I’ve spent many years focusing on how to have nice skin. Let’s just say that it doesn’t come naturally to me, and it’s one of the main reasons I’m doing the elimination diet. The thing is…my skin is not that bad right now, but it’s not awesome. And I’m shooting for awesome.
I’ve learned that my skin’s appearance depends primarily on what I eat and drink.
What makes it worse:
- grains
- sugar
- something I haven’t pinpointed yet
What makes it better:
- enough healthy fats (virgin coconut oil, butter from grass-fed cows—1-3tbsp a day)
- a high percentage of my diet coming from veggies
- small portions (eating enough over the course of a day, but never getting “stuffed”—it makes digestion more difficult)
Potential culprits (maybe…who knows, but hopefully I’ll find out):
- too many omega-6′s (too many nuts or avocados)
- dairy (I hope not! I love cheese and greek yogurt)
- caffeine (I hope not!)
Things I do to keep my skin looking nice:
- Chlorella supplement (SunChlorella is the only brand that works for me—I think it actually works on my hormone balance, and this translates to better skin)
- Clarisonic exfoliating brush (a few times a week—so as to not damage the top layer of skin)
- Cucumber Witch Hazel Toner with Aloe (the best toner I’ve ever used, and it’s cheap and natural)
- Bentonite Clay mask (once a week or less—because I’m lazy, but it feels great and works great too!)
Bentonite Clay Exfoliating and Pore-Cleaning Facial
(I posted about this once before, but it’s worth repeating!)
Here’s the deal:
1. If you give yourself a pore-cleaning facial after you’ve been sweating, your pores are already open and trying to expel things. If you put a clay mask on, the clay and the sweat are on the same team!
2. You can make a very cheap mud mask that (I swear) rivals any spa mud mask. Bentonite clay powder mixed with water (or apple cider vinegar if you don’t have sensitive skin) forms mud. This is special mud! Spread it on (after you’ve washed and dried your face), and as it dries, it shrinks. You’ll feel it tighten, and can leave it on for 15 minutes or until it’s mostly dry. It draws out toxins and gunk. Oh, and there’s no recipe–just add a little water at a time and mix until you get mud. You can save the leftovers in an airtight container for quite a long time (at least a month)
If you slather it on thickly and then leave it for a while, it gets really hard and starts to crack. I recommend that you first test it on a patch of skin on the side of your face, just to make sure it doesn’t do anything weird to you (just like anything you’re going to put on your skin). I also recommend that rather than trying to wash it off in the sink, you just wash it off it in the shower—it turns back into mud when it gets wet and can be really messy in the sink.
You can do this up to 1-2 times per week, but you might notice some redness (and burning if you use ACV instead of water). Do it at night! The redness will go away, and your skin will be so soft you won’t be able to keep your hands off it (but you should!).
Quick Elimination Diet Update for Day 1: Today was easy—I had 2 eggs for breakfast, then I worked all morning doing corporate wellness coaching, then rushed around at home to make sauteed chard w/ shrimp for lunch because I was starving and had places to be! (I took Matthew’s cell phone to him — he left it here last weekend, and went to visit some of my favorite people). Then I ate ahi tuna and broccoli for dinner. I was ravenous (mouth hungry, not belly hungry), so I chewed on 2tsp worth of lemon flavored cod liver oil pills (don’t judge, they’re yummy), and had two protein shakes (Jay Robb protein plus water—I noticed the Jay Robb has soy lecithin in it, but I’m not cutting that out at this point). I also made a pudding out of the protein powder/water with chia seeds, and it didn’t work, but I ate/drank it anyway. I wanted to chew on something crunchy really really really badly. But I’m over it now.
Would you try the facial?! (or have you tried it?)
What is your favorite thing to do to keep your skin beautiful? Do you have any cheap and easy tricks?
