Burt's Bees and Healthy Skin

In April 1996, I began to notice an odd-looking "rash" spreading over my entire face. Dry flaky spots in the corners of my nose and eyebrows accompanied it. After an emergency visit to the dermatologist, I left with a seborrheic dermatitis diagnoses, a steroid cream prescription, and a pamphlet describing various types of dermatitis. I quickly learned that seborrheic dermatitis is a disease that causes flaking of the skin. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, it usually affects the scalp, but can also affect the skin on other parts of the body, such as the face and chest, and the creases of the arms, legs and groin. I was the lucky contestant to develop symptoms on my face.

After the required treatment, my skin cleared and life returned to normal. That is until I tried a new facial cleansing regiment. Almost overnight, the odd-looking rash returned, requiring another treatment with the prescription steroid cream. After reliving this nightmare several times, my dermatologist recommended the use of an over-the-counter drugstore product called Cetaphil - both the facial cleanser and moisturizer. I achieved partial success. While I no longer wore the odd rash like a second skin, eliminating the dry flaky spots seemed impossible. That is until I stumbled upon Burt's Bees Products.

The first product I used was Burt's Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser with Orange Oil. This all-natural product, 100% natural to be exact, left my skin both clean and refreshed. With natural ingredients like vegetable glycerin, olive oil, orange oil, oat flour, lanolin, oat oil, aloe barbadenis leaf juice, tocopherol (vitamin E), quillaja extract, and rosemary leaf oil (see the Burt's Bees website), I was not surprised by how well my skin reacted to this new product. After testing the Orange Essence Facial Cleanser with Orange Oil for one week, I was able to enjoy the fresh and invigorating citrus smell and remain rash free.

It was then that I decided to try Burt's Bees Radiance Night Cream. This moisturizer is 99.02% natural and contains royal jelly. Royal jelly is a honeybee secretion used in the nutrition of the young larvae and all queen larvae. (Merriam-Webster Online) It contains all B Vitamins, Vitamins A, C, D, E, and K, over 12 key minerals, and 18 amino acids. (www.Burt'sBees.com) After cleansing my face, I smoothed about four dime size drops of the Night Cream into my skin and went to bed.

For the first time in 10 years, after using the Burt's Bees Radiance Night Cream, I awoke with healthy looking skin free from dry flaky spots in the corners of my nose and eyebrows. I thought, "this is too good to be true," and waited for the odd rash to develop and the dry flaky spots to return. After five months, I am excited to say that neither have returned. Because of this success, I have begun purchasing other Burt's Bees Products. The products I now use include, Thoroughly Therapeutic Honey and Shea Butter Body Butter, Hand Salve, Herbal Blemish Stick, Coconut Foot Cream with Vitamin E, Honey Lip Balm. and Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. I love them all.

A visit to the Burt's Bees website revealed that the company prides itself in using natural products. "At Burt's Bees, we scour the good earth to find the most natural, effective ingredients to put in our products. To us, the word "natural" means only one thing. It means, "harvested from nature.""