by Dorothy A. Pela

Let's face it; skin care for men had been a forbidden subject for a long time. You see, up until recently it was not considered a very 'masculine' thing for a man to care for the looks of his face, let alone walk into a store and buy creams or lotions!

But, things have certainly changed. According to sales statistics, the men skin care industry is thriving. Men are becoming more conscious of the way they look and a healthy, young, radiant and smooth male face is an important ticket to success, both on a social as well as on a professional level.

It is true, however, that so far the skin care industry has been geared into designing creams that cater to the needs of the female skin, rather than the male. The question is:

Are there so many differences between skin care for men and women, so as to make necessary the design of wholly different products for the two sexes?

The answer to this question is a no and a yes: No, there are not very distinct differences and yes, there are some subtle differences that should be taken into consideration.

First, the similarities. The basic biological mechanisms that are responsible for aging are the same, regardless whether you are a man or a woman. These are:

1) Depletion of your body's own stock of collagen and elastin.

In case you have never heard of them before, these are two of the most important proteins that are produced by your skin. These are the underlying cause that your skin looks firm and smooth. When you are young, there is no problem, as these proteins are produced in abundance. However, when you get older, their production starts decreasing. That's when wrinkles start to appear and sagging becomes noticeable.

A high quality skin care for men and women should include ingredients that stimulate your skin to produce more collagen and elastin.

One such ingredient that I personally use (by the way, my husband also uses it and loves it) and recommend, is Cynergy TK. This is amazing stuff. It has been clinically proven to stimulate the generation of both collagen and elastin and also help create entirely new cells.

2) The second biological process responsible for aging is skin cell damage by free radicals. These are atoms or groups of atoms that are created primarily by our exposure to the harmful UV sun radiation and the various toxins that we come into contact in our daily lives.

Therefore, a high quality men skin care should include powerful antioxidants that will eliminate those harmful radicals.

One such ingredient is Phytessence Wakame. This has Japanese origin and is all natural, extracted from a kind of seaweed collected from the sea around Japan. It high antioxidant potency has been clinically proven beyond any doubt.

As mentioned above, effective skin care for men should also take into consideration the special needs of male skin.

In contrast to women, men have to shave and they are generally more exposed to the hardships of outdoor activities. Therefore, male skin suffers from inflammation and irritation.

A solution to this particular men skin care need is provided once again by Cynergy TK. By its chemical activity on PGE2 (a substance created from inflammation), it effectively blocks it and so prevents inflammation and redness of the skin.

To learn more about other fascinating ingredients suitable for men skin care and find out about products I recommend, visit my website today.

Dorothy A. Pela has been using and researching about natural skin care products for a long time. Visit her site now to learn everything you need to know about the latest breakthroughs in natural skin care: http://www.all-about-skin-care.com/

by Dorothy A. Pela

It seems like every time you turn your head in a beauty shop or at your local pharmacy, you see creams and lotions, all having 'botanical skin care' on their label. The same applies if you type 'botanical skin care products' in the search box of a search engine on the internet.

The word 'botanical' itself means plant-based. The question is: Do all of these products really consist of ingredients that come from plants? What are the things you should be looking out for, in order to convince yourself that a product is really what it says it is?

Being intrigued myself, I did a little bit of research on the subject. As a result, I came up with a couple of guidelines that I would like to share with you:

1. Some of these products which claim to be all natural, more often than not they contain some very harmful ingredients as well. Some of these are the following:

Mineral Oil: This is also known as liquid paraffin, paraffin wax and petrolatum. This is petroleum based and once applied, it may clog your pores, making your skin 'suffocate'. As a result, it will make your skin dry and chapped and if you use it for a prolonged period, it will strip your skin of its natural oils. The simple reason why skin care companies keep using it, it's because it is cheap!

Fragrances: It is true that almost all of us, when we are trying different cosmetic products we instinctively tend to smell them. The nicer it smells, the more attractive it is.

Being aware of this fact and in order to lure their prospective buyers, many skin care companies put in their own botanical skin care products different fragrances.

Well, based on scientific evidence, you should better stay away from products that contain any type of fragrance. Most of them come from ingredients that are known to be toxic or even worse, carcinogenic.

Parabens: In order to prolong their products' shelf life and obviously to improve their own bottom line, many skin care companies use parabens. These are preservatives, which are not so innocent after all. Clinical studies have clearly linked them with serious health hazards ranging from allergic reactions to even cancer.

2. Another thing you should pay attention to is not only the type of active ingredients that are used, but also their quantity (or concentration volume).

You see, in order to have the desired results, each of the listed ingredients must have a high enough percentage volume. In reality, however, many skin care companies, for obvious financial reasons, do not put enough of the ingredients. Therefore, you end up frustrated and disappointed, feeling you have wasted your money on a product which in the end does not live up to your expectations.

So, the next time you look at the list of ingredients of a botanical skin care product, make sure that you look at their percentage volume as well. As a rule of thumb, the total concentration of active ingredients should be at least 50% of the volume.

If you would like to educate yourself more on botanical skin care and find out about products I personally recommend, visit my website.

Dorothy A. Pela has been using and researching about natural skin care products for a long time. Visit her site now to learn everything you need to know about the latest breakthroughs in natural skin care: http://www.all-about-skin-care.com/.