My Top Ten Natural Skin Care Tips

My keen interest in all natural skin care developed naturally after growing up an 'all-natural girl' on the bee farm and then studying holistic nutrition as a young adult.

Believe it or not, having beautiful glowing skin is a sign of radiant health. While certain creams and product can be used to clean and moisten the skin on the 'outside,' what goes 'inside' is what creates truly healthy skin.

It has been my experience that if you follow the steps below, you will be well on your way to having age defying, natural looking skin.

People will constantly be asking you if you have just had a facial! Try it! I follow these steps, and when I don’t my skin tells me.

The good news is that it just takes a little more planning, but doesn’t have to cost you a whole lot of money!

Common Skin Complaints

I also get a lot of specific skin complaints such as eczema, acne, dull and sagging skin, rough and/or bumpy skin and what natural skin care products exist for these conditions.

The same moms asking questions about their 'adult acne' are asking me about natural skin care for their kids eczema. Kids can follow the steps below as well. Most young kids and toddlers are not suffering from hormonal related skin issues, so can remove the steps that are more for teens to adults such as low thyroid and hormonal imbalance.

In Chinese medicine, skin complaints are often associated with a toxic liver and/or bowels, so sometimes doing a temporary “liver cleanse” and/or bowel cleanse is a fix for these issues.

Drinking Swedish Bitters is good for that, or some lemon in water before bed is a good thing for the liver too! Fiber is important to keep the bowels moving. Quite often when you add more fiber to the diet, skin conditions clear up.

But generally speaking if you follow the guidelines below everyday and develop more of an awareness of when your skin flares up, you will have a better understanding of your skin and what affects it.

My Top Ten All Natural Skin Care Tips

Drink at least 8 cups of filtered, re-mineralized water daily, preferably away from food for optimal absorption. Remember the skin is the largest organ and needs to be hydrated. Coffee, alcohol and caffeinated beverages dehydrate the skin, so increase your water intake if you consume these.

By the way, coffee, alcohol, chocolate and caffeine based drinks can sometimes trigger breakouts, so be on the lookout for that and possibly limit if necessary.

2. Exercise and circulation

If you can move your body for a minimum of 20 minutes a day, you are well on your way to getting a nice glow. Your blood is your body's transport mechanism of nutrients to your skin so the more you circulate your blood through your body, the more vibrant you will look. Also, sweating everyday is a great way to detoxify through your skin.

3. Nutrition and diet

Your diet plays a huge role in achieving beautiful skin. If you can manage to eat small meals though the day balanced with protein, good fats (vegetable fats non-hydrogenated) and low glycemic carbohydrates(whole grain, colourful, non-processed, real food), you will be giving your body what it needs to be balanced from a stress standpoint and a blood sugar regulation.

Foods to add for beautiful skin:

• Berries

• Bee Pollen has vitamins and unique properties linked to great skin! Plus it is a great snack to help balance blood sugar levels which also aids in great skin.

• High Alpha Protein (this protein is highly absorbed and helps create smooth skin)

• High GLA containing oils such as Evening Primrose, Black Current and Borage Oils

• Raw Fruits

• Big, leafy green vegetables

• Biosil (this is a precursor to collagen and is sold in health food stores)

• Royal Jelly for hormone balancing (when your hormones are balanced, skin doesn’t sag or become dull)

Foods to avoid:

Some of the foods to avoid are chemical sweeteners, sugar, chocolate (for some) and shellfish. Sometimes citrus fruits, wheat, dairy and soy can trigger common food sensitivities which can cause a flare up.

4. Hormone Balancing

If you have low thyroid hormone and/or low estrogen, this can cause the skin to be thin and dull looking.

If you are having trouble ovulating, it could be that the egg gets stuck because of an imbalance in hormones. This can cause a PMS breakout before your period (ladies)

There are herbs and things you can take to address these issues.

To Help Ovulate and Balance Hormones use:

Royal Jelly

EstroSense (by Lorna Vanderhaeghe)

For Low Thyroid use:

ThyroSense (by Lorna VanderHaeghe)

Seaweed (high in iodine)

5. Essential Fatty Acids

The essential fatty acids and other good fats in the diet are required to help with the absorption of skin healthy vitamins. For example, Vitamin E, D and A all help the skin and are necessary for achieving smooth beautiful skin. But if there is not enough “good Fat” in the diet, you will not absorb the vitamins.

Good fats are also necessary to act as an anti-inflammatory and smooth out the skin. I love avocados, olive oil, Borage Oil (beauty oil), and Evening Primrose oil. These oils will make your skin look vibrant!

6. Essential Vitamins and Nutrients for Beautiful Glowing Skin

Be sure to take a good multi-vitamin with minerals and bee pollen everyday.

The combination of these will feed your skin what it needs for health, but also give you insurance for other conditions in your body too!

7. Clean the Skin

Never go to bed without cleaning your skin. Remember your skin is an organ and absorbs whatever you put on it. Sometimes, if we don’t clean our skin, the pores get clogged and leads to acne, blackheads and breakouts.

If you wear makeup, it is especially important to clean the skin daily. Possibly follow up with a natural organic toner. Be aware of the ingredients in your makeup. Either do not wear it, or use “organic and clean makeup”.

8. Topical treatments and creams

Just like cleaning the skin, hydrating the skin is also important.

I love using So-Ho-Mish cream ! I use it as a day cream and a little goes a LONG way! It smells a little different, but when I put it on it tingles and keeps my skin balanced all day long!

At night or for stubborn eczema, I will use Beeswax Skin Cream. It is a thicker, heavier cream, but it really helps problem areas or really dry patches. It works great on a babies bum for diaper rash or for eczema for a baby.

9. Cleanse the Bowels (constipation can cause a toxic buildup and diarrhea causes vitamin deficiency)

As I mentioned at the beginning, if you are “toxed up”, one of the first signs is lethargy, headaches and poor skin. You may want to consider doing a cleanse and remove certain foods.

10. Smile, Laugh, Breathe and De-Stress

Stress is a huge factor in how we look. High cortisol (the stress hormone) has been linked to a number of health issues including poor skin.

Not to mention that just looking at someone who is stressed is not a pretty picture.

Laughter, breathing, sleeping and other stress reducing techniques will do wonders. When they talk about getting your “beauty rest” they really mean it! Sleep balances your nervous system and allows for healing to occur that you will not get during waking hours. So get your sleep! You should get 7-8 hours every night!

Another great stress related technique is eating bee pollen and royal jelly everyday. Maca and honey, or plain maca on its own is also really great for stress adaptation and helps reduce stress hormones.

If you follow the steps above, you will be well on your way to having great skin - naturally! It takes time and there is no quick fix, but if you can commit to having beautiful skin, abundant health will follow!!