Milk On Your Skin

Milk is more than just a healthy drink that is good for the bones. The legendary wonders of milk when applied to the skin has been discovered 2,000 years ago. Cleopatra, the Queen of the Nile, bathed in milk everyday to maintain her lily-white skin soft and supple.

Milk has hydrating properties that prevents dryness. It helps reduce darkening brought about by the wear and tear of aging. It has essential proteins and amino acids, and vitamin A that nourish skin. It is also rich in beta-hydroxyl acids that act as natural skin conditioner that exfoliate, soothe and soften old skin, and give that healthy glow. Another important nutrient in milk is lactic acid, which helps to gently clean and soften skin down to its deepest layer.

There are a lot of commercially available milk soaps and bath products. Use them as you would any regular soaps or bath products. But don’t leave them on your skin for too long: 5 to 10 minutes should be enough, and make sure that you properly rinse the milk off after you have soaked in it.

Natural Beauty

Tired of expensive and chemically laden beauty products? Go the natural way and use items readily available in your kitchen!

Aside from being a protective antioxidant, honey is a natural moisturizer. It has been used for centuries in Europe as a soothing balm for dry skin. Furthermore, honey helps to protect the skin from the damage of the sun's rays and rejuvenate depleted skin.

Yogurt is more than just as a low-calorie snack that's packed with calcium, vitamin D and live bacteria cultures that can help calm a troubled tummy. It also has the power to sooth irritated skin. Choose full-fat over low-fat (it will offer more moisturizing power) and smooth onto bare skin. Leave on for 15 minutes then rinse with warm water.

The ultimate comfort food, chocolate, is also a naturally antioxidant-rich treat that is beneficial to the skin. In fact, it has become a popular spa treatment which you can replicate in your own home by sprinkling cocoa powder into your bubble bath.

Pinoys and Skin Whitening

While Hollywood celebrities Charlize Theron and Paris Hilton bask in the sun in a secluded Acapulco beach or pay big bucks in a posh Beverly Hills tanning salon just to get that “gorgeous tanned look,” we Filipinos shun the sun every way we can. And if we really have to go out in the sun, we wear long-sleeved shirts, use an umbrella or slather layers of sunblock cream onto our skin to keep the darkening effects of sunlight at bay. Melanin is the substance that gives our skin its color. Generally, the more melanin, the darker the skin and vice versa. Exposure to sunlight is one factor that boost the production of melanin in the skin. Thus, people who live in “sunny” areas are more likely to have darker skin tone than those who are from less “sunny” regions. One of the most recognized benefits we get from melanin is it protection from the harmful ultra-violet rays, one major cause of skin cancer. (So why get rid of melanin when it is beneficial to us?)

The sheer number of whitening products available in the market is a clear indication of our obsession for whiter skin. Facial cleansers, soaps, face creams, lotions, even deodorants with skin lightening properties are more attractive to the Filipino consumer than ordinary skin care products. One common and affordable way of achieving whiter skin is through the use of astringents and creams with skin peeling and bleaching properties. These concoctions usually use tretinoin and hydroquinone as their active ingredients, which reduce melanin formation. Though relatively safe, caution is still advised when using products with tretinoin and hydroquinone. Avoid exposure to sunlight or use sunblock creams to prevent rashes and further discoloration.

The organic and herbal skin care product industry is also catching up on the bandwagon. Countless of products enriched with papaya, kalamansi and guava extracts, that promise a healthy and lighter complexion without the side effects, are out in the market. These fruits contain enzymes and acids that have bleaching properties. And if the sales of these products are any indication, the organic whitening skin care industry has grown into a multi-million peso business.

Another current craze in skin whitening is the use of gluthatione and methathione. People who want to get lighter complexion actually use these substances for its side effect which is skin whitening. Glutathione, and its reduced form metathione, are anti-oxidants that detoxify and improve liver functions and strengthen the immune system.

And for the rich and the famous who are willing to cop out bucks just to get that light and radiant skin, there are Drs. Belo and Calayan. Just drop by their posh dermatological clinics and spend the afternoon for a facial, skin peeling and laser treatments.

The Filipinos' penchant for whiter skin is indeed overwhelming. There is nothing wrong with it if it will boost our morale and self confidence. It's just that we are known to be the race with beautiful brown skin. So why not just be proud and flaunt it? Just asking...