Health for the Skin

In this week's check-in I mentioned that I was experiencing bad skin. I have extremely sensitive skin so I easily suffer from eczema and acne. Now that I've moved to the South I also have to tend with sunburn, mosquito bites and even a lashing from a Carolina jellyfish. How did all the Scots-Irish people survive here for so long?!

I'm writing up a few things that I'm trying to do in the hopes that it will help anyone else who struggles!

Nutrition
In order to have good skin, it's important to have an overall healthy diet that is low in saturated fat, sugar and sodium, with a range of fruit and veggies as well as enough protein and fat. In addition, there are foods that are particularly helpful if you are trying to improve your skin.

Here are some foods that are great for skin:

• Nettles, peppermint, fennel, burdock
• Berries, acai, red grapes
• Lemon
• Nuts (especially pumpkin seeds and Brazil nuts)
• Watercress, kale, broccoli, alfafa sprouts, spinach, avocado
• Beetroot, tomatoes and garlic
• Brown rice, legumes and tofu
• Salmon, mackerel and oysters

Step 1 for me is always to make a green smoothie. One of my favorite combinations is spinach, banana, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, vegan protein powder and coconut water. (People argue about whether or not coconut water has any benefits, but personally I find it refreshing and I've seen a difference in my skin from when I didn't drink it.) I will occasionally switch the greens to kale but I find it harder to blend and stronger-tasting than spinach. I've also done a mint/cherry combo in the pasta which is a way to include peppermint.

I eat a lot of these foods regularly, but next week as I am focused on improving my skin I will be making meals of salmon and broccoli, a tomato pasta sauce and edamame fried rice for lunches. It's simple to see that just by having meals like smoothies, salads and soups, and snacking on fruit and veggies, it's easy to incorporate many of these foods.

Hydration
I bug y'all about getting your water intake up so regularly that this need not be said anymore. Obviously, drinking lots of water will help with skin as it flushes out toxins. In addition to drinking cold water, I also replace cups of tea/coffee with hot water and lemon. I could even go crazy and put some nettles in there... but I'm not confident our grocery stores stock it!

Lifestyle
General health is important too, and if you're anything like me stress and lack of sleep will show up on your face. I've become a lot more responsible about getting enough sleep. Still working on the stress thing... At least grad school is almost over?! I've also heard good things about investing in a good quality pillowcase (i.e. silk) and keeping towels that are just for your face. I've recently started taking a multivitamin on advice from my hairdresser as my hair is thinning/not growing well, hopefully that will help with skin too.

Beauty Regime
I wash my face twice a day with Clinique cleanser, followed by Clinique mild toner (I am lazy about using this... must be better), then a combination of LUSH's Skin Drink moisturiser and Palmer's Skin Therapy Oil. I discovered the oil last semester when I was desperately trying to find a solution for my eczema. It didn't really work for that but it made my overall complexion much brighter. I will probably continue to buy it for the rest of my life! I also use LUSH's Ocean Salt exfoliant once or twice a week. I take care of the skin on my face pretty well, but I am trying to exfoliate and moisturise my body more regularly. Oh I hate getting old!

With my sensitive hair and skin, I'm making an effort to no longer blow dry my hair or wear makeup unless it is a special occasion. I'm not sure how well I can stick to it once I'm working in the bookstore, but I know it will help so I must try.
 
Hope this is helpful - I'm off to do Ripped in 30!