tea, soy and

pomegranate offer excellent skin care and treat many types of

skin irritations. And, there may be some significant long term

benefits to your skin, too!

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Jon M. Stout is the Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company.

Golden Moon Tea carefully selects the finest rare and orthodox

teas, which are processed slowly and handcrafted with extreme

care. At their website, you can learn more about their current

tea offerings, including their exceptional green tea

(http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea), white tea, black

tea, oolong tea (also known as wu-long and wu long tea -

http://www.goldenmoontea.com/wu-long) and chai. Visit

http://www.goldenmoontea.com for all details concerning

the Golden Moon Tea Company's fine line of teas.