Skin Health 101
Your guide to glowing skin
Hey beautiful people. I am sipping on my new fav morning beverage, shilajit ginger lemonade. It has been my favorite thing to drink before coffee to get that boost of minerals + hydration and is also extremely energizing without the caffeine.
One of the questions I got this week was related to skin - so I thought I’d do a deep dive into skin health. Q: How do you get skin to glow?
Your skin is a window to what’s going on inside of your body. Acne and skin problems are your body trying to tell you there is an imbalance. The most common imbalances come from lymphatic and/or liver stagnation, gut dysbiosis and hormonal imbalance. When toxins aren’t properly detoxified through your body's detox systems: liver, kidneys, gut, lungs and lymphatic - a lot of times it will get pushed out through our skin.
There can be many reasons for skin problems. Toxin overload (whether that be environmental, product based, or from food + water), antibiotic overuse, food sensitivities, processed food diet, not properly hydrating, bad oral health, not getting enough sunlight + movement + in touch with nature. I truly think that skin health is more than just imbalance in the body too. I never got people commenting on my skin until I became more aligned with my passions in life. Your energy, passion, and love for life shows through your skin.
I am going to share a few tips & tricks that you can implement that have really helped me achieve better skin. And BTW - my skin is not perfect. It has improved a ton over the years but I still have problems and breakouts here and there. Constant work in progress.
Disclaimer: I am not a skin health expert. These are things that work for ME but we are all bioindividual and unique humans. Maybe these things will work for you, maybe they won’t. I recommend working from a root cause approach and figuring out the true cause of your skin problems. Take what you like from my recommendations and leave what you don’t. Choose what works for you.
Proper Hydration
It is crazy what is in our tap water… If you really want to deep dive into it I recommend looking at EWG’s Tap Water Database: it will tell you exactly what contaminants are found in the water in your area.
There are a couple options for what to drink instead of tap water: You can get fresh spring water delivered to you OR you can use a water filter/ install a filtration system in your home. I personally use the Lifestraw Water Pitcher.
I also use a filtered shower head. Personally I use the Jolie one, but Cymbiotika has a good one as well.
True hydration isn’t just ‘dead’ water from a plastic bottle. True hydration involves minerals, electrolytes, and antioxidants. Since I use a water filtration system and not proper spring water, I personally like to add minerals to my water. Some of my favorite ways to do that are by sprinkling a pinch of high quality salt to my water: celtic sea salt, redmond real salt, mediterranean sea salt. I also love Cymbiotika’s Shilajit + Molecular Hydrogen*. For on the go I love bringing Aprico Mineral Packets or Pique Mineral Elixir.
*Cymbiotika Code is ELLA15
Proper hydration does not just have to be through water: local and seasonal fresh fruit juice is wonderful (I’ve been lovvinggg fresh squeezed orange juice in the morning), coconut water, raw milk is rich in minerals, and I love bone broth as well.
Bone broth contains skin + gut supporting amino acids like glycine and proline. Bone broth is also rich in collagen and gelatin which are both known to support overall skin health. My fav way to drink it is through my bone broth tonic.
Raw milk contains high amounts of bioavailable Vitamin A. A lot of over the counter skin products out there contain synthetic versions of Vitamin A, and the raw real version is known to help clear acne and skin issues and treat premature aging.
You can also try my fav Electrolyte Elixir!
Choosing high quality skin products
Sadly so many of the ‘beauty’ and makeup products in stores nowadays are riddled with chemicals and toxins that impact your skin’s microbiome. + Look, I am not someone who follows a “non-toxic” lifestyle, because to be honest that is almost impossible in today’s world, and I do believe that stressing over toxic ingredients is worse than the actual toxins, but I do try to consciously consume as much as possible.
I love skincare that is “edible”. One of my favs lately has been beef tallow & manuka honey. Both have done absolute wonders for my skin. You can make it yourself (recipe here), or use my favs below.
HoneyBeeHippie (you can use discount glowwithella)
Herbal Face Food (you can use discount glowwithella)
Primally Pure (you can use discount 15ELLA)
Also been loving making a homemade facemask (with ingredients you most likely already have in your pantry)
Silk Pillowcase
Silk Pillowcases have been incredible for my skin + my hair. I just get mine from Amazon.
Oral Health
Poor gut health and skin health is directly connected to oral health. Some of my favorite holistic methods for oral health:
Oil Pulling: Swish around coconut oil in your mouth for 10-20 minutes. Spit it out in trash can afterwards (make sure you do not swallow) I try to do this at least once a week.
Lymphatic Drainage
One of the main causes of acne is a stagnant lymphatic system. It is really important to support lymphatic flow. You can do this through movement, massage, rebounding, dry brushing, sweating, stretching, good posture. I love doing a manual lymphatic drainage massage with my hands and lately I have been loving these wooden tools as well.
Like I said previously, I truly believe that skin health is intertwined with mental wellbeing. Stress is typically the number one cause of inflammation and flare ups. I could be doing all the things above but if I am not being true to myself, not in alignment with my passions, stressed or channeling negative energy, it shows in my skin. Going Back to the Basics is key.
Additionally, diversity in diet and incorporating high quality protein and healthy fats is key for skin health. A diet full of processed foods will show up in your skin. Below is my grocery list for the week to incorporate more of this!
Check out recipes that incorporate these beautiful foods into recipes on my Instagram.
Thank you all for your incredible support. This newsletter has been my new favorite outlet to communicate with you all, and I love all of your interactions and questions. If there is anything specific you want to see more or less of, let me know. I really want to create content that is most valuable to you, so feedback is always welcome.
This deep dive post above is typically for paid members only, and I opened it up today so everyone can get a feel for what a few of the paid benefits are. If you are not a member yet, join the family to get more content like above! If you are, thank you so so much I truly appreciate your support & love :) Talk to you soon, enjoy your gorgeous Summer Sunday. -Ella
So many great tips!