Holistic Skin Care Solutions & What Products to Look For
By Skin Care Editor | November 29, 2009
Holistic skin care routines require that you consider the health of your whole body, treating problems from the inside out and from the outside in. Caring for the mind or spirit is part of the equation, too.
It’s interesting to note that scientific research continues to prove that ancient Ayurvedic and other healthcare practitioners were right. Modern cosmetic companies were wrong. The mainstream medical community might not have the right ideas, either.
All of the systems of the body are interconnected. Things that affect a part of the whole will eventually affect all of it. Drugs that address only symptoms or only a piece of the equation are only modestly effective. Oftentimes, they work temporarily, but become ineffective over time, if they don’t make the problem worse.
Take for example, psoriasis. It’s a chronic inflammatory condition that causes the appearance of red spots on a person’s body. Eventually, the spots may become plaques composed of dead skin cells that cannot be sloughed off.
The mainstream medical community refers to psoriasis as an autoimmune disease, because inflammation occurs for no known reason. A holistic skin care practitioner would look for the underlying causes of inflammation, evaluating a person’s diet and the things that they put on the outside of their bodies.
At one time, doctors prescribed drugs for severe psoriasis that inhibited essential functions of the immune system. They stopped prescribing the drugs, because people died of serious brain infections as a result of a weakened immune system. What happened to “first do no harm”?
Most doctors know to look for infection and other signs of illness. They don’t always take the time to evaluate a person’s dietary or lifestyle habits. That’s a big mistake.
In holistic skin care, we recommend dietary changes in certain conditions. For example, in psoriasis, one of the things that we would recommend increased intake of omega-3 fatty acid, reduced intake of omega-6s to keep inflammation at bay, without negatively affecting the immune system.
For general health maintenance and to keep our faces and bodies looking as young as possible throughout our lives, we would recommend cutting simple carbohydrates out of the diet. Those include white bread, processed grains, white sugar and starchy Irish potatoes.
We would also recommend some good nutritional supplements, including omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil to reduce inflammation, antioxidants to prevent and repair free radical damage and a good dosage of basic essential vitamins and minerals.
The final key to holistic skin care is the use of good, all natural creams and cleansers. Installing a water purifier on your showerhead is a good idea, because of all of the chemicals in publicly treated supplies.
Using a gentle, all natural cleanser is important. One that is sulfur-based is beneficial for acne and other conditions, because it helps to normalize the skin’s pH level.
After cleansing, the regular use of a moisturizer is essential. Just be careful about the ingredients that you choose. Natural plant-based oils are the ones to look for. Petroleum-based oils and petrochemicals, of all kinds, should be avoided.
There are other tenets of holistic skin care, but if you start with the ones mentioned here, you will be well on your way to looking healthier and younger.
Topics: Holistic Skin Care, Skin Health | Comments Off
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