Spring beauty renewal: try these natural beauty secrets to uncover a fresh, radiant complexion.(NATURAL BEAUTY: PERSONAL CARE)

As the weather warms, it's time to treat your complexion to scrubs that exfoliate dull, dry winter skin and make it glow with the freshness of spring. Smooth, soft, and luminous skin reflects the time and effort you devote to it. If you want to refine the appearance of your skin, you need to buff and polish it.

When skin matures, its natural ability to shed old surface cells and renew itself slows down. This causes a buildup of dull, dry flakes that give skin a rough, uneven texture and lusterless appearance. Exfoliation--or shedding the old layers of dead skin cells--allows your skin to breathe. When you exfoliate, you not only improve skin texture, you stimulate circulation and encourage toxins to escape through the unclogged pores. And exfoliated skin can absorb nourishing and moisturizing products much more effectively.

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All you need to do is scrub--gently. Grainy-textured scrubs give you dramatic results in just one application, revealing smoother, softer new skin beneath the dead cells. Most scrubs obtain their exfoliating action from such natural ingredients as sea salt, raw sugar, crushed almonds, apricot kernels, rice, raw chocolate, or ground coffee beans. Scrubs made from fresh papaya and pineapple contain natural alpha hydroxy acids that melt away dull surface cells.

Exfoliating with body scrubs is a simple and indulgent experience, especially when the products contain aromatic essential oils. Choose scrubs to match your mood, such as soothing and relaxing (geranium or sweet orange essential oil/ or energizing and invigorating (mint or citrus essential oils). Exfoliate once or twice a week as a supplement to your daily care. Do not use an abrasive exfoliating product if your skin is sensitive or if you have blemishes or cuts. Exfoliation can leave your skin sensitive, so be sure to use a lotion or cream afterward to moisturize and rehydrate. Your body temperature elevates slightly while you're sleeping, so exfoliate and moisturize before bed to allow products to better absorb into skin.

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TIME TO SHINE