5 Anti-Aging Herbs You Can Use As Organic Face Cream

The search for the right anti-aging skin cream led Americans to spend more than $8 billion in cosmetics and toiletries in 2010—globally, those sales topped $333 billion. Figures like these may lead you to believe that hefty price tags are a necessity for great skin, but that isn’t quite the case.

If you want to tighten your skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles, it may be as easy as whipping up an herbal remedy in your own kitchen.

According to medicine hunter Chris Kilham, the right herbal agents can greatly improve the skin’s strength, cellular health, and overall firmness.

Here’s a look at five herbs that can do wonders for your skin and leave you looking younger without the burden of a large chunk of cash.

1. Turmeric

A member of the ginger family, turmeric has a wide range of benefits for the skin that include anti-aging, anti-oxidant properties, and protection from the sun. Its natural orange hue has also been used for temporarily staining the skin to improve tone and tan.

As a casual skin cleanser, this orange herb can reduce pigmentation and even skin tone, help clear up acne, improve elasticity, reduce hair growth, and eliminate the appearance of wrinkles and stretch marks.

Turmeric has a history of use in treating psoriasis and speeding up remodeling in damaged skin as well.

2. Elderflower

True to its name, elderflower has proven the most useful for treating aged or elderly skin. This herb smoothes wrinkles, fades freckles, and can even assuage pain from sunburns.

Elderflower has also been noted to have a calming scent, often relaxing and lulling people to sleep after a quick wash with an elderflower-based skin cream.

And the benefits don’t stop there—drinking elderflower tea will give you a high boost of Vitamin C and anti-oxidants, including flavonoids, amino acids, carotenoids, tannins, and vitamins. This helps to de-tox your body and build up the immune system, which is especially useful in the onset of cold or flu season.

3. Sage

You probably know this herb best as a pungent presence in cooking, but it’s also a powerful astringent. Sage can tighten your pores, stimulate the production of collagen, and cleanse deep within your skin to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and decrease your susceptibility to fine lines in the future. Clary-sage can also reduce puffiness.

Other benefits not related to anti-aging including acne, athlete’s foot, and chapped skin. More seriously, it can relieve symptoms of psoriasis and eczema.

And if you have some extra sage-based cream left over after your facial, try applying it to your thighs or upper arms to reduce the appearance of cellulite. Because sage improves blood circulation, it helps to eliminate toxins stored in the body that contribute to cellulite.

4. Lavender

Lavender is primarily known for its light and pleasing fragrance, but is also used as an anti-aging cream. A lavender facial wash can sooth, tighten, and tone the skin, as well as reduce problems associated with oily skin. This tightening can temporarily reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, making it a great choice for natural anti-aging.

As an antiseptic and anti-fungal, it also helps to reduce scarring and speed up the healing process. Because it is an anti-inflammatory and circulatory stimulant, it also boasts some of the same anti-cellulite properties as sage.

And because it smells great, it can also have the relaxing effect associated with elderflower.

5. Chamomile

Finally, chamomile is one of the easiest-to-use herbs that provides great organic skin care. This daisy-like flower is often associated with calming and promoting sleep, but also contains a compound called alpha-bisobolol, which fills in the skin and reduces the appearance of wrinkles.

Chamomile is also a great source of antioxidants, which provides protection to the skin from free radicals and other elements that contribute to aging. You can find a recipe online to use chamomile as a face wash, or even make a cup of chamomile tea and apply the tea bags directly onto your skin.

How to Use Herbs in Organic Skin Care

The best way to use these herbs is to research each individually. There are thousands of natural skin care recipes online that utilize each of these ingredients and contain other compounds like jojoba or cocoa butter that make for a great scrub or lotion.

Be sure to pay attention to any allergies or herbs that might cause irritation in your search.