Many people are familiar with glycerin, also spelled glycerine and referred to as glycerol, only as a translucent type of bar soap or base for liquid soap. However, glycerin has a long track record of use in traditional herbalism and medicine-making. It is also a staple ingredient in many different water, gel-based, and emulsion skin care and personal care products, including cleansers, toners, moisturizers, hydrating…

At one point or another, skin care professionals will all use salicylic acid – it is one of the most popular ingredients in anti-acne skin care. Salicylic is the only beta hydroxy acid used in skin care; it occurs naturally in wintergreen leaves, sweet birch, and other plants, and is topically an anesthetic and a keratolytic with a mild peeling effect. For milder acne, salicylic…

Most people know licorice for its use in candies or its distinctive tastiness in tobacco. The level of sweetness found in licorice root is said to be long-lasting and at least 50 times sweeter than sugar. Although licorice is synonymous with sweetness, skin care professionals should go beyond flavor and examine its medicinal purposes. Licorice root has been used for centuries as an alternative medicine…

It reigns in commercials as a powerful, supergiant boost of energy. It has found a comfortable domain in oversaturated, sugary, carbonated drinks; robust, flavorful espressos; hot, blackened teas; and bittersweet chocolate delights. Connoisseurs seek out its quantity rather than its taste, hoping to satisfy their body with its encompassing jittery surge. Its name alone is controversial and, with the uttering of its two syllables, it…

The current generation is consequently converging beauty and health. The decades where beauty is tied to a superficial, only-skin-deep approach are being replaced by the realization that beauty's full potential is reached when it is at its healthiest state: be it physically, mentally, socially, or spiritually. It makes for an exciting segue in the advancement of the beauty industry to push the value of beauty…