Face Care: Do’s And Dont’s For Naturally Beautiful Skin

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Everyone sees our face, and we want to portray our best self to the world. That’s hard to do with blemishes. But, how do you get naturally beautiful skin without using expensive and conventional creams, lotions, cleansers and oils? Believe it or not, there’s some very simple do’s and don’t’s for naturally beautiful skin.
What causes skin issues?

Many natural health practitioners believe that the majority of your health, include your skin health, is in the gut. If you have a healthy digestive system, you can absorb and assimilate vitamins and minerals with ease, without allowing food particles to slip through undigested into the bloodstream. This issue, dubbed “leaky gut,” can lead to allergies and unsightly skin blemishes and even eczema.

Outside factors can also play a role. Harsh detergents and cleaners, hormone-laden makeup, and unnatural skincare can all cause skin blemishes. Switch to all natural cleaning products, such as vinegar and baking soda, and more natural makeup brands. Review your skincare routine, and see if you can find all natural cleansers and oils to keep your skin brighter.

Do’s and Don’t’s for Naturally Beautiful Skin

Do: Use natural and oil-based soaps.

Don’t: Use harsh soaps and lotions.

Soaps strip your face of its natural oils, leaving you with dry skin. Most non-organic and natural soaps, cleansers, and lotions may make your skin feel moisturized at first, but will dry it out over the course of the day. Opt for natural products, and use sparingly. Stripping your skin of its natural oils will just put it into a frenzy to replenish its oils. You only want to strip off bacteria, dirt, and dead skin. Using an oil cleaning method, such as the one described below can help keep your oils on your face and the bad guys off.

Do: Eat low dairy and low gluten, and possibly low histamine.

Don’t: Eat excessive amounts of non-organic dairy, processed gluten products, and high histamine foods.

As explained earlier, a leaky gut may be to blame for breakouts and acne. Limiting dairy, especially non-organic and pasteurized dairy can clear up acne quick. Cutting out heavily processed foods with gluten, like most breads, crackers, and pastas also helps most clear up their skin. These foods not only cause issues on your skin, but may cause or further your gut issues in the first place.

Do: Take lukewarm showers or face washes.

Don’t: Take scorching hot showers or face washes.

Super hot showers and face washes strips your skin of its natural oils. Though it’s fine to use warm water, steer clear from very hot showers and try to wash your face with lukewarm water.

Do: Use organic makeup when necessary.

Don’t: Use non-organic makeup every day.

Makeup in general isn’t super healthy for you. Your body is absorbing what you put on your skin, and even if the ingredients aren’t extremely bad, it’s hard to have perfectly clear skin when the skin is covered by makeup every day. Try to go without a few days a week, and clean your face well when you do use makeup. If you do use makeup often, splurge for vegan and organic makeup choices, which are becoming more and more popular.

Do: Take a high quality probiotic.

Don’t: Eat foods that destroy your natural bacteria and gut health.

Again, your health begins in your gut. Your gut needs good bacteria, often called probiotics, to properly digest food and for immune system function. A high quality probiotic will help clear up your face, especially if you have chronic acne. Be sure to follow a course of antibiotics with a probiotic, also. If you have been taking a probiotic and see little difference, yet have chronic blemishes and digestive issues, ask your doctor to take a stool sample of your bacterial biome to see what strain of bacteria you are missing. Too often, someone may be missing one or two particular strains that they are not supplementing. High dose supplementation of one strain at a time will help in that particular case.

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Photo credit: bigstockphoto.com

Do: Consume or supplement healthy fats, such as avocados, cod liver oil, or flax oil.

Don’t: Consume a heavy carbohydrate-rich diet.

Healthy fats, particularly omega 3’s, are essential for skin health, and that includes your face! Eating avocados, fish, olive oil, and grassfed organic meats will supply you with omega 3’s and amino acids that will go a long way to clearing up your skin. If you are vegan, you can supplement with flax oil. If you don’t enjoy those foods, you can supplement with fish or cod liver oil.

Do: Get at least 8 hours of sleep per night, sleeping between the 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. window.

Don’t: Stay up late, sleep in late, and not have a sleep schedule.

Sleep manages your hormones and stress, completes the digestive process, and boosts your immune system. If you aren’t getting enough, your health can seriously be lacking. Aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep per night, and to be sleeping by 10 p.m., when your body will begin its “reset” for the day. During this time, the body completes its processes it doesn’t have enough energy to do during your waking hours. Without it, you are left in a tough position for the next day – and your skin will show it.

Do: Get at least 8 cups of filtered water daily.

Don’t: Consume excess soda, juice, or coffee, and allow yourself to become dehydrated.

If you don’t have enough water, your body cannot detoxify properly, and may hold some toxins in. These toxins will show up on your skin, including your face. Be sure to drink enough water each day, and stay away from drinks that dehydrate you.

Do: Limit your stress by prayer, meditation, and exercise.

Don’t: Allow large amounts of stress in your life.

Hormones are the messengers that keep your body functioning. Without them, your systems will not work properly. Too much stress causes your hormones to go haywire, and can lead to pent up stress and toxins in the body which can show on your face. Find what relaxes you, prayer, meditation, exercise or a craft, and schedule it into your life often.

Do: Consume foods high in collagen, or take a collagen supplement.

Don’t: Consume low quality, non-organic meats and limit good fats and proteins.

Collagen builds elasticity in your skin, which can help prevent wrinkles and sagging skin. If you don’t eat high quality organic grassfed meats, you may want to consider a collagen supplement to keep your skin looking its best.

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Photo credit: bigstockphoto.com

A Simple and Natural Skincare Routine

You can spend hundreds on natural skincare products, and yet not have glowing skin. A very simple skincare routine uses one ingredient: oil. You will want to opt for a light oil, such as almond, avocado, or grapeseed. You will use the oil for both cleansing and moisturizing your face. To wash, run warm, but not hot, water, and apply one teaspoon of the oil to your face. Place a clean cloth under the water, and wipe your face with the cloth. Wipe enough to remove much of the oil, but not so vigorously to leave a red mark. Allow the skin to dry, and rub in any extra after ten minutes. If your skin soaks up the oil quickly, apply a half teaspoon to the dry areas. If your skin still feels dry throughout the day, apply another half teaspoon of oil until your face begins producing enough of its own oil to moisturize. Your skin may be over producing oil when you begin this process, as it’s so used to all of its oil being stripped daily.

A natural skincare routine for beautiful skin doesn’t have to break the bank or be extremely difficult, but it should be holistic, taking your lifestyle, digestive, and skin health into account. Try out these easy do’s and don’t’s for the best skin you’ve ever had – naturally.

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