While natural ingredients include an entire range of produces derived from plant leaves, roots, bark, fruits, and even extracted oils, herbal skin care products derive their beneficial effects from herbs. Herbs are low-growing aromatic plants that can be used either fresh or dried; these include annuals (which must be seeded each year) as well as perennial herbs (which survive the winter to grow again in the spring). Usually, it?s herbs? leaves that are used to enhance skin care products? benefits.
The Herb Research Foundation classifies herbal & organic skin care products into one of four groups, depending on the herbs that the products include, and the scale of sale. The four groups are Ayurvedic, Chinese, General, and Commercial.
Ayurvedic herbs are the herbs used in India, including ginger, turmeric, and frankincense as well as pants that are less well known in English such as ashwagandha. These four, in combination, have been shown in texts to decrease rheumatoid factor and interleukins, which are the biological markers of rheumatoid arthritis activity.
It?s a little-known fact that Chinese herbs are seldom used alone, but are more often used in formulas of four. In Chinese herbal medicine, the formula is assembled just like the individuals in a royal court. There?s a King Herb that has the strongest effect, a Minister Herb that addresses the min pathology as well as a secondary pathology, and assistant herbs. Assistant Herbs can be helpful and strengthen the King?s effect, corrective and eliminate the King or Minister herb?s toxic effect, or opposing in order to decrease the King?s effect.
General herbs are those with entries in reference publications such as the Encyclopedia of Popular Herbs that describe their medicinal properties. The names of many of these will be familiar to you; you may have seen seeds to grow them in the grocery store, or you may actually have some of them growing inside or near by your house. And commercial herbs are those wholesalers sell in bulk.
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