Is your skin crying for help?

Have you heard the saying we are what we eat? Is your skin crying for help? With summer around the corner, many people are realizing that their skin doesn't look as good as they wish. You will find practical tips and suggestions in this article that will help you achieve radiant skin by improving your health on the inside and improving your skin on the outside. Having beautiful skin requires health on the inside and good skin care on the outside.

Your skin is your largest organ and often a reflection of what’s going on inside your body. Whether it's dry skin, oily skin, acne, rashes, lack of skin tone, or premature aging it's important to go beyond covering up our flaws and get to their root causes of why your skin isn’t radiant. The secrets to perfect skin care are NOT just what you put on your skin but also what you put in your body. So just buying expensive creams and potions will not give you flawless skin if you are not taking care of the inside of your body and if those anti-aging potions contain toxic chemicals or simply worthless in the quality of the ingredients you are just defeating the purpose. The majority of the big brand names in skin care carry a whole list of toxic ingredients. Don’t focus on brand and a big price tag, focus on quality ingredients! Just because doctor so and so promotes it or sells it doesn’t mean it is good or non-toxic.

Healthy radiant skin can be achieved through the following:
• Good nutrition with plenty of fresh living fruits and vegetables
• Good hydration with plenty of water (caffeine in soda, tea and coffee increase dehydration)
• Exercise for good blood flow and lymphatic drainage
• Skin exfoliation through dry brushing or loofah pads for the body and gentle cream exfoliants for the face and neck
• Avoid toxic chemicals internally and externally
• Use good quality organic skin care products

Skin-Healthy Diet
Fresh whole foods such as berries, nuts, seeds and leafy vegetable are the main staples of a skin-healthy diet. An occasional glass of red wine or a cup of green tea is beneficial too because of their antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help to combat free radicals and protect your skin from premature aging. Ellagic acid (EA) is a type of antioxidant referred to as a “polyphenol”. Ellagic acid protects collagen. The most plentiful food sources of EA are blackberries, cranberries, pecans, pomegranates, purple/red grapes, raspberries, strawberries and walnuts. Some of the benefits of all of these fruits and nuts may be directly attributable to their EA content. The trace mineral Zinc found in shellfish and pumpkin seeds is also beneficial for skin regeneration.

It is important to avoid all processed sugars and trans fats and be aware of your own food sensitivities. For example if you are sensitive or intolerant to gluten, this will increase inflammation in your body which leads to disease and dull looking skin. Sugar also increases pain and fatigue. A diet high in trans fats such as French fats, processed and junk foods can increase your bad LDL cholesterol and lead to cholesterol ‘plugs’ in your pores.

Vitamins C and E found in fruits and vegetables naturally support skin structure, reduce free radical damage and provide protection from damage caused by sun exposure. "Vitamin C can regenerate oxidized vitamin E, making this antioxidant combination work synergistically on your skin," explains Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP in her article at the Huffington Post. "Together, they can increase antioxidant power up to 70 times greater than when used individually."

Last but not least, don't underestimate the importance of drinking enough water. Chronic dehydration makes our skin look older, and less smooth.

Skin-Healthy Lifestyle
Today we live in a world full of toxic substances. Toxic exposure to x-rays, pollution, cigarette smoke and thousands of chemicals found in your hair products, make-up, lotions, bath soaps, household cleaners, pesticides on food, antibiotics and steroids in food, even the chlorine in your shower water can all contribute to premature aging and worsening of your skin. You can purchase a chlorine filter that goes on your shower head from your local home improvement store.

Don’t be fooled by false advertising on labels that products are natural, organic, dermatologist recommended, etc. Dermatologist tested and recommended can simply mean that the dermatologist getting paid by that company making the product tested it and recommended it or it can be a complete lie altogether. You really have to be informed about what ingredients are and read labels as you can pick up a product that says natural and just see a long list of chemical names or a product touted as organic and you may see only 1 organic ingredient or none in a long list of chemicals.

Women use more products than men, and are exposed to more unique ingredients daily, but men use a surprisingly high number of products. The average woman uses 12 products containing 168 ingredients every day. Men use on average 6 products daily with 85 unique ingredients. Chemical exposures add up. All of these chemicals have an accumulative effect and take their toll on our bodies’ ability to fight off these toxins.

Chemical exposure includes known or probable human carcinogens, known or probable reproductive and developmental toxins, linked to infertility or developmental harm for a baby in the womb or a child. Phthalates are a toxic family of chemicals used in everyday household products and nail polish, lipstick, perfumes and many other personal care products. If you see fragrance or fragrant oils on the label, avoid these products. Buy unscented or products that only use good quality essential oils for scenting.

Protect Your Skin Naturally
Sweat the toxins out of your skin and body with dry or infrared type saunas and steam baths. The dry heat of a sauna penetrates your tissues and releases poisons, heavy metals and chemicals. In the process, the blood flow to your skin increases, bringing more nutrients for the surface and subcutaneous tissue. As a result, the quality of your skin gradually improves.

Dry skin brushing is another technique that can improve your skin’s appearance. Of course, dry brushing should not be done on the face or neck but can be done on the body. Dry brushing moves the lymph, improves circulation, reduces cellulite, wakes up your immune system, sloughs off dead skin cells and makes your skin soft. You can purchase a natural bristle brush with a long handle at a health food store. Loofahs are also good for daily dead skin removal.

Use only non-toxic anti-aging products on your skin. Look for products that contain ingredients such as Organic Aloe Juice, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Rooibos Tea Extract, Organic Olive Oil, Organic Papaya Extract, Organic Pineapple Extract, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, MSM, Organic Pomegranate Extract, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Vitamin B, Vitamin A, Rosehip Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Organic Blue Green Algae Extract, Cranberry Seed Oil, Carrot Oil, Hyaluronic Acid, etc. to feed your skin on the outside. Avoid the use of Vitamin A as a leave-on product for your skin. Vitamin A is fine in a cleanser because you are washing it off. Vitamin A should be avoided if it is an ingredient in a leave on product such as a toner, moisturizer, sunscreen or eye cream as Vitamin A makes your skin more sensitive to sun damage which can lead to skin cancer.

Everyone should start thinking of anti-aging when they are young, if you wait until you have wrinkles, you can’t remove them without some type of cosmetic procedure, and you can only reduce the appearance. Prevention is the best medicine! Products with Alpha Hydroxyl Acids for example Bilberry Extract, Sugar Cane Extract, Sugar Maple Extract, Orange Fruit Extract, Lemon Extract, Cranberry Extract, etc. can be beneficial for those with teenage or adult acne.

Don’t wash your skin with commercial bath soaps and shower gels which contain toxic sulfates and detergents that dry out your skin and lead to premature aging. Detergents containing sulfates come by many different names: sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, and sodium C14-16 olefin sulfate.

Avoid anti-bacterial soaps which contain a toxic ingredient called Triclosan. Studies have shown that anti-bacterial soaps don’t get your hands/skin cleaner than regular soaps. If you are concerned about bacteria, you can use soaps with tea tree in the ingredient list as tea tree is a natural anti-bacterial agent. However, unless you have acne, skin infections, stinky feet or smell more than others when they sweat, antibacterial soaps shouldn’t be used routinely as your body may build a tolerance or resistance to even a natural antibacterial substance. If your feet stink, you may have foot fungus and if your sweat smells more than normal, you are probably not eating a healthy diet or drinking enough water and the toxins are coming out in your sweat.

Avoid fragrances in any product. Your skin will noticeably improve if you use only natural or organic soaps. Good quality soaps provide lather and last a long time without drying out your skin.

Many times, people talk about how dry their skin is in spite of using lotions. The majority of the time, it is because they are using sulfates on their skin, using poor quality lotions and not drinking enough water. If you are doing everything right and still have dry skin, ask your doctor to check your thyroid levels including reverse T3. Look at your lotion and see if the first ingredient is water. The majority of the commercial brand lotions list water as the first ingredient. Water is great when taken internally for hydration but doesn’t do much when applied to the skin as a moisturizer. Ingredients are listed on the label in order of percentages/concentration so the ingredients at the beginning have the highest concentration and the ingredients towards the end of the label have a smaller amount of that ingredient.

Follow these steps for beautiful radiant skin!