My Skin Care and Makeup Protocol
“Hey! looking good, may i ask what cosmetics do you use? i’m on a juice/ raw food diet myself but i’m feeling toxic using regular make up. do you use organic mineral make up n skin care or something? thanks!!” -Nadine
“yes, what is your skin care regimen , do a post on this.” -Maggie
Thank you Although I’ve never really suffered from severe acne, I have had times of my life when I experienced less than the best skin ever. Check out the comparison below:
The top picture is from Fall 2006, and the bottom picture from a few weeks ago. Granted, I’ve also lost about 30 lbs between these pictures, but you can definitely see that my skin isn’t nearly as radiant, or hydrated in the first picture. There is a lot of unevenness around my mouth area, and a lot of reddish inflammation as well. At the time of the first picture, I had been vegan for nearly a year, but still ate a lot of cooked oils and breads and vegan junk food. I was about 50% raw.I have personally found that my diet accounts for perhaps about 80% of the appearance of my skin, and other factors play in about 20%. I shall review them:
Diet & Water
I am almost all raw, except for in the winter, when I occasionally have lightly steamed quinoa or something similar. For me, being all or mostly raw is the biggest factor. The practices that contribute most to my skin health are:
Eating at least 1 lb of greens and sprouts per day. I eat freshly picked, super high life force sprouts every day, and also garden greens.
Spirulina. I eat between about 2 and 6 TBS per day. Keep in mind this is because my body type requires a lot of protein.
Water – I drink about 2 liters per day
Green Juice – I drink about 12 oz. average per day
Skin Cleansing and Moisturizing
First off, I always take off any makeup (see below) before going to bed. I generally just use a warm washcloth and a very small amount of Dr. Bronner’s soap. I use the washcloth to lightly exfoliate my skin also.I have two items that I interchange for moisturizer. For the night, I slather coconut oil on my face, when it has the whole night to sink in. For my skin type, and for the dry climate I live in, coconut oil is perfect.
Makeup
On a day to day basis, the only makeup I wear is mascara, sometimes eyeliner, and occasionally blemis stick, since I do get a pimple or two during my monthly cycle. My mascara and blemish stick are from Ecco Bella.
Other Practices
Following are other practices which I believe have youthing effects on my skin, and how often I do them:
Sleep (avg 7 hrs/night; usually asleep by 10:30 pm or so)
Sun – Yes, I believe sun, as long as you are not toxic, is fantastic for skin health and appearance. I expose my face for about 10-20 minutes per day
Yoga (2-3 hrs/wk)
NCD Zeolite (a few drops every few days)
Exercise (jogging, biking, dancing, hiking – 4-5 hrs/wk)
Rebounding (1 hr/wk)
Wheatgrass (2-3 shots/wk)
Meditation (studies have confirmed that regular meditation can correlate to better skin and meditators often experience healing of skin issues – 4-6 hrs/wk)
MSM (2-3 TBS/wk)
Non chlorinated hot tub (1-3 hrs/wk)
Infrared sauna (1 hr/wk)
Liver flushing (I’ve done one so far)
Colon cleansing
The most important thing to remember is that healthy skin is a product of a healthy body – if the inside terrain is clean; products and cleansers are quite secondary. This all may sound like a lot of info, so to simplify: Eat lots of greens, drink great water, exercise, sleep well, and live as stress free as possible
Courtney
