With so many skin care products out there, it’s hard to know which is best. Wrinkle minimizing, rash reducing, skin brightening, spot lightening… oh, what to choose?? How about… none? With the exception of some amazing companies that offer healthy alternatives, all of these products are filled with toxic chemicals. And where do we put them? On our skin, of course, which just happens to be our largest organ of elimination. As in, eliminating things from inside our bodies outward, NOT putting bad things onto our skin to be absorbed inward. We should not cover up our skin with lotions and potions, as this blocks its ability to breathe and excrete toxins (as an elimination organ is meant to do).
I find it repulsive how many chemicals and toxins are added to skin care products; really, it’s disgusting. These products are marketed as helpful and beneficial to the skin, and yet they are really adding unnecessary damage to our bodies.
Even when there is one word listed as an ingredient (example: “fragrance”), there could be hundreds of chemicals that have been blended together in order to create that substance (in this case, that fragrance). Would you like phthalates with that? How about a side of parabens? No? Petroleum perhaps? Oo, ooo! Formaldehyde! You gotta try that! Would you eat these things? (Um, I hope you said no). Then why would you put them on your skin? They’re all going to the same place (our bloodstream, liver, cells…). These ingredients are harmful to our precious bodies, and should be avoided at all costs. Why put more stress on our liver, which has the fun job of filtering virtually everything that enters our bodies? But I’m just putting it on my skin! Well, guess where it’s headed… to poor Livey (yes, I have named my liver).
Now, if these were the only products available, I would question why we must use something that’s bad for us in order to gain some sort of benefit (even though the benefits are few). However, there are many products out there that have nourishing, healing, moisturizing, protecting properties, and they each lack only one thing: toxins. How great is that?!
I used to work in a spa as an aesthetician (something I ventured into after high school), and I remember being lost in thought as I would give facials to my clients. Sure, their skin looked and felt nice afterwards, but were those chemicals really necessary? Nope. The same results (and often even better) can be obtained by using natural products and ingredients. Further, I would often think to myself as I would effleurage, extract, and exfoliate… how is this truly helping their skin? What about what they put into their bodies? How important is that in how we appear on the outside? Well, I would learn a couple of years later in nutrition school just how important it is, and now it makes so much sense to me. Every single cell in our body is made up of whatever we feed it, and this includes our skin cells. That is, if we feed our bodies nothing but junk, what kind of cells will we have? How will our skin look? Conversely, if we eat fresh, unprocessed, nutritious foods, our skin will reflect that and look as healthy as our bodies are inside. Our skin is simply a reflection of what is going on inside our bodies.
So what CAN and SHOULD we use on our skin? Personally, I love coconut oil as a body moisturizer, and yes, this is the same stuff you can cook with and eat. Only a little bit is needed, and it makes the skin really soft. You know those advertisements that brag about soft, silky, kissable skin? Look no further than the good old coconut. I don’t use it everyday, however; I prefer to let my skin breathe. But it certainly is a nice treat once in a while! We’ll talk another day about moisturizing our skin from the inside out, which is my method of choice. As for my face, I love rosehip oil; as opposed to a lotion which simply provides a barrier, oil actually hydrates the skin. After cleansing, I apply a small amount to my face and neck, and I do this every night.
There are many natural options when it comes to all body care products; checking out your local health food store is your best bet. Experiment with different products until you find your faves… your skin will love you for it! And so will Livey… 🙂
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