Today we focus SO MUCH about what we put IN our body…or at least know what we SHOULD be eating, which is something I covered in PART 1 of this Skin Series. CHECK OUT PART 1 HERE: The Real Cause of Skin Issues and 3 Ways to Heal it For Good.
But, a much smaller percentage are mindful of the things we put ON our body. The purpose of this article is to answer: Why is this important? And are there easy swaps I can make that are affordable, convenient and hormonally healthier for me? God I can't wait for you to hear the answers!
The average female probably can expect five to 10 pounds of added weight to her waistline (and other problem areas) per year, thanks to the toxins we apply to our body on a daily basis. Yes… 5-10! Where are these coming from? Cosmetics, creams, cleansers O My!
Years ago, I bought the hype. If it was in a magazine ad, touting clear skin (Neutrogena), I bought it. If my doctor advised a stronger potion (Cetaphil), I was all over it. If models wore it (Mac) plus I got a free makeover, I signed up for it.
Little did I know:
TOXINS MAKE YOU FAT
TOXINS MAKE YOU FATIGUED
TOXINS MAKE YOUR HORMONES GO CRAZY!
Seriously?
YES. They’re EVERYWHERE. There are nearly 100,000 of them surrounding us at all times.
Between our toxic thoughts, busy schedules and SAD diet (Standard American Diet), add these Sexy Body assassins to your day to day and you’re almost guaranteed to feel not only fat, fatigued and frustrated but to ‘catch’ a cold, nasty symptoms, auto immune disease and worse off CANCER.
This is what the average woman leaves the house bathing in every day.
The average female puts anywhere between 300-500 chemicals on her body every morning?
These toxins also make us super sick.
And, of the 75,000 + chemicals approved for use in our nation, less than 5% of them have been tested for safety
One class of toxins named Phthalates are commonly found in products that have any kind of fragrance in them. Their purpose is to help the scent cling to the substrate and hence our bodies, extending the ‘wear' of the scent. This class of ingredients, also abundantly formulated in cosmetics, is among 70,000 other registered chemicals that have hormonal effects on the body.
These factors are called xenoestrogens, foreign estrogens that mimic the functions of our natural estrogens. When they enter our body, they attach themselves to our cells' receptor sites, taking over our naturally produced estrogens' functions to control growth and development, negatively affecting our breasts, skin, menstruation, and fertility.
Over time, high exposure to these ‘fake estrogens' can promote unnatural growth in tissues such as fibroids, cysts, tumours and weight gain. It also wreaks havoc on the endocrine system, leaving women with a myriad of hormonal health imbalances, one of the most common conditions I see today in my practice. PMS, heavy bleeding, cancer, PCOS, infertility, acne, mood swings, chronic fatigue, weight gain, and more are all too misunderstood by the medical community and thought to have unknown causes. Research suggests it's caused by a condition called Estrogen Dominance, however, the result of an accumulation of chemicals in the body. Essentially, all the products we use on a daily basis and the effects of their ingredients stack up over time. Here's how it looks:
So the next time you read a study that says “not toxic in small doses,” ask yourself how much these small doses of various products add up over years of use.
We're putting hundreds of different products, full of xenoestrogens, onto our bodies. When applied to the skin, they are far more potent (upwards of 10 times more) than those ingested orally, because they travel directly to the tissues instead of passing through the liver.
Studies are now showing that one in two men, and one in three women in this generation are estimated to have cancer, and over 75% of America is now overweight or obese, at least in part because of the hormonal imbalances caused by xenoestrogens, we should all aim to reduce our exposure as much as possible. In this video I share with you my current Favorites, although I am always updating this list and have many, that I didn't include, in the interest of not overwhelming you, so you can get started slowly and work your way up to a total toxin free strategy.
I didn't get to it in this video but here's a Truth bomb about sunscreen. Did you know you can actually EAT your sunscreen? As in, consume a diet that is rich in nutrients and healthy fats that prevent you from harmful burns? You can read that article HERE. Sunscreen is by far, THE most toxic product we're slathering all over our vulnerable, naked, dying to soak up the rays, Vitamin D deficient skin!
MY TOP 3 FAV BRANDS
- Doterra (skin care kits, DIY face recipes, toothpaste, hair care and more)
- Thrive (Accure, Organic Oils, Dirt Toothpaste, and more)
- LouLei Botanicals
LouLei Botanicals is the awesome skin serum I referenced that is anti-fungal, anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-parasitic herbs…all of these pathogens are what is CAUSING our skin issues. These are ingredients fit for consumption AND application…for EVEN BETTER results than any expensive cream can buy! SERIOUS! You can read more about it HERE.
I have also spent some quality time organizing some of my TOP FAVORITES I love for Skin care in my Online wellness store which you can check out HERE. I categorized all of my ‘best of' supplements and skin care products, so you don't have to do the work researching it yourself!
MY TOP 5 FAV DIY SKIN CARE & FACIAL TREATMENTS
- Organic Clay Facial DIY Recipe for Less than $1 – Starring Bentonite Clay and Apple Cider Vinegar
- Probiotics and Organic Greek Yogurt Recipe – Open up 1 probiotic capsule into a small glass. To it add 1-2 tsp of organic yogurt. Start with 1 tsp then stir and if you prefer more, add up to 1 more tsp. You can add any extra to your neck to firm up any ‘chicken neck skin' you have (like I do right now – ugh…thanks to all of the allergies I suffered the last year. NO MORE hair dye for me for a while if ever).
- Matcha Tea Tree powder with honey – mix together 1/2 tsp of each and add more powder, if needed to form a consistent paste. Local, raw honey preferred.
- Turmeric with honey and/or yogurt – add 1 tsp of each and stir. Optional to use all 3 or just 2. I found this recipe helpful.
- Activated charcoal PEEL off Mask – A SUPER cool recipe I stumbled across by accident. Aren't those THE best ones? God I love learning! Put all these in a glass, heat it up (stove preferred as microwave can denature and strip nutrients) until consistent. This shouldn't take much time. Apply to face, and let sit for an hour, best to do at night when you're home relaxing. This should be enough time provided you didn't lay it on too thick. Kiss your blackheads goodbye!
- 1 teaspoon Activated Charcoal (app 2 capsules if you have those)
- ½ teaspoon bentonite Clay
- 1 tablespoon Gelatin
- 2 tablespoons water
As to the first four, there's no big trick to them other than mix, apply and let the mask dry on your face. I advise leaving it on for about 20 minutes and then washing it off with lukewarm water. Dry your face gently with a cloth and you can use your little brush to gently brush off any residue or flaky skin.
How often should you do this? Have fun with it! Repeat the mask treatment over the course of a few days. You can also apply it to your face every few weeks, depending on your needs, schedule and complexion.
Remember to spot test on small areas first, just to be sure you don't get a bad reaction from anything. Then you can go harder in the paint with trying new recipes.
How to DIY your own Foundation?
Whoa, really? I discovered this on Katie, the Wellness Mama's site and was super stoked to try it for mee-self.
So…if you've been following me for a while, you've already tried my famous ‘ditch coffee, get WAY more bang for your buck – and your hormones with this recipe – the Metabolic Mocha'. If you've tried this, you already have cacao. I read the recipe suggestions and collected some things I already had in the pantry to see how I liked it first, before I invested money on all of the other things. What I found is that, I really liked it simple and it totally worked for me. All you have to do is grab a little container and to it add small measurements of the following:
- Cacao powder (I added about 1 tsp)
- Cinnamon powder (I added about 1/8 tsp)
- Arrowroot powder (about 1/2 tsp)
I used the same tiny stackables I use to travel with my supplements and I absolutely loved this. It feels so amazing on my skin and because I take such good care of my skin with the products I mentioned in this video, I find I don't need much to even out my skin.
I used to have Roseacea, horrible acne, dry/oily combo skin, whiteheads, blackheads, tinea versicolor (white skin bleach looking spots) puffy face, you name it. I now rarely have any of these issues, except the occasional zit 🙂 The reason? Because of what I taught you in Video 1, I healed my outside skin by remodeling my inside skin. Cleansing and healing from the inside out is THE key ingredient to flawless, youthful, glowing skin. YOU GLOW GIRL!
If you're really struggling with your skin and you feel like no matter what you do it isn't working…WE'VE GOT TO GET TO THE ROOT OF THIS, SISTER! No more band-aids. Let's schedule a time to chat so we can open your heart, eyes and mind to the definite possibility of a serious breakthrough.
Schedule Your Breakthrough Call
WHAT SUPPLEMENTS ARE BEST FOR MY SKIN?
You can access my Top 3 Skin Glow as well as every other Top 3 Best Supplements by category HERE.
#1 – BioSil – Hair, Skin, Nails
#2 – Gaia Herbs -Skin and Nail Support Pro
In order to attain outer beauty, the body needs inner nourishment — particularly from nutrients that support the normal turnover of cells. Hair, Skin, & Nail Support contains herbs such as Horsetail, Alfalfa, and Nettles that promote the healthy growth of hair, skin, and nail tissue, while also providing a source of antioxidants.*
This ayurvedic blend offers a huge array of skin loving extracts: Triphala fruit (Emblica officinalis, Terminalia bellerica, Terminalia chebla), Horsetail aerial parts (Equisetum arvense), Alfalfa aerial parts (Medicago sativa), Gotu Kola leaf (Centella asiatica), Nettle leaf (Urtica dioica), Burdock root (Arctium lappa), Astaxanthan
#3 – Douglas Labs Hair Skin and Nails Plus Formula
VITAMIN A, VITAMIN E AND THE SKIN
Vitamin A is needed for the integrity of the skin and mucus membranes. It works synergetically with zinc. Many skin conditions associated with zinc and copper imbalance respond better to a combination of zinc and vitamin A. However, excessive vitamin A causes dryness and peeling of the skin, which is why Retin-A and Accutane, both synthetic versions of vitamin A, cause the skin to peel and hence ‘remove wrinkles and acne'. However, long term these can permanently alter your sebaceous glands, debilitating their absorption of ingested Vitamin A, resulting in permanently dry skin. I can attest to this unfortunately, thanks to Accutane. 🙁
DETOXIFICATION AND SKIN DISORDERS
The skin is a marvelous organ of elimination. If other organs of elimination – the kidneys, liver, lungs and colon – are not functioning well, often excess toxic substances will be eliminated through the skin. This is a common cause of many skin conditions such as acne, primarily because the skin may also be used for elimination of certain toxins that cannot be safely eliminated through the other organs of elimination.
Ultimately, as mentioned a million times in this article and everywhere else I refer to health, taking care of yourself from the INSIDE out is where the true anti aging is at. The Warrior Cleanse is a GREAT place to begin this Skin journey, even as much as you may not want to believe it. That plus, the combination of other tips included in this article, I truly are enough for you to take a deeper dive into your Skin health.
Because your beauty is DEEPER than Skin Deep!
You are limitless and infinitely beautiful, as you are sister!
For tips like this and more, for days, click below to get my FREE Starter Kit, exclusively for Women Warriors like you!
