When Torrian Denise was caring for her mother, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, she could not find products that could restore the moisture to her mother's skin.

"While going through chemotherapy treatments, my mother began having extremely dry skin from the medicine," Denise said.

She said she finally discovered that raw shea butter would provide the results she was seeking.

"That’s when I realized that there was a need to bring awareness to natural products and (their) benefits," Denise said.

Denise, like many others, believes that the best beauty products are the natural ones that do not contain harsh chemicals or synthetic ingredients, which she says can have an adverse effect on the skin.

She later parlayed the benefits of shea butter and lovely scents into DorNee' Natural Body Luxuries, which is based in Twinsburg, Ohio.

"DorNee' is proud of the fact that most of our products are made with at least 50 percent natural shea butter," Denise said. "This amount of shea butter is typically 20 to 25 percent more than what is used in comparable products. Shea butter provides maximum moisturizing abilities and helps to retain the elasticity in the skin."

Oh, Honey

While most people buy their cosmetics, including all-natural products, some like making beauty products at home.

Janice Cox believes that products found in the comfort of a home can turn a beauty treatment into a spa-like experience. Cox is the author of "Natural Beauty at Home," "Natural Beauty for All Seasons" and "Natural Beauty from the Garden."

One of her ideas is to cut slices of lemon into bath water.

"It's an uplifting scent. It's acidic, but mild enough to soften the skin," she said. "It also looks very nice."

In addition to lemons, Cox said sour cream or yogurt can be used for a moisturizing facial. Oatmeal can be used to soothe sunburned skin.

She recommended using old hosiery to hold the oatmeal when used in bath water.

"It's beautiful, but then you have a big mess to clean up," she said.

She also said corn meal can be used as an exfoliant, green tea as an astringent and milk as a moisturizer.

Honey has many uses.

"Honey has always been one of my favorite at-home beauty ingredients because it is so effective and easy to use! It can be used head to toe with amazing results," Cox said. "If you have a small blemish or insect bite, dab on a bit of honey. Rough dry skin? Add a tablespoon or two to a warm bath. Dry, damaged hair? honey makes a wonderful natural hair conditioner. I could go on and on."

Cox said these are two of her favorite recipes using honey:

Honey Cleanser Mix 1 tablespoon honey with 2 tablespoons finely ground almonds and teaspoon lemon juice. Rub gently on your face, rinse with warm water

Honey Toner In a blender, puree 1 tablespoon honey with a peeled, cored apple. Smooth over your face and leave on 15 minutes, rinse with cool water.

What Is In My Shampoo?

Some people may experience a sense false of security when products read "natural," "unscented," "hypoallergenic" and "organic," one expert said.

" 'Organic' can be used on a hygiene product even if only 1 percent of the content is of organic origin," writes Dr. Alan Greene, author of "Raising Baby Green."

Greene, a clinical professor of pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine, also believes that many beauty products can be made using items found in most people's kitchens or at a natural food store.

He said baking soda and a drop of peppermint oil can be used for toothpaste. Chewing on a fig sprig or parsley can serve as a natural breath freshener.

Greene writes that there are often many known toxins such as formaldehyde, mercury, coal tar and methylisothiazolinone, in beauty products.

"It's true that many of the synthetic chemicals used in these products have been tested and found to be acceptable for human use," Greene writes. "But no one has yet tested the long-term effect of the cumulative dose we get each day from a little bit of toxin in the shampoo that adds to the little bit in the hair conditioner, which adds to the bit in the skin lotion and the mascara and the perfume and so on throughout the day and over many years."

Cosmeticsdatabase.com help consumers be more informed about ingredients used in beauty products.

No one wants to buy a product and look at the label and read ingredients that are difficult to pronounce. When shopping for natural beauty products, be sure to find out about the ingredients used. It also may be a good idea to head to your kitchen and whip up your very own beauty product.