Today, I have the pleasure of welcoming a guest post by Hannah Do. Hannah writes for ThankYourSkin.com, a new website “dedicated to providing honest skin care advice about acne and other skin issues., with a collection of helpful tutorials, buying guides, product reviews written from both personal experience and thorough research.” She’s sharing with us her favorite detox solutions for healthy skin. Detoxification is, perhaps, one of the best things you can do for your skin. With all the abuse it gets from being exposed to pollution and harsh chemicals, it’s high time you give the largest organ in your body the care it deserves. Detoxification can help you get the natural, glowing skin you’ve always been dreaming of. If you’re wondering how you can start the process, this natural skin detox guide can set you on the right track.
Dry Brushing
Dry brushing offers tons of benefits. Aside from making your skin feel softer and smoother, it can also aid in efficient waste elimination. By brushing your skin with a natural bristle brush or a natural loofah, you’re helping your body clear up its lymphatic drainage, the system responsible for waste and toxin removal. If these waste materials are not properly eliminated from your body, they will trigger inflammatory responses which can make you ill. Other than its effect on your lymphatic system, dry brushing also assists in the removal of accumulated dead skin cells. It helps clear up clogged pores and soften those stubborn fat deposits on your thighs and legs. Dry brushing improves the blood circulation in your skin area as well. With better blood flow, the more efficient detoxification becomes.
Steps:
• Choose a natural bristled brush, preferably one with a long handle. Avoid using a synthetic brush as it can irritate your skin.
• Start at your feet and brush its surface upward towards your heart. Brushing in this direction stimulates the lymphatic drainage as well as your blood circulation.
• It’s recommended to spend at least 90 seconds per area.
• After you’ve brushed the rest of your body, take a shower using lukewarm water or alternate it with cold water.
• Pat dry your skin. Avoid rubbing your skin vigorously while it’s still wet as it can cause abrasion and damage.
• After drying, you can use a natural oil to moisturize your skin.
• For best result, try to repeat this process every day.
Detox Water
Hydration is one of the pillars of an effective detoxification process. Not only does water help make the lymphatic drainage more efficient, but it also aids in clearing out toxins better and faster. If the taste of water isn’t that appealing to you, then you can try creating fruit infused detox water instead. Because this type of drink is infused with fruits, you’ll get the benefits of both fruits and water with an added excitement for your taste buds. Detox water is easy to prepare. As a matter of fact, you can easily find the ingredients you’ll need in making these drinks right inside your kitchen. There are a lot of variations of fruit infused detox water. To know which one is right for you, you have to primarily know what your goal is. For skin detox, you can try lemon water and its benefits. It can help clear blemishes and make your skin tone more even.
Steps:
• Grab a piece of lemon, ginger and a handful of mint leaves.
• Slice the lemon and place all ingredients in an airtight container.
• Add water.
• Let the concoction sit overnight.
• Drink the lemon detox water the next day.
• Avoid keeping the infused water longer than 48 hours. Aside from helping your body get rid of wastes and toxins, the lemon infused water is an instant immune system booster. It also works to fight stress, assist in weight loss and give you more energy throughout the day.
Oil Cleansing Method
The Oil Cleansing Method, or simply OCM, is not new. Because of the abundance of commercially prepared skin care products today, this old but effective technique to achieving beautiful skin has been strongly sidelined. The principle behind this detox method might baffle you at first. Instead of removing excess oil on your skin, you slather oil on it instead. Because oil is capable of dissolving oil, this cleansing method can effectively break down oil, makeup residue and stubborn dirt clogging your pores. As a result, you don’t only get clean, blemish free skin but you also get supple and extra nourished skin.
Steps:
• The first step involves selecting the right oil combination for your skin. For OCM, you need two types of oil.
• Once you’ve found the right combination, you have to establish the best blend. If you have dry or oily skin, you may need to increase or decrease the portions as necessary.
• With your oil blend, pour a small amount into your palm and begin massaging it all over your face.
• Take enough time in working the oil on your skin.
• Once it has saturated your skin well, you can place a warm washcloth over your face to open up your pores more.
• After the washcloth has cooled down, you can soak it again in warm water and start wiping the oil and dirt off of your face.
• Rinse.
Apple Cider Vinegar Detox Bath
When your body becomes too acidic, your ability to eliminate waste products become impaired. As a result, certain health issues arise. To prevent these issues from happening, you can soak yourself in an apple cider vinegar detox bath. This detox bath will help you regain your body’s natural pH. ACV is known for its multitude of benefits when used internally or externally. For your skin, the ACV detox bath can help regain your skin’s natural balance.
Steps:
• Fill your tub with warm water.
• Measure 1 cup of 100% apple cider vinegar and add to your tub. You can increase the measurement if you have a larger tub.
• Soak yourself for 30 to 45 minutes or until the water has cooled down
• Towel dry and avoid rinsing for around 8 hours.
With the right pH, bacteria are less likely to thrive and proliferate. Other than being antibacterial, ACV also has an antiseptic property to prevent acne formation and in banishing body odor. Your skin’s beauty isn’t only dependent on the products you apply on it. Most of the time, it’s what you do on the inside that makes the most difference.
What natural skin detox methods have you tried? Were they effective in removing toxins and impurities?
A big thank you to Hannah! Personally, I’ve only been consistent with the OCM method and lemon water. Dry brushing has been an utter fail for me, but after reading Hannah’s tips, I’m determined to give it a try again (and for real this time haha).
You can follow the lovely Hannah on Thank your skin and also on Mind Body Green, where she wrote an article about the link gluten-acne (here).
Take care,
Liz
