Heal Yourself: Skin

You’ve heard me say it again and again: Less is more. Ready? Say it with me this time: Less. Is. More! And I mean this when it comes to beauty, makeup, skincare, & money (kidding)…

My intentions are pure and my intention is to help you heal. Science reveals to us that we are not victims of unchangeable genes. It is a fact that we have more control over the health of our mind, body, and soul than we have been taught to believe. I want to empower you with new understanding. The human body is miraculous and I want to show you that there is an extraordinary healer within all of us.

This post, in particular, is dedicated to healing your skin. Too many times, clients have sat in my makeup chair in tears. I’ve had celebrities break down about how they’ve tried every product and still their skin issues makes them feel insecure. I’ve had brides upset that they’ve struggled with their skin most of their lives and are fearful that they won’t have glowing skin for their wedding day. I’ve had social influencers in my chair crying to me that every beauty company sends them a massive amount of popular and expensive products and they still don’t feel comfortable without photoshopping or layering on filters in their photos to hide their skin issues.

I want to help you. You are capable of healing. It doesn’t matter if you have 1 million followers or none. This post is for everyone. You are worthy. You are beautiful.

People break out for many different reasons. The product that may have worked for a famous social influencer with 6 million followers, may not work for you. Many products are part of the latest trend and are endorsed by influencers or celebrities. Treating and healing your skin issues is really about understanding your own skin and your triggers. I know that this product’s packaging is blush pink and oh so beautiful (I’m a sucker for good packaging), I know that this influencer that you love swears by it, but let’s put down the credit cards and stop purchasing what every blog article and Instagram story is endorsing.

First, I believe the process of elimination works best when healing. This will help discover triggers that cause flare-ups of your body or skin. It still shocks me when my clients send me photos of 30 different skin care products and 10 different foundations and concealers that they wear on the daily. Typically, I put them on what I like to call: Product Probation. I believe in a simple and individualized skin regime for everyone. Once you understand what your triggers are, you are going to save yourself a lot of money and frustration.

What I love most is witnessing my beauty clients make the transition from an overwhelming and complicated beauty routine to a simplified and useful regimen.

Now what I may say next may come to a shock. Readddy? Not all natural products are good for your skin and essential oils should never, EVER be put on your face. Ahh, but did she really just go there? Uh-huh, honey. Yes, yes I did. (Clapping hands emoji here)

I know what you’re probably thinking: Hold up! How is this woman going to promote an organic, natural, clean, and holistic approach to life, but tell us to throw out our skincare products that are natural? Although I believe that holistic living is the way to go, I also study the science and researched evidence behind it all. After doing extensive research by attending workshops, seminars, reading books, listening to skin scientists on podcasts, working for many skin care companies, and observing my own clients skin, a lot of evidence has been revealed. (Like when you dip a litmus paper in lemon juice it shows the equivalence in battery acid sharing the same highly acidic pH of 2. FYI: Anything placed on your skin should have a balanced pH of 5.5-7. Say no to lemons on your face!)

Let’s start with essential oils. Essential oils including lavender, rose, peppermint, citrus, lemongrass, cinnamon, etc. is a huge skincare irritant and should not be applied to your face. The use of essential oils on your skin can conjure up some non-pretty rashes and loss of skin pigmentation. Yikes. Remember this: What’s good for your nose, is rarely good for your skin. Research proves that the positives of essential oils, don’t outweigh the negatives which show significant skin irritation.

I do want to point out that even though I don’t believe essential oils should ever be put on your face, there are powerful benefits when essential oils are being used for aromatherapy purposes. For example, I roll on lavender oil to my wrists in the evening and take a big whiff right before bed and spray my room with lavender to help me sleep peacefully every night. I add essential oils to my rejuvenating baths, and dab on some peppermint oil on sore muscles. I do believe essential oils can be healing and should be added to your diffusers on the regular to relieve stress and increase energy levels.

With that being said, the Next ingredient to avoid in your skincare regimen is Witch Hazel. This is yet another skin care irritant. In the process of distillation of Witch Hazel, most of the antioxidant is removed. Witch Hazel also contains a fragranced chemical called eugenol which makes it sensitizing when used repeatedly on the skin. A large percentage of alcohol is then added to the distillation process.

Which leads me to my next ingredient to eliminate: Alcohol. Alcohol is drying and sensitizing and can disrupt the skin’s surface layers. Alcohols immediately harm the skin, starting a chain reaction of damage that will continue even after it has evaporated.

So what about natural fragrances? I want you to avoid this too. Fragrances even fragrant plant extracts is composed of hundreds of individual chemical components. This is the leading source of skin sensitivity and breakouts!

What is skin irritation? This is inflammation. Irritation breaks down your skin’s barrier and damages collagen and elastin. This impairs your skins ability to heal on its own and causes future breakouts.

Something to consider when healing your skin: Your skin is very good at hiding when it’s being irritated. If you don’t see a reaction right away, the damage is still occurring beneath the skin’s surface which you will see later on. This will age your skin, break down collagen, cause breakouts, later on, cause redness, and impair your skins ability to heal on its own.

Once I began eliminating skincare products with rose, lavender, and other essential oils and harsh ingredients in them and receiving low maintenance facials, miraculously my skin started to clear up. Throwing out my lavender face wash and my rose water spray was a difficult task at first, but the results don’t lie. Soon, I was joyfully throwing out my entire long list of products.

Here is a photo of when I was using a boatload of products most with natural and fragranced ingredients. I was also getting microdermabrasion treatments from a medi-spa at the time, which I now understand was irritating my skin even more.

Here is a photo of my skin now.

I want you to become ingredient savvy. Just like choosing the good foods you eat to remain healthy and balanced, I want you to do the same for skincare. Get to know your skin care ingredients. When you have the proper understanding of your individual skin health needs, you become your own healer.

Some natural and nonfragrant oils that are okay and safe to use on skin: -Avocado oil -Grape seed oil (not to get confused with grapefruit oil) -Jojoba oil -Rose Hip Seed oil (not to get confused with rose)

I often get asked if it’s okay to use coconut oil on your skin. Coconut oil is great to use on your body. As for your face, the oil is too thick and will clog your pores. I do use coconut oil to remove my eye makeup only, then follow up with a splash of water.

Remember that product marketing, claims, advertisements, and packaging mean nothing. It is up to you to research and seek out the right products for you.

There is nothing more exciting to me than seeing my clients filled with joy after they cleaned up their skin care regimens and now have glowing skin.

Another thing to keep in mind. Be patient and be gentle. I know this is a hard one but don’t pick your pimples and stop exfoliating and scrubbing so much. Don’t be harsh on your skin and body. I want you to look in the mirror and tell yourself that you love your skin and you love yourself. Be gentle. You are healing your skin health.

I want you to practice self-care. Some of my self-care practices include: eating healthy, drinking enough water, meditation and breathwork practices, yoga, and being patient. This will not only help improve your skin but help you create an entire lifestyle change that will benefit your overall health and wellness. Be sure that your home and bathroom is treated like a sanctuary free of clutter. When we de-clutter and simplify, we lower our stress hormones. Try not to bring in any new products until you finish what you’re using to reduce clutter. Use your personal space to recharge and restore. Creating a peaceful space will make you more likely to follow through with your routine! To read my de-cluttering post click here.

My job here is to enlighten others. I want to free your mind from conventional and the trendy beauty beliefs. I want you to connect with yourself and your skin. I want to help you bring out your own inner beauty. In closing, less is more. Go at least 2 days a week makeup free. Let your skin breathe. Namaste.

I welcome you to reach out if you ever have any questions or comments. If you are interested in working with me to help your skin you can contact me here. I look forward to connecting with you!

Trust-worthy references from www.Paulaschoice.com .