Lustrous and luminous, radiant and ravishing. A face that just glows and radiates natural beauty and freshness requires maintenance, both inside and out. You maintain your teeth, your car, your clothes, your friends. You absolutely need to do the same with your skin. Radiant, vibrant skin requires both a regular skincare routine and a healthy lifestyle.INSIDEWhen disease sets in internally, the skin almost always reflects and signals internal dis-ease. Certainly those who are battling a chronic debilitating illness seldom have skin that is radiant. For example, few things destroy a face as much as smoking, alcohol (and sun) Vice versa, taking care of a healthy internal milieu contributes to a glowing lustrous face. Staying hydrated internally also certainly helps maintain fresh, hydrated and radiant skin.
Avoiding excess sugar (see blog on sugar) and the usual garbage that we know all too well. I’m reminded here of bears. You can tell if a bear is a garbage dump bear or a natural diet bear. Garbage dump bears seldom have a thick rich coat while salmon and berry bears have a lustrous, healthy, shiny coat.
Garbage on the inside, garbage on the outside.
OUTSIDEWhile some have extensive skincare routines (many Asian cultures have an 11 step process for example), the important thing is to apply the correct products in the correct order.
Begin by cleaning and exfoliating. Clean off the barnacles and dirt to allow the lotions, serums and creams to work. Whether you use a gentle physical or chemical exfoliant, be gentle but definitive. Don’t be too aggressive but do remove the dead skin cells that can block the effectiveness of your serum, lotion or cream and clog pores. Now apply your serum which, as a concentrate, can truly penetrate the outer layers of the skin (stratum corneum) and prepare the way for your night cream or day lotion. Always make sure you use a powerhouse moisturizer WITH a humectant (which locks moisture in). Not combining your moisturizer with a good humectant like hyaluronic acid or Omega 3s, is like fishing without a hook.So, remember, if you can’t “bear” to look at your face in the mirror… dump the unhealthy habits and add healthy ingredients both into your mouth and onto your skin.