Many people don't realize when their body, mind or skin is in need of a major detoxification.
We are all so swept up in the business of life, we sometimes make poor choices or don't actually have enough time to nurture ourselves. I'm here to tell you it's time for some YOU time. I'm giving you permission to take care of yourself, mind, body & spirit. I'm not a doctor or health coach, but I consider myself a health nut, skin maven and I've done research on the following topics through some of my favorite nutritionist. I'll be breaking down the signs that you need to detox and the ways you can detox your entire body, which will show through your skin.
Let's break down all the parts of the Secret to your best skin ever...
What is a detox:
A detox is just a type of cleansing; you can choose to constantly detox in your daily life or do "a detox" which is like a deep clean. Some people, like myself, choose to do ongoing cleansing, which means your body doesn't build up as many toxins on a daily basis. You do this by following a consistently healthy lifestyle, rather than having to do a deep clean every so often. My favorite nutritionist, Kimberly Snyder compares this to a clogged wheel, where the spokes are all sludgy and it slows you down, but as you clean the wheel, you are able to reverse aging and pull those toxins out, allowing your body to heal. Ongoing cleansing is a better way to maintain beautiful skin and whole body well being.
Signs you need to detox:
Your skin is one of the first and most important visual signs that says you aren't being kind to yourself. Skin issues from the torso up can also be a clear indication that it's a hormone problem or food intolerance. Your skin is showing you the imbalance so that you can re-balance.
- Angry redness, inflammation, eczema, itchy, flaky or irritated skin
- Dry skin that never seems to get moisturized despite how much product you apply
- Breakouts, from hormonal acne to body acne, breakouts are a sign that something is out of balance within your body. You can actually target what the problem is from our Face Mapping Guide
- Deep or more prevalent wrinkles. This is usually accompanied by dryness. When your skin dries up your wrinkles become more apparent and skin becomes crepey.
- Under eye circles, darkness, puffiness - also a sign of adrenal fatigue.
- Dry brittle nails, flaky scalp, cracked knuckles
- Gray or ashy skin tone
- Patches of hyper pigmentation
Other signs you need to detox
- Sleeplessness or insomnia
- Always tired despite getting proper amounts of sleep
- Sluggish mood
- Heavy or fullness in your gut
- Decreased bowl activity or no regularity
- Persistent bad, bitter or metallic taste in your mouth or throat
- Lack-luster or limp hair
Now that you've identified the signs, we need to talk about how to detox. The goal is to treat the problem as a whole, not just your skin. Beautiful skin is a result of overall health... or as I always say, "Beauty by way of Health".
How to detox & cleanse your skin:
- Drink plenty of water
I hate to be cliche and say drink 8 glasses a day, so I'm telling you to drink nine! Your body is around 60% water, imagine how your body function breaks down when you don't replenish that water daily. Skin sebum doesn't flow as freely, your detoxifying organs don't run as smoothly and nutrients can't circulate optimally. Water also flushes out waste and bacteria via your digestive system and sweating. Water helps to build new skin cells and regulates body temperature and sweating out toxins.
- Start your day with warm water & lemon
Your body has been without food and water all night, you need to rehydrate by sipping water all day long. Having warm water first thing in the morning jumpstarts your digestive function and helps you clear whatever is sitting there. Squeeze an organic lemon into it for a boost of vitamin C, great liver support and detoxifying qualities.
- Eat 80% plant-based
Eat fresh and raw whenever possible. Your body functions at it's best and fights free-radicals and disease when it's slightly alkaline - plant-foods are alkaline! Free-radicals are nasty little things that cause premature aging and the breakdown of our cells, which opens us up to diseases. Foods that are alkaline are fruits and vegetables, whole ancient grains, nuts and seeds. Acidic foods are things like meat, dairy, sugar, artificial flavors, and anything processed.
- Eat your leafy greens
Greens are some of the most nutrient dense foods which regenerate and purify our cells. The fiber in greens(and a wide range of fruits/veggies) helps to pull waste from our bodies. Greens also help alkalize our bodies while filling us with amino acids, healthy chlorophyll and minerals.
- Take Probiotics
Probiotics are friendly bacteria that help keep your digestive function healthy and your immune system strong. Probiotics help to eliminate constipation & diarrhea, improve liver function, improve resistance to allergies and improve vitamin synthesis. They also increase energy, improve the absorption of nutrients and eliminate bloating. Probiotics help eliminate unfriendly bacteria who create toxic waste that can be absorped into your blood and soft tissues. You want to choose a probiotic that has a high culture count of a variety of highly beneficial strains. My favorite's include Dr. Ohirra's, Garden of Life, & Sedona Labs iFlora
- Take Digestive Enzymes
Digestive enzymes are critical to help us digest our foods, especially cooked foods, fats, starches and proteins. As we age, we lose some of our enzyme reserve so our bodies don't digest as well. The bi-product of undigested food is that unfriendly bacteria that creates toxins. Toxins can affect your skin health and it will show. Look for a digestive enzyme that is vegan and plant-based. I'm a fan of the Garden of Life chewable digestive enzymes
Did you know? Cooking meat destroys most of it's naturally occuring enzymes which break down that protein into amino acids which the body can use. When you eat foods that have little or no enzymes, your body has to produce more enzymes which can exhaust your immune system, making it more vulnerable to illness and disease.
- Sip on some Apple Cider Vinegar
Raw and un-filtered apple cider vinegar helps to cleanse your digestive track, promotes cellular cleansing and promotes bowel movements. It encourages the growth of healthy bacteria and promotes optimal digestion. I recommend getting Braggs Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother.
- Magnesium Oxygen
This is a powerful detoxifier that helps transport oxygen through the body while loosening impacted toxins and acidic waste so they can be transported out of the body. It also promotes the growth of friendly bacteria, increasing cleansing functions and balancing the body's pH. You can purchase them in capsule form and take them daily.
- Exercise
Sweat it out! Sweating releases toxins while gets the blood moving which brings more oxygen and vitamins to your cells and gives you an amazing glow. Not to mention, you're strengthening your lungs and entire body making it less susceptible to illness.
- Ditch the chemical-laden beauty products
Conventional skin care products have a horrifying list of ingredients that can actually damage your body. I challenge you to go through your beauty arsenal and toss anything that has an ingredient you don't know. Replace them with products containing only 100% natural ingredients - clean, non-GMO, organic or wild crafted ingredients. Also look for products that are organic and cruelty-free. Get the list of toxic ingredients here and the dirty dozen here.
- Sleep
Your body repairs and recovers itself while you sleep as while as making new collagen that keeps skin looking young and plump. Sleep deprivation lessens blood flow to the face which can inhibit your glow and dull your skin. There's also new evidence that the brain clears itself of harmful toxins while you sleep. We have a whole article dedicated to the topic of better natural sleep, which you should definitely check out!
- Avoid taking or eating hormones
Hormones are a powerful thing, they affect your mood, skin, your essential body functions, menstrual cycles, pregnancy, weight, milk production and more. Your body regulates its own hormone levels but outside factors can throw you out of wack and even cause hormonal acne. Hormones are often present in meat & dairy and there are even phyto-chemicals in foods like soy that act much like hormones that can throw your body for a loop.
- Buy Organic
Conventional foods are often grown with pesticides that are extremely harmful to humans and often grown from genetically modified seeds. We don't yet fully understand the consequences of GMO's if any at all but in my opinion, it's not worth the risk. Get yourself a copy of the Environmental Working Group's Clean Fifteen and Dirty Dozen so you can be informed about which produce may contain pesticides.
- Avoid Soy
This is a sad one for all you edamame lovers, myself included. The majority of soy in the US is GMO, which alters the nutrient chemistry. Genetically engineered soy is reported to have 200% more lectin which is known to be associated with food sensitivities. It also depresses thyroid function. It's filled with phytoestrogens that can mess with your endocrine system and cause hormonal complications. Soy contains trypsin inhibitors, which is an enzyme needed to digest and absorbable protein properly. Soy is one of the most heavily pesticide-contaminated foods. Pesticides can damage the nervous system, reproductive system and certain organs. If you have to eat soy, make sure it's fermented, which are ok to eat because the process of fermentation deactivates the trypsin inhibitors. More about the topic of soy can be found here.
• Goodbye Gluten
Gluten isn't easy to digest due to it's glue-like property. If you have a gluten sensitivity, it can inflame your gut, spreading up your digestive track, entire body and causing skin inflammation in the form of acne. Your skin is an elimination organ, meaning toxins leave through your skin which can cause outward problems such as acne, congestion, dullness and inflammation. More detailed information about gluten can be found on our blog about the subject.
- Fill your home with plants
Plant's emit clean oxygen into your home which will help offset some of the pollution we come into contact with on a daily basis. Clean oxygen, clean skin! Plants can also make your living space more inviting and calming, which is always good for those with constant stress or nerves.
- Change your sheets & pillow cases
Every minute, your skin sheds 30,000 dead skin cells, which become dust in the air and in our home. Imagine how much dead skin is in your mattress, bedding and pillows. I know, gross! Washing your bedding frequently helps to keep that dead skin(which could possibly contain toxins, dust and dander) out of the place you rest your head. Also changing your pillowcase every night keeps oils, saliva and mucus away from your skin.
- Turn on a himalayan sea salt lamp
A large chunk of himalayan salt with a bulb inside creates a Himalayan Salt Lamp. They emit a warm, comforting glow and emit negative ions into the air. Negative ions increase flow of oxygen to the brain, improving alertness and more mental energy. Negative ions may protect against germs so will help improve air quality, reducing allergies. It's not just salt lamps that emit negative ions, its most things in nature, one of the the strongest being flowing water. That's why it feels so revitalizing and refreshing to be out in nature, especially around water. Things like electronics, cell phones and tv's create positive ions which can exacerbate allergies and sleep problems, and neither of those make for a toxic-free body.
- Ditch the white table salt
White table salt leaches minerals like calcium out of our bodies. It is highly processed sodium chloride and highly toxic. White table salt also creates bloat and fluid retention. Instead, switch to Celtic or Himalayan sea salt which has been dried by the sun and wind. They are raw and contain around 70 trace minerals and element plus enzymes. These raw salts also contain magnesium which helps with detoxifying the body.
- Eat super foods
"Super foods are the most powerful, nutritious, mineral-rich plant foods on Earth and are the great gifts given to us by the greatest civilizations that have ever existed." - David Wolfe. Acai, Cacao, Goji, Maca & Hemp products are among the most amazing superfoods in the world. Sea Vegetables like dulse, kelp, nori and chlorella detoxify and remove heavy metals from the body. Medicinal mushrooms such as chaga, reishi and shitake are super immune boosting and some of the best adaptogenic foods on the planet. This means they help your body adapt to whatever it's going through, whether that be stress, illness or intense physical demands. Mushrooms of this type also have been proven to be effective against cancer. Raw Cacao is the number 1 highest anti-oxidant food on the planet, which means it fights free-radicals that cause disease and aging. Find out even more in our article, "The Most Powerful Super Foods for Beautiful skin.
- Grow some wheat grass
Wheat grass is contains vitamins, amino acid, liver enzymes, and chlorophyll. It has 98 of 102 earth elements found in the soil. Phosphorus, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium are among those important elements. Wheatgrass has more Vitamin A and C than oranges and carrots. Apart from that, it is exceptionally rich with Vitamins E, K, and B. Wheatgrass powder prevents the damage from free radicals. It possesses natural anti-ageing properties which aid in rejuvenating the cells, thereby slowing down the aging process. It helps maintain skin elasticity, restoring the youthful glow and even skin tone. Juice it yourself and make wheatgrass shots or if you can't stand the grassy taste, get yourself some tablets.
- Enema or colonic
A professional colonic is a procedure that cleanses your colon by slowly administering water into the rectum by a speculum with split tubing, which allows clean water in and waste to flow out of the body. Kimberly Snyder compares it to getting the underside of your car power-washed for 45 minutes. The gentle pressure and water gently dissolve waste from the walls of your colon. The colon holds a crazy amount of sludge that becomes toxic and builds up in the liver, kidneys and entire digestive track. The alternative to a colonic is an enema. You can do an enema at home with a kit found at the drugstore. An enema isn't as cleansing as a colonic, but you can do it in the privacy of your own home.
- Scrub or soak with salt
We already talked about how sea salt is the best replacement for table salt, and how it removes positive ions from the air. Now lets talk skin care. Himalayan sea salt is a powerful detoxifier and will help to remove impurities and toxins from deep within your skin. It contains 84 trace minerals to replenish your skin and remove positive ions that cause ailments.
- Mask with clay
Clays have been used for centuries for healing, detoxification, and it's powerful antiseptic properties. There are many different Clays. Each clay has its own properties and function. Clays are very detoxifying and have a "drawing action" due to electrically charged particles. This makes clay great for absorbing oil and impurities, tightening pores, clearing acne, stimulating blood circulation in the skin, and exfoliating and toning connective tissues.
- Facial Massage for Lymphatic Drainage
The Lymphatic system is a means for your body to drain toxins, waste materials and bacteria from your tissues and defend the immune system. You can help stimulate lymphatic drainage by doing a gentle massage with your hands, Jade roller or Gua Sha tool. These types of massages not only stimulate the lymph, but have a wealth of other skin benefits.
- Calms inflammation
- Reduces puffiness in the face, especially the under eye area
- Boosts circulation and oxygenates the skin
- Brightens the complexion
- Tightens pores
- Reduces wrinkles
- Plumps up the skin
- Promotes Product penetration
We have three amazing articles the elaborate on each type of massage:
Other Secrets to achieve your best skin ever:
SUPPLEMENTS
Collagen
Collagen production declines as we age, which means we see an increase in fine lines, loose skin and dryness. Collagen can promote vibrant, elastic, taut skin which can help it to appear more healthy and youthful. You can supplement with collagen powder or capsules, my favorite brand is Vital Proteins whom makes a marine version.
Biotin
Lack of biotin can cause dry & itchy skin, acne or even psoriasis. Taking a biotin supplement can help you to retain your glow and also improve the condition of your hair and nails.
MADE IN THE SHADE
A little bit of sun is great for absorbing vitamin D and giving your skin a flush of color, but longer than 10 or 15 minutes can be damaging. UV or Ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause permanent damage to our skin by damaging our skin's cellular DNA, causing skin cancer and premature aging. In fact, it can cause melanoma, which is the most deadly form of skin cancer, killing more than 8,000 Americans per year.
UVA long wave rays penetrate to the deepest layer of our skin, the dermis. UVA rays are present during all daylight hours and can even penetrate clouds and glass. UVA contributes to and can initiate the development of cancer at the basil level. UVA is the prodominant tanning ray, present from the sun and in tanning beds.
UVB short wave rays penetrate the surface of our skin, causing sun burns and even cancer. UVB is the main culprit in sunburns and skin reddening, they are strongest between 10am-4pm, April through October.
Raspberry Seed Oil Skin Benefits
10 Things you Should know about summer sunscreen
Ways to detoxify your skin topically:
At Wilder North Botanicals, we are passionate about not only skincare, but health. We thoughtfully formulate our products with your health in mind, using the best natural products available for the best possible results. It's only natural we came up with several products that include super foods and detoxifying ingredients.
The Coconut Water Kale Facial with vanilla & rose
The Green Goddess Clay Mask with super greens
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The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. They are in no way intended to heal, prevent or treat any illness. Please consult your doctor if you are seeking medical advice.
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References:
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/10/1...
The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder
Galadriel Masterson, certified holisitc health and lifestyle coach
http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/symptoms-during-di...