In the pursuit of great skin, it’s easy to get side tracked by all the beauty and cosmetics products marketed so heavily to us. But deeper than this surface work to do is remembering the synergy that is built in to our skin’s natural functions. What our skin needs is no different to any other body organ. It’s linked to the same principles as the gut (microbiota), avoiding toxins (environmental, food and skin products) and using skin science to product us.
I personally love the targeted use of supplements to boost detoxification in the body and for the skin, and talk about this more in the 10 Day Mindful Detox Program.
Protecting your skin from damage and premature ageing is a science. By understanding the mechanisms of what makes healthy skin we can learn what to do to get this delicate formula right. From here we can craft our diet and cosmetics regime in a way that fuels the results we are all after, a healthy glow.
There are 3 steps to a healthy skin glow.
- Nourishment: skin needs to maintain it’s collagen stay hydrated with lipids and fluids and requires a range of vitamins, minerals and proteins for ongoing healing, maintenance and repair.
- Protection: the skin is both a seal for the inner world, and a shield for the outer world. What we do, or don’t, put on our skin impacts the protection function.
- Detoxification: as our largest detoxification organ, the skin supports every system in the body including the gut, liver, brain, adrenals, immune system and lymphatics.
Our liver, gut and lymphatic system all influence the health of our skin. This is why breakouts, dullness, dark circles and the overall condition of your skin are such an important indicator of your internal balance. Your skin is a window to the inside.
Here’s how you can feed your skin.
Nourish your skin from the inside out.
In a nutshell your diet is the key. Eat plenty of healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil, avocado and grass-fed butter or ghee, and diligently avoid industrial oils like cottonseed, safflower and ‘vegetable’ oils. These damage the integrity of your cell’s phospholipid bilayer (every cell has a lining of fats – not to be confused with cellulite – inside that help it hold it’s shape) and leave skin cells vulnerable to damage. They are literally wobbly in structure when you eat the wrong fats. I know! You also need adequate protein which is a precursor to collagen. And if you want to take this up a notch, get a high quality collagen supplement. This stuff is literally life changing for your skin. Minerals and vitamins are essential and there are many factors that can affect your absorption. You need zinc, vitamin A, sulfur, vitamin K2 and iron just to name a few. And above all else a diet free of sugar and processed food will literally change your inner health and the way you look.
Protect your skin by applying minerals and nutrients to the outside, not chemicals.
Because our skin is a 2 way filter we need to ensure we don’t clog it, and it can still ‘breathe’, but we also need to ensure we do something to protect it. Leaving your skin ‘natural’ is not necessarily the best idea. Make up choice is everything, and this is why I only use and recommend high quality nutraceutical cosmetics and professional mineral make-up. Youngblood is a brand that I have been personally using for years now and the reason is that their make up not only looks good, it also protects the skin and nourishes it with natural minerals the skin needs and loves. Using this make-up everyday is like putting a multi-vitamin onto your face. Your skin looks better the more you wear it! Minerals also provide an important shield from free radicals and air pollutants as well as UV.
Detoxification is something your body is built to do.
It’s more than doing a juice cleanse, what you want to do is support the body to simply do what’s natural. Our gut, liver and lymphatics all work together with the skin to help us get rid of toxins. I created The Mindful Detox program to guide you through the perfect diet to support this with supplements and lifestyle tools included. In addition there’s another important area to look at, and it’s the toxins in many cosmetics. Many of these are affecting our skin integrity, hormone balance and may even induce early menopause.
In fact it’s quite scary. The chemicals in common skin care and cosmetics are now being flagged as potential hormone disruptors, and when we disrupt our hormones this will ultimately impact our gut, liver and skin. Dioxins, Phthalates, PCB’s, Phenols, Organophosphate pesticides, Surfactants, PAH’s are all commonly used in cosmetics. Researchers found that women with the highest amounts of these chemicals in their body had a 2-4 year earlier menopause.
The chemicals being used in cosmetics designed to help us look good, are not only wrecking our health and hormones. They are bad in every way.
I want you to have tools to look great and I want you to be empowered. I want you to focus on is that YOUR BODY IS SMART. When given the right tools and ingredients it will start to heal, repair and sort itself out. Be a savvy consumer and do your research. Educate yourself about your products and invest in your beauty regime, beyond the beauty counter.
It’s 100% about the food. On the inside, and the outside. Get nutrients into and onto your skin. Invest in quality. Work on your skin holistically.
There’s honestly so much to learn, and clean skin and beauty are a great self care tool that help us understand our body better, and connect what’s happening on the inside, to the outside.
Have some time to learn more? Download my Free Beauty Fuel E-book
And Watch my video Clean Skin Care Tips & Myths on You Tube
Over time, your spots will disappear, your dark circles will fade away, and your skin will thank you.
Over time you will start to glow brighter, you most importantly you will feel better.
Yours in shining health,
xo Sita
