Herbs have a long history of use in beauty products, and you can still spot them on the ingredients labels of many beauty brands--Juara, Pangea and Angelface Botanicals are examples of natural skin care lines that use herbs in their products, says EcoSalon, an online natural living magazine. Whether you're shopping for herb-based products or you're planning to make your own herbal concoctions, the more you know about herbs in beauty, the more likely you'll be to get the results you want.
Think Refreshment
Herbal beauty treatments can help you to deal with seasonal beauty issues. In summer, look for powders and sprays with cooling herbs such as peppermint to prevent sweat and prevent sweat-induced acne by freshening your skin with mildly astringent herbs such as parsley and mint, recommends Janice Cox, author of "Natural Beauty at Home" and "Natural Beauty for All Seasons" in Herb Companion magazine. In the same way, reach for hydrated herbs such as seaweed when cold weather dries out your skin.
Clear Up Acne
If breakouts are an issue, consider trying herbal treatments. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics recommends several herbs as alternatives for commercial acne medications. Make a steam with chamomile, lavender, thyme or other soothing herbs, then rinse your skin with rosewater or watered-down marigold tea. Steep dried basil in hot water to make a do-it-yourself toner you can apply directly to acne-prone areas of your skin.
Try Something New
With so many herbs to choose from, experimenting is one of the best ways to find the herbs that work best for your skin. To check for allergies, try just one new herb every 48 hours and do a test patch on a small area of skin before applying herbal mixtures more generously. In general, herbs such as comfrey and sage are good for oily skin because of their mildly antiseptic properties, while aloe vera and evening primrose can calm redness and inflammation, according to EcoSalon magazine.
Stock Up
Summer is prime blooming season for most herbs, so Cox recommends taking advantage of the bounty available at late summer farmers markets and buying generous amounts of your favorite beauty herbs to dry for cold weather use. To dry herbs, Cox says to hang them up for a week until they're completely dry, then transfer the herbs to airtight containers. In general, Cox says you can safely substitute dried herbs for fresh in beauty recipes if you cut the amount called for by the recipe in half.
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