This article will be completely from my perspective. I have no training in dermatology or cosmetology this is all completely from my own personal experience. Skin is so tricky! Everyone is completely different and might have different issues going on in their body. These are all things that have worked for me over the past ten years dealing with adult acne and healing my own body from the inside out. Having skin problems as an adult can be completely confidence destroying – so if you are dealing with any of these issues I feel your pain! – B xx
1. DON’T TOUCH YOUR SKIN:
Don’t ever ever touch your skin at all – under no circumstances! Leave your skin alone and let it do its thing! Touching your skin increases and spreads bacteria on your skin. It also can push bacteria into the deeper layer of your skin causing more long term problems and scarring. We can often get into bad touching habits without even realising it! Often times when we are using the computer or watching t.v. we can rest our hands on our face and spread bacteria. Make sure you regularly clean items like cell phones and sunglasses that are constantly going to come in contact with your skin.
2. HONOUR THE ACID MANTLE:
The acid mantle is the protective layer on the surface of your skin that helps to keep the skin hydrated and protects it from infection and damage. The acid mantle is made up of a mixture of sebum and sweat and determines our skins delicate pH balance. Healthy skin has a pH balance of around 4.7 if it is less than that it is too acidic and if it is more than that it can be too alkaline. Conventional skin care strips our skin of all of its natural oils and creates skin that is too alkaline. We need some acidity in our pH to help protect against bacteria and germs. SLS (or Sodium Laureth Sulfate) is a chemical ingredient commonly used in face wash and body wash to help it to foam up and enable it to cleanse your skin. SLS can be very destructive to the pH balance of our skin. It is best to stick to natural oil based cleansers that are not going to strip our skin of their vital protective oils. Micellar water is a good natural based cleanser that is going to work to keep your pH balance stable.
3. SWEAT IT OUT:
It is really important to get your ‘sweat on’ at least a few times per week. If you aim to sweat daily you will be well on your way to creating amazing skin! Sweating helps to cleanse our pores and remove toxins from our bodies which then reduces the toxic load on our liver and kidneys. Sweating also helps to promote the production of sebum which keeps our skin naturally moisturised and protected from bacteria. Sweat is also antibacterial and antimicrobial which helps to fight any skin infections and helps to protect your skin against bacteria, viruses and fungi! Exercise is one of the best ways to sweat out toxins as it also increases our bodies circulation and blood flow so that our skin can also get all of the vital nutrients and oxygen that it needs to stay healthy. Exercise also helps us to manage stress more effectively! Other ways that we can sweat are to have a sauna, a warm bath or to do a regular at home facial.
4. GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP:
Our body and our skin detoxifies and regenerates when we are asleep. Any skin problems are going to be exacerbated by not getting a good nights rest. Our mental and emotional health is strongly linked to the quality of our sleep. Not getting sufficient rest can increase the amount of cortisol which in turn can increase the amount of sebum we make. Sleeping in can also result in our bodies producing extra oil. As we learned from our recent sleep article getting into bed before 10 pm is best for getting the deepest, most restorative, detoxifying sleep!
5. DITCH THE DAIRY!
There is a strong link between dairy products and acne. Dairy products are high in saturated fat, contain growth hormones, are highly inflammatory and are also high in oestrogens from the female cows being constantly kept in a pregnant state. Consuming a diet that is high in saturated fat can increase our sebum production and lead to problems with excess oil and pore blockage. It is best to get our fats from good quality plant based sources like nuts, seeds, avocados, coconuts and raw cold pressed oils. Milk also contains IGF-1 which is a hormonal growth factor which has links with acne and growth in cancer cells. Dairy can also be very inflammatory for our bodies – it is actually one of the most inflammatory foods! And as we all know acne is an inflammatory disease. Inflammation also has strong links with all major diseases of ageing.
6. NATURALLY, REBALANCE HORMONES:
A lot of acne problems have links with hormonal imbalance and oestrogen dominance. Ditching the dairy will go a long way to helping to naturally re-balance hormones and get rid of that extra oestrogen. There is a delicate balance between oestrogen and progesterone in our bodies. When we are chronically stressed our bodies don’t produce enough progesterone and we can also become oestrogen dominant. We also need to be very mindful of xenoestrogens which can make their way into our bodies and cause all kinds of hormonal problems! Work to remove any synthetic estrogen-containing products out of your environment, beauty products and kitchen.
7. WORK ON YOUR GUT HEALTH:
Skin problems are always a symptom of a deeper issue within your body. New research is linking our gut health with our overall skin health. That is why dairy is often an issue as 60% of all adults cannot digest it properly – we were never designed to drink milk past infancy! Digestive and autoimmune conditions also have strong links with adult acne. Regularly taking probiotics and eating probiotic rich foods like water kefir, sauerkraut (pickled cabbage), live cultured vegan yoghurt, pickled/fermented veggies, kombucha, sourdough bread and fermented soy products like tofu and tempeh are going to go a long way to increasing all of those friendly, good-for-us bacteria in our gut! (We are planning a whole gut article soon so watch out for it!)
8. BE MINDFUL OF ANY ALLERGIES:
The top allergenic foods to be mindful of are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soy. If you are allergic to a food that you are eating it will have an inflammatory effect on your body and wreak havoc on your digestive system. Keep a food diary and be mindful when you don’t feel great after eating anything. We are all different! We have different activity levels, DNA and genetic makeup – there is no one-size-fits-all to nutrition we all need to figure out what is going to work best for our own bodies!
9. EAT PLENTY OF LIVING FOOD:
The best food that is going to have the most detoxifying and healing effect on our bodies is food that is in it’s most natural, unprocessed state! Our cells are living! Living food with all of its enzymes intact will have the most benefit in helping to repair our cells from damage and any free-radical stress. Fresh fruit and vegetables are also going to contain plenty of fibre to help our digestive systems work optimally!
10. REDUCE STRESS:
Living a high-stress lifestyle is also going to increase sebum production. Increasing your self-care and taking time out to nourish yourself is going to go a long way to keeping your skin clear. Regularly make time for activities that you enjoy and help you to feel relaxed. Reduce stress through adding in a regular gentle exercise like walking, yoga, or swimming and also increase practices of mindfulness in your days like meditation and breathing exercises.
11. EXFOLIATE REGULARLY:
Regularly exfoliate your skin to get rid of excess sweat, dirt and dead skin cells. Exfoliating also helps to increase circulation and the growth of new, fresh skin! Check out our gentle DIY exfoliating mask recipe! Don’t, however, exfoliate too much so that you are removing that protective layer that we talked about! Depending on your skin type a couple of times a week may be sufficient!
12. THE LESS MAKE-UP THE BETTER:
Wearing heavy make-up can block pores and not allow your skin to breathe and naturally get rid of toxins. Chemical based makeup can also be very comedogenic and pore blocking! Mineral makeup is the best for acne prone skin. Always test any new products (including natural products) to make sure that they are not going to cause a reaction or breakouts. It is important to note that if you switch from chemical to natural products it is normal to have an initial breakout because natural skincare works to remove bacteria from deep down in your pores leaving your sebum layer intact whereas chemical products just remove the top layer of your skin and don’t work deep down so they are removing the bad with the good! It is best to create the most beautiful skin from the inside out and then just use something lightweight to naturally enhance your natural skin like a mineral tinted sunblock or a great beauty balm! ♥