Safer, less expensive, and easy-to-use natural skin care can be as easy as opening your kitchen cabinet, coupled with a few minutes of preparation.

Healthy, radiant, glowing skin is something every person wants. Yet, few of us even think to use what's really the best for out skin: natural skin care products.

Each year, millions of dollars are spent chasing after perfectly healthy, ageless skin. The environment, stress, and less than healthy eating habits, all play a major role in the quality of your skin.

The answers to achieving radiant, glowing complexion are within arm's reach. Many of the items in your kitchen right now can provide natural skin care that's even better thank those expensive, chemical filled products that cost an arm and a leg.

Skin Care Throughout Life

From the day we are born, our skin requires much care to remain smooth and healthy. It begins with soap to keep us clean. Then, there are creams, powders, and ointments to keep diaper rash from our bottoms. During the first few years of our lives, our skin will do well with soap for cleaning and the occasional lotion or cream for moisture. Then come the teen years. Our raging hormones bring out the oily skin, the pimples, and a host of other conditions.

It's important to understand that everything that comes in contact with our body affects our health and the condition of our skin. That's why choosing natural skin care products and ingredients is important. The liver filters the toxins and poisons from the food we eat, but whatever we place on our skin is directly absorbed. This includes deodorant, lotions, gels, cleansers, toners, make-up, perfumes, and more.

As we age, our skin becomes more sensitive, and we need to be even more careful with the beauty treatments we use.

Simple Solutions for Better Skin

Here are a just a few natural skin care solutions for you to try. You'll be very pleased with the results:

-once a week, rub your skin with baking soda while in the shower, for a smooth, silky feeling. You can also do this on your face to remove black heads.

-fresh tomatoes are great for the oily areas of your face. (Please make sure to try the tomato juice on your arm first, as your skin may be sensitive to it). Rinse thoroughly immediately after using the tomato juice.

-for a great moisturizer try olive oil: this healthy fat is good for you, and is great for your skin. You can also use it to soothe sunburned skin.

-vinegar can work wonders for smelly feet and armpits. Mix water and vinegar 50/50, and use in place of deodorant: it will keep the unpleasant sweat smell away, without any irritation. As for your feet, if you suffer with athlete's foot, a week of vinegar foot bath will help a lot, sometimes completely getting rid of your condition.

-egg yolk mixed with honey makes for a really great mask: put on your skin, leave it on for 20 minutes, and rinse off. Excellent for sensitive skin. Honey gives a tingling/ticklish sensation, so if you are sensitive to that, use the egg yolk alone.

-another use for egg yolk: for those with eczema, use it instead of soap. It doesn't smell great, but it will heal your damaged skin.

-a great treatment for dry skin is avocados: mash it, smooth it onto your face, and rinse off after 20 minutes.

Lastly, make sure you drink 8 glasses of water every day to keep your skin cared from the inside out.