FEEDING OUR SKIN
At the delicious ripe age of 53, I am truly appreciating and loving my skin. My skin is absolutely amazing and resilient. Up to this point, I have focused on an outside skin regimen to nurture my skin. Over the last 30 years of making oatmeal soap and body butter, I have used them religiously oatmeal soap gently exfoliated my skin and then I conditioned it with raw nurturing plant-based kinds of butter.
But over those 30-plus years, I have focused my skin regimen on the outside and not the inside. I am at a point in my life I am ready to develop a regimen to feed and nurture my skin inside and outside.
To address the inside skin regimen I will be drinking more water. Water is essential to feeding our skin. According to the Mayo Clinic, "Every cell, tissue, and organ in your body needs water to work properly". (the Mayo Clinic) According to WaterAid some of water’s benefits to our skin are that it increases elasticity, reduces the size of pores, and boosts our natural glow. Our skin is our largest organ and is made up of three layers of tissue, therefore, it needs plenty of water. The Mayo Clinic along with the medical community in general supports the idea of 8 glasses of water as a reasonable goal. The actual amount we should drink is going to be different for everyone. Therefore my first challenge for my inside skin regimen is increasing my water intake.
Along with increasing my water consumption I will be increasing my servings of fruits and vegetables and reducing my salt and sugar intake. Fruits and vegetables are essential to our skin because they are an additional source of water and they are rich in vitamins that nurture our skin. According to the Cleveland Clinic consuming fruits and vegetables feeds the skin inside and out. Vitamin C-rich foods such as grapefruits, broccoli, and kiwi can help reduce wrinkles.
Another food that can have a negative impact on your skin is salt. The overconsumption of salt can dehydrate the skin. The internal organs become dehydrated first and then to protect themselves they seek an alternative method to get vital water and they do that by absorbing it from the skin. Over time and the high consumption of salt may result in dry dull skin, water retention, accelerated aging, and breakouts. Sugar is the other white seasoning that can have a negative impact on your skin if it is consumed in large quantities. Consuming excessive amounts of sugar can increase acne, appearance of wrinkles, or slow down the healing of scrapes and cuts.
My outside skin regimen will continue with the tried and true methods I have perfected for years. I clean and condition with oatmeal and other plant-based products such as raw honey or aloe. Oatmeal has numerous benefits for our skin such as soothing dry skin and gently exfoliating. Also, oatmeal may reduce itching and inflammation associated with eczema. I can attest to these benefits because I have experienced them. I usually wash my face twice daily. I start by opening my pores with warm water and then in clock motion I apply my oatmeal soap of choice. Finally, I do a counterclockwise motion to ensure I have opened my pores.
Then I condition my skin. For my face, I use our soothing balm because it is infused with essential oils such as lavender and rosemary to feed the skin. Then I condition my body with either body oil or body butter depending on the time of day. I choose body oil in the morning because it absorbs easier. I use a few spritzes and massage it in using a counterclockwise motion and I am ready to go. With my evening regimen, The evening time gives me an opportunity to apply my butter by using small firm circular motions and then long sweeping soft strokes to ensure it has completely absorbed. The evening ritual is essential to me doing self-care each day.
Join me on my journey to increase my inside skin regimen to enhance my natural glow. We can start with the increase in water intake. For me, it is easier if I drink the 8 oz bottles of water throughout the day because I can keep up with the count of refilling my 8 oz bottle 10 to 12 times a day. I start my morning by drinking 8 oz before I shower then I refill the bottle and drink 8 ozs after my shower. I refill the bottle and drink 8 ozs before I walk and 8 ozs after I walk. At this point, I have drunk 32 oz of water. For lunch I drink 8 ozs of water before I eat anything. I don’t drink anything while I am eating. After I finish eating I drink 8 more ounces.
After work, I drink 8 ozs when I get home and 8 ozs after my evening shower. At this point of the evening, I have drunk 64 oz of water. As I am preparing orders I drink 8 ozs at the beginning of each hour for the next four hours. At the end of the day, I have drunk 96 ozs of water. I recently started this method of tracking my water intake and it works for me. You may want to try my method or you may have one that is working for you. Whichever method works for you let’s challenge ourselves to consume more water daily until drinking water is no longer a challenge and our skin has a chance to benefit from the added hydration.