By Hayley Stobbs R.Ac, CNC
10 Tips for Healthy, Glowing Skin
Skin is our largest and most visible organ of elimination, so we may as well take good care of it. Your skin’s appearance is a reflection of your unique state of overall health, age, and environmental factors. Here are 10 inflammation-reducing tips to slow down the aging process, rejuvenate skin, and to glow from within.
1. Hydrate. Your body is composed of around 60% water and requires adequate hydration for essential functioning and moisturized skin.
2. Eat real foods that are antioxidant rich. Eliminate and find swaps, or eat less of the ‘big five’ that can cause blemished, acne-prone, oily and saggy skin: a) Processed foods b) Sugar c) Dairy d) Poor quality fats, and e) Gluten. Supplement your real food diet with collagen protein to help prevent fine lines.
3. Wash your pillow case every week and refrain from touching your face to prevent bacterial build-up that can cause break-outs.
4. Do a facial lymphatic massage in the morning and create an evening skin routine. Apply skin toner after using a mild cleanser. While cleansing you can use facial cups or facial gua sha tools as directed by your practitioner. Next, use a jade facial roller (pop in the freezer for a cooling, tightening effect), and then apply an antioxidant-rich facial serum. Another option is to use the facial cups and/or gua sha tools once you’ve applied the serum.
5. Use minimal make-up and choose simple, natural ingredients. Complex, chemical-laden ingredients are difficult for the skin to read and can be harmful for the environment. Check out skindeep.org cosmetic database and Beauty Counter to learn more.
6. Balance your hormones. An imbalanced ratio of estrogen to progesterone and an excess of testosterone and cortisol can cause skin disorders. Book a consultation with a medical herbalist or Naturopathic doctor (ND) for herbal medicine and supplementation to help balance your internal health. ND's offer hormone testing, environmental, and food intolerance testing.
7. Use sunscreen daily on your face and neck. Sun exposure along with smoking causes basal cell damage that leads to wrinkles.
8. Get adequate sleep and movement. Sleep nourishes and rejuvinates the skin while exercise encourages qi flow and the access of nourishment.
9. Stress less, relax more. Stress constricts blood circulation, nutrients, lymphatic, and energy flow to the face.
10. Get regular acupuncture. For skin concerns registered acupuncturists gather internal and external information to come up with a treatment plan that addresses your goals. We assess signs, symptoms, take your pulse, look at your tongue, the colour of your skin, meridians involved, microsystem observation, and gather information about your diet and lifestyle. Please read my blog post ‘Cosmetic Acupuncture For Healthy Glowing Skin’ to learn more about how it works.
If you’re interested in acupuncture facials please visit www.vcaspa.com or www.juniperfamilyhealth.com to book online. To learn more about my acupuncture practice, follow @hayley_stobbs on Instagram.
In health & happiness,
Hayley Stobbs R.Ac, CNC