How Do We Get Spots and How Can We Prevent Them?

Your skin is your largest organ and it’s a true reflection of your health. Glowing, spot-free skin is possible for you, for everyone. It is a flexible, self-healing barrier that supports the immune system, get rid of waste material, keep us cool, and keep us healthy. Here’s how to repay the favour, and prevent it from getting congested.

How the body cleanses itself

The body cleanses itself through various organs, but the skin is by far the most amazing organ. We lose 30,000 skin cells every minute! Can you imagine?! New epidermal cells grow underneath them. Regular bathing certainly speeds up this process, and helps it along, so don’t forget to shower, wash, and rub your skin clean.

Beauty experts say that exfoliation will give you a healthier complexion. They are right, but make sure you don’t go overboard, because overexfoliation can leave the skin raw, red and vulnerable to infection. Get yourself a body brush or mit, and gently move it over your skin in circles towards the heart. Don’t put too much pressure on, especially around sensitive areas like the breasts. The process should be stimulating, not painful!

Sweating is another way the body cleanses itself. Going to the sauna may not be as purifying as we might think, but this is nevertheless one way tiny amounts of toxins and waste products, like ammonia and urea, leave the body. Saunas and facial saunas do soften and open up the pores, which is definitely beneficial to the health of the skin, so this is another nice way to improve skin health. Getting out in nature, and having plants in your house, is also a lovely trick.

How can we purify the skin?

The best way by far is to improve your diet and water intake. Do you drink enough liquid to make sure your skin is hydrated? Eat plenty of fruit all day, every day! Eat veggies, whole grains and minimise bad fats. Make sure you get enough omega 3s, and you’ll notice a change in your skin – it will look cleaner, too.

How to prevent the entry of toxins

The best way to make sure toxins don’t get into your body is reduce the amount of processed food in your diet. Next, think about how toxins might be getting on to the skin itself. As we know, the skin absorbs chemicals, so make sure your skin care products are as natural as possible! Health food shops are a great place to start looking for alternatives.

What foods can cause more spots?

The following four dietary toxins are allegedly to blame for spots on the face:

• Refined grain products – yes, we mean white bread, flour, cakes, pastries, and pasties!
• Omega 6 industrial seed oils, like corn oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, soybean oil and all other refined cooking oils. If you buy cold-pressed olive oil, you’re golden.
• Sugar. I know, this is a tricky one for most people. But many people who’ve had horrible acne swear by cutting it out. Try reducing it at first to see if it makes a difference to your skin.
• Processed soy (soy milk, protein, flour, etc.).
• Dairy. Since you can’t have soy, go for almond milk, or make your own plant-based milks. Everyone’s doing it right now!

How to detoxify your body

A long time ago, there was no need to detox because the earth provided us with everything we needed. Records show that people had a varied diet and good health into old age, though of course they died younger and weren’t so resistant to new diseases.

These days, it’s harder than ever to avoid ingesting and absorbing toxins. The simple way to detox these culprits of bad health out is by lessening the amount of toxins coming in and increase the amount of nutrients that enter the body. Cue green foods!

A detox diet can be as simple as that: reduce junk, increase fresh food. Drink lots of water, herbal teas, make sure everything’s organic and stick to it! Try some new health foods, juicing, smoothies, and put natural creams and personal care products on your skin.

Caring for our skin

Skin care needs to be light and easy to be effective. Avoid heavy-duty cleansers, toners and opt for fragrance-free, pH balanced creams, cleansers and masks.

A fortnightly facial can also work out great. We have many natural recipes to try on our website. Check them out!