Healthy Skin Care Tips and Products
Author: Shannon Miller Lifestyle
Did you know – November is Healthy Skin Month?
Your skin is the largest organ on your body, and says so much about your health. It reads in strength and vibrance. It shows weariness, tiredness, or lack of good nutrition. Your skin is what people see as your overall health and vitality.
So, how do we improve the health of our skin?
We start with the inside! Sally Kravich, Holistic Nutritionist and author of the book Vibrant Living, says “Beauty begins from the inside out. Often, we look to external products to make us feel and look more beautiful. Natural products and regular skin care is beneficial, but beautiful skin begins with the food and liquids we eat and drink.
In Chinese medicine the skin is considered the third kidney. In order to keep the skin alive and healthy, you will want to open the skins pores by sweating and drink plenty of pure water.”
What does that mean?
Sweating through exercise cleans out the pores of the skin, and gives the skin a healthy glow. Drinking plenty of water keeps the skin looking dewy and young. Katherine Goldman, aesthetician and owner of Stript Wax Bar in Los Angeles says 120 ounces of water per day is optimal for skin health.
Internally, vitamins and minerals help with skin health and elasticity.
Nancy Reagan, “First Lady of Skin Care”, pun intended, says that Vitamin A in the diet is important (available through red and orange-hued vegetables), and “B vitamins are not stored in the tissues so they must be constantly replenished. Minerals are also being used to support the skin with hydration and immune support (Chloride, Zinc, Potassium). Healthy skin comes from within so not only are topical vitamins necessary, but internal vitamins are very important. With that being said, the nutritional support for healthy skin includes a diet void of chemicals, preservatives, and dairy.” A diet high in processed foods, like canned and boxed foods, brings chemicals into the body, which break down the skin cell structure over time. Natural, whole ingredients are easily used as fuel for the skin’s health, with easy accessibility to natural vitamins and minerals. So, hit the farmer’s market or organic fruit stand whenever possible.
On the external side of skin, a healthy regimen is also important.
- Start with a clean slate. Wash with a simple cleanser that is void of harsh chemicals, such as Bare Escentuals.
- Some dermatologists recommend following with a vitamin-enhanced serum, such as L’Oreal Youth Code Serum.
- One more step may be a collagen boost cream, such as that by Derm Exclusive, or an eye treatment, such as the Clinique classic, All About Eyes.
- Finally, most dermatologists recommend a day cream with sunscreen, such as Salma Hayek’s Nuance Renewed Radiance, available at CVS.
Once or twice a week, you can polish your skin by buffing it lightly, which takes off the dead skin cells that may be sitting at the top. The result is the younger skin underneath glowing through, and the apparent reduction of lines.
Candice Betz, Director of W Austin’s AWAY Spa in Austin, Texas, recommends a Pumpkin Facial Scrub to keep skin healthy:
½ cup organic canned pumpkin
3 Tablespoons organic sugar
½ teaspoon sweet almond oil
Mix and scrub. Put the remaining amount in the refrigerator until further use.