Tips for Cleaner Healthier Skin

Tips for clearer, healthier skin

As a person who has struggled with my skin for my entire life, I wanted to share a few things I have learned from my own experiences.

First and foremost: If you have blemishes, it is not because your skin hates you. It's because your skin is trying to tell you something is going on inside of it. In many cases it seems that there are toxins inside that need to come out, and what better place to show you that there's a problem than the one spot you look at everyday in the mirror? It's as plain as the nose (or the zit, lol) on your face.

So the first place to start is to examine your diet and any possible allergens or toxicities. Are you eating foods with a lot of chemicals, allergens or preservatives? How is the water that you drink or bathe in? Anything unnatural that your body can't use, it will dispose of. If the natural routes of disposal (kidneys and liver) start to clog up, it will issue a warning; right where you can see it.

I have found that taking dandelion root, which is one among many naturally detoxifying herbs, is an inexpensive aid in clearing the body and also the skin. The spice turmeric can be very helpful for clearing up boils and blemishes, as it also cleanses the blood. Check it out on the earthclinic.com site.

Also, taking Vitamin E, and beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids are important. Biotin, which is again very inexpensive, is a B Vitamin that promotes the growth of healthy skin, hair and nails, and is a great addition to your supplements. I pay $3.59 for 100 capsules.

As far as actual, physical care of the skin, I try not to over wash or use harsh chemicals. I used to use Neutrogena Pore Refining Cleanser, which works very well.

However, I started ordering from Swanson Vitamins (Swansonvitamins.com) (no, I don't work for them), and I love their Tea Tree Oil Facial Cleanser. It smells wonderful and is natural. It leaves my skin feeling very vibrant and clean.

It's currently $4.99 a bottle, and the bottle I'm using has lasted for at least 6 months. P.S. Swanson's will also send you a catalog if you call them at 1-800-824-4491. Come to think of it, that's where my Vitamin E, dandelion root and biotin are from, as well. I can get them locally from the Health food store, but I get a much better deal from Swanson's.

I also use a bath glove to scrub my face, as it gives me greater control over scrubbing by my nose, etc. and it really takes off dead skin. I'm sure I should try to wash my face 2x daily, but with 5 kids, it just doesn't happen! I wash my face, then I put on HA Serum. Again, I purchase this now from Swansons, but I used to buy a different brand (which I now can't remember) at the health food store.

The HA, or hyaluronic acid, is a moisturizing compound from nature, and it works wonders on softening the skin and plumping wrinkles. It's used in those expensive creams that I can't afford, but I can order the serum for around $5.00. If you should choose to take it internally, it's also great for your joints.

Recently, I posted my recipe for Homemade skin oil. I use this on my body just as posted, but for my face, I add some extra Vitamin E oil, and also some rose hip seed oil to the basic recipe and put it in a little bottle. Then I apply a light coating to my face after the HA Serum.

Putting oil on oily skin? Yep, seriously I do. I found that using harsh drying agents just made my skin hard and flaky. Using fancy moisturizing creams just made things worse. The natural oil blend did not cause blemishes. It reduced them. The coconut oil is particularly good, in fact, for blemishes (try looking it up on earthclinic.com) and makes my skin soft and clear. Olive oi is very healing, but using it straight is very heavy and oily to me, so I designed my own blend.

I started using this program about one year ago, and now get compliments on my skin. It's natural, inexpensive, anti-wrinkle, anti-blemish and cheap, oops, I mean THRIFTY!

Source: Non-FDA approved experimentation on myself. No lab animals involved!

By Gina Johnston from The Frozen North