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It was during my first trip to Africa in 2009. I spent several weeks in a remote village on Lake Malawi. I lived with the villagers in a mud hut without any electricity, running water or sanitation as we know I and I loved it.
One day, I sat by the lake just watching the local villagers. I suddenly noticed that they were using fine grains of sand, that lined the shore of the lake, to rub all over their bodies to exfoliate and condition their skin.They then took natural rocks and stones to remove the hard skin from their feet and bathed in the lake… then I realised what I really wanted to do with my life. At that moment the idea was born..So, on my return to the UK, I set about this long arduous journey to formulate a collection of high quality natural and organic skin care products, and in late 2011, Althea Tomlin Skincare was born. Read more
Althea Skincare products are 100% paraben and sulphate free, pH balanced and vegan friendly. Althea Skincare, is a new generation of natural and organic skincare, inspired by my African experiences and my love of nature the brand represents pure, luxurious, natural professional skincare.
I remember my 30th birthday I went for a week to Spain with 5 girlfriends to celebrate. It was a week of sun, sea and a bit too much to drink. Then in a flash, I was 40 and my skin had started to change and although I had a regular skincare routine, I noticed things about my face and skin in general that I had not noticed before.
My skin had started to get dryer and I could see some fine lines and a few wrinkles appearing around my eyes for the first time. It hit me, I was getting older so I had to take some drastic measures to step up my skincare mantra to address my progressively ageing skin.
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Here's 6 of the best natural antiaging skincare tips
The Eyes
The eyes and the skin around them can really give your age away. Heavy wrinkles and dark circles around the eyes can make you look much older than you actually are. The skin around the eyes is 10 times thinner than on the rest of the face and it loses elasticity and becomes thinner as we age. My eye cream is now my best friend and it's permanently in my handbag and goes everywhere with me. Every women over 40 who can, should have and use one daily. When choosing an eye cream look for one that's packed full of ingredients to address and treat crows feet, fine lines, wrinkles and dark circles. You don't need more than one eye cream, one good one will address all your eye concerns at the same time. The best eye creams are those with antioxidant rich natural ingredients such as green tea, seaweed and antioxidant rich vitamins A, C and E. These ingredients are excellent for the eyes as they replenish lost nutrients, rehydrate and rejuvenate the skin around the eyes.
The Face
Your face is your 'shop window' and can so easily give away your age. If you look younger than you are, it's probably because like many celebrities you've had a regular skincare routine for years or you're just lucky. Your face needs a regular skincare routine, twice a day to remove make-up thoroughly and get rid of all the dirt, pollution and dead skin cells that accumulate on the surface of the skin each day. A good skincare routine is also about using the right skincare products for your skin type. As we age, our skin naturally loses its elasticity and firmness, so using skincare products with high performance natural ingredients that nourish deep into the outer layer of the skin and boost the skin's natural collagen production will help to lift and tone the skin. Natural moisturisers such as aloe vera, jojoba and coconut, as well as state of the art skin performance ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, a natural collagen booster and MSM, an organic sulphur that helps to reduce sagging skin and and wrinkles, will help to combat premature ageing and make your skin glow. Feeding your skin daily with high performance natural skin nutrients is one of the best treatments for ageing skin and can really make you look 10 years younger.
The Neck
I am passionate about natural skincare products that treat both the face and the neck as most creams should be able to do both at the same time, as your neck is an extension of your face. The 'visible neck line', VNL is a sure sign of telling how old someone is and sometimes, even if someone has a young looking face you only have to cast your eyes to the neck region and you can add another 10 years to their age, whether they're older or not. The trick is to treat the neck as part of the face during a daily skincare routine. The skin on the neck is thinner than on some parts of the face, so it's prone to sagging and needs some extra TLC. Using a serum designed for treating the neck or the face and the neck, 2-3 times a week can really help to smooth out ageing lines and address sagging skin which the neck is prone to. I love natural serums as they're packed full of concentrated skin enhancing vitamins and natural rejuvenating ingredients as they really give ageing skin the boost it needs.
The Lips
Few of us are lucky enough to have pouting full lips like Angelina Jolie and as we get older our lips naturally get thinner as our elastin (the natural tissues that plump our lips), wears down. As we age, fine lines start to appear on the upper lip and we lose more moisture from our lips daily as they get thinner. Using a lip cream every day, will give your lips the boost they need. Like my eye cream, I have my lip cream in my handbag all the time and apply it to my lips several times a day. Applying a lip cream daily to your lips before you apply your lipstick or lip gloss will keep your lips moist and avoid the skin on your lips cracking and peeling and also make your lips look fuller and even plumper.
The Hands
The tell tale signs of ageing not only includes crow's feet and grey hair, but also older looking hands. One sure sign of ageing skin on the hands is when the skin on your hands doesn't bounce back any more when you pinch it. Like the neck and the lips, your hands can give your age away. Keep the hands well nourished, especially during the winter and use thicker hand creams to lock in that much needed moisture. Exfoliate your hands to remove dead skin cells at least once a week and when you're having you're nails done, make sure your nail technician puts a layer of sunscreen on your hands before putting them under a UV lamp. UV is one of the major causes of premature ageing even on the hands.
The Feet
Given the amount of stress we put on our feet in a lifetime, it's easy to see why certain foot problems seem unavoidable. In addition to wear and tear, there are natural changes that occur with the ageing process that affect foot health, making problems like swelling and certain skin conditions more common as we get older. As we age the skin on the soles of our feel get dryer and thicker. To help to treat dry skin on the feet use a heavy foot butter daily after showering or bathing when the skin is moist so it soaks into the skin more easily to leave the feet looking more supple and younger. Be sure to smother your feet with a foot cream or a foot butter before you go to bed. If your skin is really dry on your feet put a pair of socks on after applying your foot cream at night to keep them moist whilst you sleep and to gradually melt away the dead skin over time and soften and hydrate the feet.
It's not all bad news, aging is natures natural process and if we have a regular skincare maintenance routine we can look much younger than we are and have the confidence to make people think that we're 10 years younger.
