Beauty Good Enough to Eat -
Eating for good skin
Everybody wants good skin. As a make up artist it is my canvas. As human beings our skin
introduces us through facial recognition and touch via a handshake. so it is important how we feel about our skin and how we look after it. The skin is the largest organ in the body and has many functions that are necessary for life, but being external to the elements, skin has to fight off so many things and protect us from so much.
I really believe that skin health begins within and what we eat really can be who we are. There are of course factors that can defy this. Certain skin conditions can be caused from circumstances beyond our control, but even then what we eat and how we live our lives can have a huge impact on our skin health and appearance.
General wellbeing warrants a lifestyle with plenty of activity which includes social, physical, educational and a good balance between this and your working life. Your skin would definitely choose this. A healthy skin loves fresh air, exercise, a happy social life and to be as stress free as possible. The cherry on the sugar free cake is a healthy balanced diet.
Foods for great skinI would firstly recommend reducing sugar, cutting out junk foods, watching your alcohol intake and eating at regular times through the day. A balanced diet that contains all the macro and micro nutrients, making sure you include all the following to repair and vitalise your skin.
Beta Carotenoids- vegetable form of Vit A best consumed with fats for absorption.
Carrots, Sweet potatoes, dark green leafy veg, dried apricot, Cos lettuce
Fats include Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats - provide essential fatty acids which act as a natural moisturiser for your skin, keeping it supple. These fats also come packaged with a healthy dose of vitamin E and help absorb vitamin A.
nuts, avocado, oil
Don't be afraid to add a small amount of saturated fat to your diet. butter, cheese and especially coconut oil.
Vitamin C - helps repair tissue damage, great for immune
Oranges, Lemon, Clementines, Green peppers, Kiwi, Berry fruits, Broccoli
Vitamin E- Antioxidant aids immune, keeps skin sutble.
olive oil, avocado, Almonds, pistachio and walnuts, tofu, broccoli, fish
Vitamin B2 Riboflavin and B3 Niacin both important for your skin, nervous system and important for releasing energy from food.
Milk eggs,meat, fish and fortified cereals
Zinc skin health and immune
shell fish, red meat, cashews, Almonds, dark chocolate,chicken, beans, mushrooms, spinach
Selenium element that is a powerful antioxident works along side vitamin E & C
Brazil nuts, shellfish,cooked tuna, whole bread, seeds, pork and ham.
Water essential for life, but will keep your skin plumped and hydrated and aids your digestion which in turn keeps skin glowing.
A balanced diet should include all these foods, but remember if you are changing your diet
it takes time to see an improvement in your skin. After 5 to 6 weeks you should start seeing a healthy glow.
It's horrible when your skin loses its elasticity, unfortunately a natural part of the ageing process, but also a problem from weight loss and after pregnancy. The change of hormones at menopause can give the effect of cellulite, when actually it can be a lack of skin elasticity.
Everybody wants good skin. As a make up artist it is my canvas. As human beings our skin
introduces us through facial recognition and touch via a handshake. so it is important how we feel about our skin and how we look after it. The skin is the largest organ in the body and has many functions that are necessary for life, but being external to the elements, skin has to fight off so many things and protect us from so much.
I really believe that skin health begins within and what we eat really can be who we are. There are of course factors that can defy this. Certain skin conditions can be caused from circumstances beyond our control, but even then what we eat and how we live our lives can have a huge impact on our skin health and appearance.
General wellbeing warrants a lifestyle with plenty of activity which includes social, physical, educational and a good balance between this and your working life. Your skin would definitely choose this. A healthy skin loves fresh air, exercise, a happy social life and to be as stress free as possible. The cherry on the sugar free cake is a healthy balanced diet.
Foods for great skinI would firstly recommend reducing sugar, cutting out junk foods, watching your alcohol intake and eating at regular times through the day. A balanced diet that contains all the macro and micro nutrients, making sure you include all the following to repair and vitalise your skin.
Beta Carotenoids- vegetable form of Vit A best consumed with fats for absorption.
Carrots, Sweet potatoes, dark green leafy veg, dried apricot, Cos lettuce
Fats include Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats - provide essential fatty acids which act as a natural moisturiser for your skin, keeping it supple. These fats also come packaged with a healthy dose of vitamin E and help absorb vitamin A.
nuts, avocado, oil
Don't be afraid to add a small amount of saturated fat to your diet. butter, cheese and especially coconut oil.
Vitamin C - helps repair tissue damage, great for immune
Oranges, Lemon, Clementines, Green peppers, Kiwi, Berry fruits, Broccoli
Vitamin E- Antioxidant aids immune, keeps skin sutble.
olive oil, avocado, Almonds, pistachio and walnuts, tofu, broccoli, fish
Vitamin B2 Riboflavin and B3 Niacin both important for your skin, nervous system and important for releasing energy from food.
Milk eggs,meat, fish and fortified cereals
Zinc skin health and immune
shell fish, red meat, cashews, Almonds, dark chocolate,chicken, beans, mushrooms, spinach
Selenium element that is a powerful antioxident works along side vitamin E & C
Brazil nuts, shellfish,cooked tuna, whole bread, seeds, pork and ham.
Water essential for life, but will keep your skin plumped and hydrated and aids your digestion which in turn keeps skin glowing.
A balanced diet should include all these foods, but remember if you are changing your diet
it takes time to see an improvement in your skin. After 5 to 6 weeks you should start seeing a healthy glow.
It's horrible when your skin loses its elasticity, unfortunately a natural part of the ageing process, but also a problem from weight loss and after pregnancy. The change of hormones at menopause can give the effect of cellulite, when actually it can be a lack of skin elasticity.
introduces us through facial recognition and touch via a handshake. so it is important how we feel about our skin and how we look after it. The skin is the largest organ in the body and has many functions that are necessary for life, but being external to the elements, skin has to fight off so many things and protect us from so much.
I really believe that skin health begins within and what we eat really can be who we are. There are of course factors that can defy this. Certain skin conditions can be caused from circumstances beyond our control, but even then what we eat and how we live our lives can have a huge impact on our skin health and appearance.
General wellbeing warrants a lifestyle with plenty of activity which includes social, physical, educational and a good balance between this and your working life. Your skin would definitely choose this. A healthy skin loves fresh air, exercise, a happy social life and to be as stress free as possible. The cherry on the sugar free cake is a healthy balanced diet.
Foods for great skinI would firstly recommend reducing sugar, cutting out junk foods, watching your alcohol intake and eating at regular times through the day. A balanced diet that contains all the macro and micro nutrients, making sure you include all the following to repair and vitalise your skin.
Beta Carotenoids- vegetable form of Vit A best consumed with fats for absorption.
Carrots, Sweet potatoes, dark green leafy veg, dried apricot, Cos lettuce
Fats include Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats - provide essential fatty acids which act as a natural moisturiser for your skin, keeping it supple. These fats also come packaged with a healthy dose of vitamin E and help absorb vitamin A.
nuts, avocado, oil
Don't be afraid to add a small amount of saturated fat to your diet. butter, cheese and especially coconut oil.
Vitamin C - helps repair tissue damage, great for immune
Oranges, Lemon, Clementines, Green peppers, Kiwi, Berry fruits, Broccoli
Vitamin E- Antioxidant aids immune, keeps skin sutble.
olive oil, avocado, Almonds, pistachio and walnuts, tofu, broccoli, fish
Vitamin B2 Riboflavin and B3 Niacin both important for your skin, nervous system and important for releasing energy from food.
Milk eggs,meat, fish and fortified cereals
Zinc skin health and immune
shell fish, red meat, cashews, Almonds, dark chocolate,chicken, beans, mushrooms, spinach
Selenium element that is a powerful antioxident works along side vitamin E & C
Brazil nuts, shellfish,cooked tuna, whole bread, seeds, pork and ham.
Water essential for life, but will keep your skin plumped and hydrated and aids your digestion which in turn keeps skin glowing.
A balanced diet should include all these foods, but remember if you are changing your diet
it takes time to see an improvement in your skin. After 5 to 6 weeks you should start seeing a healthy glow.
It's horrible when your skin loses its elasticity, unfortunately a natural part of the ageing process, but also a problem from weight loss and after pregnancy. The change of hormones at menopause can give the effect of cellulite, when actually it can be a lack of skin elasticity.
Skin Firming
There are many products out there offering us so much at un-affordable prices, and lots of anti ageing for the face. so what is best to do about the skin on our body that is heading south.
My first advice is to do daily exercise to tone up your muscles for body, face and neck. This can be 5mins before your morning shower/bath. I would then recommend to vigorously dry with your towel and firmly massage body cream into your skin. This will help exfoliate the skin, increase the blood circulation which will help to nourish your skin and the cream will keep the skin soft or supple.
help skin firming.
The skin loses firmness from being over stretched and it naturally loses elastin and collagen with age.
Elastin and collagen are naturally found in the skin and give it its ability to stretch. Many products contain Elastin and Collagen, but unfortunately the skin does not absorb enough of this or replenish what we have lost to make much of a difference. So we need to look at other ways of firming up. It is very important to look at what we eat and how we can promote skin health and firmness from the inside.Keratin is also present in skin and is what our hair and nails are made up of. Keratin is something we can provide our bodies with through our diet.
Keratin
Keratin is a protein found primarily in the skin, hair and fingernails Keratin is produced by amino acids, and the best sources for keratin through diet are foods high in protein.
Eat lean meats, kidney and liver, poultry and fish to help build keratin protein in the body. Avoid eating fatty red meats. Low fat dairy products have essential amino acids that boost keratin production, low fat milk, cheese and yogurt are all good.
Grapeseed oil
Cucumber
My favourite over the counter product is Palmer's Cocoa Butter firming Lotion.
Recipe for Skin firming Mask
Cucumber and Avocado Mask
Cucumber is a natural anti-aging food. It firms the skin, closes the pores and nourishes the skin You'll need:
Keratin is a protein found primarily in the skin, hair and fingernails Keratin is produced by amino acids, and the best sources for keratin through diet are foods high in protein.
Eat lean meats, kidney and liver, poultry and fish to help build keratin protein in the body. Avoid eating fatty red meats. Low fat dairy products have essential amino acids that boost keratin production, low fat milk, cheese and yogurt are all good.
If you are a vegetarian or vegan you can get Keratin from Fruits and Vegetables
Vitamin C helps absorb vegetable based proteins in the body, which are building blocks for keratin. Citrus fruits, peppers and brussel sprouts are examples of fruits high in vitamin C that can increase the development of keratin. Vitamin B7 plays a part in metabolizing proteins, the foundation for keratin. You should eat vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli and onions because they contain vitamin B7 Whole grains are also good.
Silica can also be beneficial for slowing down the signs of skin aging. It’s best to get silica from natural sources, and food sources include leeks, green beans, strawberries, cucumber, mango, celery, asparagus and rhubarb.
Vitamin K2 is also associated with slowing down skin ageing and can be sourced from Organ meats, egg yolks and dairy products
Vitamin K1 sourced from leafy greens.
Natural skin firming
Vitamin E creams
Seaweed extract
Jojoba oil
Olive oil
Grapeseed oil
Cucumber
My favourite over the counter product is Palmer's Cocoa Butter firming Lotion.
Recipe for Skin firming Mask
Cucumber and Avocado Mask
Cucumber is a natural anti-aging food. It firms the skin, closes the pores and nourishes the skin You'll need:
· 1/2 cup cucumber (sliced)
· 1/2 cup avocado (chopped )
· 1 egg white
· 2 tsp. powdered milk
Simply blend all the ingredients until they're smooth, then refrigerate till chilled. Then apply it liberally to the face and neck.Leave the mask on for half an hour before rinsing with warm water.
Beauty Good Enough to Eat- Accidents
Still on my series of Beauty Good Enough to Eat
I am interested in remedies that have come about by accident so please share any you may have.
I will share mine.
This is more of a healing story but shows the power of the plant. I was lucky to be on an amazing holiday to Barbados and had laryngitis and had lost my voice completely. While lazily sunny myself a beach comber happened by selling his wears. holding a fresh picked Aloe Vera plant. He was carrying a rather filthy knife and dodgy looking bottles of aloe gel. After many attempts of trying to convince him I was not interested he heard my squeaky voice and before I knew it the aloe gel was removed from the plant with that knife and dropped in my orange juice. Strongly encouraged to drink
holding my nose I did and to be honest it was like swallowing snot errrrrr!! Amazingly I started to talk completely normally. Weird! From that day I am a complete convert to the Plant Aloe Vera.
My next accident:
After stupidly running out of my expensive massage oil and needing oil for my next client that was about to arrive I grabbed the olive oil. Finding the oil was a thick texture and glided on beautifully leaving the skin soft and silky.
Another slightly strange accident :
Looking for something to soften and treat toe nails all I could find was the Vicks vapour rub with the
Camphor and eucalyptus oil it seemed the obvious choice and you guest it a brilliant toe ointment.
Beauty Good Enough to eat - Acne
Good Enough to Eat - dry skin remedies
Beauty Good enough to eat
Beauty Good enough to eat
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| Fullers earth mask
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Beauty Good enough to eatBeauty Good enough to eat
Acne, Spots and Blemishes
Continuing on with my series of Beauty Good Enough to Eat I have been looking at many different
natural treatments associated with Acne and blemished skin. My teenage son is my tester and very keen to find something that will help clear his teenage spots.
Firstly I must stress that it is important to keep your skin clean, eat plenty of whole food including fresh fruit and veg and drink water. Life style will impact on your skin, lack of sleep, stress and poor diet will leave it's mark and is important factors when treating any skin condition. The next thing to think about is what are using now. Often spots can be a result of an allergy or intolerance to a product or food. Also for boys shaving rash can produce infected hair follicles that will manifest like acne.
So bearing all this in mind the best remedies we tried are:
Honey speared on the face did have a calming affect.
Honey and oatmeal makes a good face mask sticky, but skin felt softer and less angry.
Fullers earth mixed with water is a good one as it reduces the oil and draws the spots out
Continuing on with my series of Beauty Good Enough to Eat I have been looking at many different
natural treatments associated with Acne and blemished skin. My teenage son is my tester and very keen to find something that will help clear his teenage spots.
Firstly I must stress that it is important to keep your skin clean, eat plenty of whole food including fresh fruit and veg and drink water. Life style will impact on your skin, lack of sleep, stress and poor diet will leave it's mark and is important factors when treating any skin condition. The next thing to think about is what are using now. Often spots can be a result of an allergy or intolerance to a product or food. Also for boys shaving rash can produce infected hair follicles that will manifest like acne.
So bearing all this in mind the best remedies we tried are:
Honey speared on the face did have a calming affect.
Honey and oatmeal makes a good face mask sticky, but skin felt softer and less angry.
Fullers earth mixed with water is a good one as it reduces the oil and draws the spots out
(maybe not good enough to eat but natural)
Bicarbonate of Soda mixed into a paste with water This is used as a mask once or twice a week and probably gave the best result. However you need to be careful as it is reactive and can be quite harsh.
The spots although red at first seem to be noticeably calmer after use,
You need to be careful not to dry out the skin too as it is much more problematic to treat a dry skin with spots. I suggest if your skin is very greasy to massage your skin gently without cream so using the natural oil of your skin and stimulate the blood circulation before cleansing in the morning.
If your skin is feeling dry after any remedy or cleanse then lightly massage an oil with healing properties like Aloe or Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Oil.
Other things I would suggest 'natural but not good enough to eat '
If your skin is very oily there is nothing like soap and water use a perfume free soap and moisture after use.
A light moisturiser Elemis FreshSkin skin clear Mattifying moisturiser is very good.
If your spots look angry and infected dab a little surgical spirit directly on to the spot with cotton wool or cotton bud. This may sting, but as good as any expensive spot treatment. Don't use all over face though. It is very drying.
We are also looking at the affects of Sulfur ointment 10% by De La Cruz and the Jury is still in and will report back when can give a verdict.
Please let me know if this helps or if you can suggest any other remedies you have tried 'Good Enough to Eat'
Beauty Good Enough to Eat
Dry Skin Remedies
Having worked on peoples skin for many years I have come across many different types,
tones and ages. I also like to look at the most natural remedies that can be found in anyone's cupboard at home so as not having to spend extortionate prices to help correct beauty issues. Of course we cannot ignore the beauty industry and all the amazing products on offer, with all the zillions spent on research to find the most fantastical remedy/cure/youth making lotions and potions. I will also talk about these at a later date.
Dry skin is my skin type and as I am allergic to many moisturizers I am always looking for natural solutions.
Because skin is an Organ it responds to the body and rarely lets you get away with anything. So if we let it get dehydrated the skin will become dry, however we shouldn't become confused with dry and dehydrated. The latter being a lack of fluid, but dryness tends to be due to under active sebaceous glands. These glands produce oil on the surface of the skin and keeps the skin nicely lubricated. Unfortunately dry skin ages quicker than a greasy type and often make up does not sit well. Eczema
can also make skin appear dry, so check that with a doctor .
Diet is hugely important to our skins health, so I will firstly suggest that you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, drink plenty of fluid and get lots of fresh air and exercise.
My dry skin remedies good enough to eat:
Apple and Lemon exfoliant: Juice an apple skin and all, add a few drops of lemon juice and apply to the skin with cotton disc this will help to take away dry skin.
Aloe Gel exfoliant: Aloe has amazing healing properties and the acids from the natural plant will kill dead skin cells.
Natural Yogurt: leaves the skin soft beautifully soft
Apricot oil: A little oil on finger tips and massage into the skin
Avocado oil: Has amazing qualities and very nourishing for the skin (check out my earlier blog on avocado super food)
Olive Oil: Is quite a heavy oil but use a little and massage well into the skin.
Welcome to the first of my series looking at natural beauty and food, my first one is the best natural remedy for dark circles and puffy eyes.
Dark circles is something we all suffer from and can be a sign of tiredness, dehydration,
stress, low immune or thank you Mum and Dad can be inherited. The best advise is always enough sleep, plenty of fluid, gently massage an eye cream around the eye, but be careful not to put to close to the eye. The skin in this area is like bloating paper and will block the tear duct if applied too close or too much and will in turn cause puffy eyes.
My food tip for under eye dark circles is soak slices of cucumber in a little lemon juice and lie on the eyes and relax back (don't open your eyes until removed and dry). Of course you can also prepare a few more slices of cucumber and lemon pop into a jug of water and drink for a refreshing detox.
Puffy eyes tend to occur when we wake from sleep and can be for many reasons. Puffy eyes will often start to reduce once we are upright and moving. Be careful of applying eye gels and creams as I mention above, because this can cause puffy eyes.My advice is the same as above, sleep,plenty of fluid.
My Food tip is drink a lovely cup of Green Tea then use two cooled teabags on your eyes.The anti Oxidants from the green tea will help speed up the reduction of puffy eyes.
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