The world is a big place and there are many different cultures, Europeans, Scandinavians, Asians, Africans, Hispanics and many, many more. Each of these cultures tends to have certain characteristics such as eye colour, hair colour, skin colour, etc,. Inherent with cultural backgrounds is a difference in skin types. For example, western cultures such as the central and northern Europeans have a tendency to fair complexions, hair and eye colour, while southern Europeans dent to have darker hair, brown eyes and darker, olive skin tones.

Africans and African Americans, have very dark or almost black skin, usually dark or black hair and brown eyes. Genetically, this skin type is less susceptible to the UV rays, although their skin can still get burned.

Asians on the other hand have a yellowish skin tone and can have brown or blue eyes but have mostly dark or black hair. Yes, genetics does have its opinion on how we look. The cultural differences are reflected in the skin and the genetic factors play an important role in how well our skin looks, how ‘tough’ it is and how vulnerable it is to certain skin problems.

For example, cultures that have a tendency to body hair, also have a tendency to oily skin and therefore have a potential problem with blocked secretory glands resulting in pimples and other skin problems. On the other hand, the Irish, who have a tendency to red hair and very fair skin, have less of a problem with oily skin, but they do tend to get burned easily and thus stand a greater risk to skin cancers. Similarly the Scandinavians and other central and northern Europeans and Americans.

Below are some generalised characteristics of various skin types from different cultural backgrounds:

Skin Characteristics of people with Anglo-Saxon origins

• Fair, dry thin-skinned
• Scars heal well
• Signs of aging appear earlier
• Burn easily in the sun
• Bruising more obvious
• Increased chance of skin cancer

Skin Characteristics of people with Southern Mediterranean origins

• Oily, olive dark complexion
• Signs of aging appear later
• Cartilage tends to droop
• Darker, thicker scars more common
• Wrinkles appear later and in more localized areas
• Skin cancer is rare

Skin Characteristics of people with Northern European origins / German and Scandinavian

• Fair, blue-eyed, blonde
• Thin skin
• Scars heal well
• Signs of aging appear early
• Bruising more obvious
• Greater chance of skin cancer

Skin Characteristics of people with African/African-American origins

• Signs of aging appear very late
• Very little fine wrinkling
• Formation of keloids is possible
• Pigmentation changes may occur
• Thicker cartilage hard to change
• Skin cancers are very rare

Skin Characteristics of people with Northern European/Irish and northern England

• Ruddy freckled complexion
• Red hair
• Scars usually thin
• Signs of aging appear later
• Bruises easily
• Pigmentation problems
• Skin cancers are most common in this type

Skin Characteristics of people with Asian origins

• Signs of aging appear late
• Fine wrinkling does not usually occur
• Pigmentation changes may occur
• Skin cancers are very rare

Skin Characteristics of people with Southern European origins

• Dark, oily brunette complexion
• Signs of aging appear later
• Fine wrinkling less common
• Bruising lasts longer
• Scars may be thicker and darker
• Skin cancers are less common

Identifying the correct, natural skin care system for your skin’s characteristics is essential and may need to be adjusted depending on your specific genetic influences, as within each of these groups, there is a wide range in skin tones, which tend to overlap from group to group.

Each of the different categories of skin characteristics has various advantages and disadvantages specific to that group. However, the overall structures and functions of our skin are very similar and are therefore cared for in very similar ways. Knowing your skin’s particular strengths and weaknesses, you can tailor your skin care approach to your particular skin-characteristics.

Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.

Join our Natural Skin Care Newsletter - it’s fun, free and Informative and you receive a free eBook on natural skin care.

Wildcrafted Herbal Products 2006

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The skin of your children is soft, wrinkle free, supple, smooth and usually unblemished. “Smooth as a baby’s bottom”, is an expression used to indicate that some object or material has an extremely smooth finish or is smooth to the touch, just like a baby’s bottom.

Young skin is smooth and has a youthful appearance - of course, it’s young. As children grow up and their bodies start to mature, so to does their skin - teenagers often get acne and in some cases this can even lead to permanent scaring on their faces.

But there is another less obvious aging process that has a long term rather than a short term effect on the health and vitality of our skin - the sun.

Did you know, that 50% of exposure to the sun is done before we are 20? As young kids, we spend vast amounts of time outside and play in the sun, on the beach, in the snow, on playgrounds and so on. The amount of UV radiation that our skin is exposed to is huge.

The effects of this exposure however, is not obvious except for the occasional sunburn, but once that heals, there is little evidence of long-term damage. That is unless you could look below the surface of the skin.

The damage of UV radiation is focused on the dermis of our skin, this is where it has the greatest impact and that is where the long-term damage accumulates. Yes, the damage is cumulative. More UV exposure, more damage.

The media has helped to promote awareness of the risks of skin cancer due to excessive exposure to the sun, but rarely do we hear about other factors, such as premature signs of aging of our skin. Break down of collage, dehydration, and so on.

Often it is not until we reach our late 20’s or early 30’s that we start seeing the first little fine lines and begin to think about our skin care on a more serious level. But by now, most of the damage has already been done and all we are doing is to try to prevent the inevitable.

So, what should we do? Well, the first step is to start educating our children. Babies are used to having creams and lotions put on their bodies. So why do we stop when the nappy period of their lives is over?

It is at this point that children should be encouraged to put natural creams and lotions on their bodies after they have a shower or a bath. From the time they go to kindergarten, if not earlier, they will be spending many hours outdoors and sure we use the sunscreens, hats and generally try to keep the sun off their bare skin, but at the same time, we should encourage the use of natural skin care creams and lotions to protect, nourish, hydrate and cleanse their young and tender skin.

For example, introducing your children to using natural soaps rather than the harsh, commercially available types, will help their skin maintain its natural pH balance and thus the skin’s Acid Mantel.

Of course when they get grease or oil on their skin you may need to use a more powerful cleaner, but there are plenty of natural soaps available for all skin cleansing jobs. Wildcrafted’s Heavenly Hand & Body Wash is perfectly able to get rid of stubborn dirt and grime and at the same time it is kind and nourishing to their skin.

Teach your children to use natural hand creams. The skin on our hands gets more ware and tear then any other part using a good hand cream will help to keep their skin soft, supple and healthy.

Teach them to use a natural moisturising cream on their face and on their body. Choose a natural moisturiser that’s suitable for Normal skin, as children do not tend to have oily or dry skin, this usually starts around the time of puberty.

If you continue teaching your children from an early age to use natural skin care products on their skin, they will naturally continue this process and their skin will thank you and them in the long term.

Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.

Join our Natural Skin Care Newsletter - it’s fun, free and Informative and you receive a free eBook on natural skin care.

© Wildcrafted Herbal Products 2006

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Did you know that about 80,000 facial skin cells die every day? This is why your skin can take on a dull, lustreless appearance, accentuating lines and wrinkles on your face if you do not include exfoliation in your daily skin care regime.

Many women still use commercial soaps that are harsh on your skin and contain chemicals you’d rather not know. The combination of these chemicals and the harshness of these soaps can leave your face dry, robbed of moisture and having removed the protective Acid Mantel, vulnerable to microbes and other potentially harmful environmental factors.

Exfoliation is the first step in any good daily skin care regime. Exfoliation can take a number of forms, you can use a facial clay gel-wash, which removes dirt, stale natural oils as well as gently remove the dead skin cells from your face, leaving your face clean, free of stale oils and dirt, and unblock the pores of your skin.

Alternatively, you can use products such as the Skin Renewal Gel from Wildcrafted Herbal Products or a multitude of other natural products that will help to remove the layer of dead skin cells.

Exfoliation is intended to do nothing more than remove dead skin cells, however, you need to be aware of how ‘ruff’ they are. For example, there are chemical exfoliants which will not just attack the dead skin cells, but also harm living cells. This is not the aim of a quality exfoliant, on the contrary, exfoliation is supposed to help promote new growth of skin cells, not attack new cells.

Similarly, there are natural as well as non-natural exfoliants that have ingredients, which can cause minute cuts and be quite abrasive to your facial skin. Again this is not the type of product you would want to use.

Exfoliants should contain substances such as high quality clays, herbal extracts and essential oils that are gentle to your skin, but do remove the dead skin layer at the same time. Clay, for example, is made up of rounded particles and because of their shape, they will not irritate or cut your skin nor will they be abrasive to the skin. Essential oils, such as Chamomile are soothing, anti-septic and cleansing. Finally, a good exfoliant should be natural, gentle and contain ingredients that are cleansing and soothing to your skin.

Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.

Join our Natural Skin Care Newsletter - it’s fun, free and Informative and you receive a free eBook on natural skin care.

© Wildcrafted Herbal Products 2006

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