Aside from the well known lifestyle choices of drinking water, eliminating sugar and caffeine and sleeping 8hrs each night, what else can be added to your daily routine to help maintaining healthy skin?

Include these foods:

Try and adding sardines, bone broth and seaweed daily, to help maintain skin health.

• Seaweed is full of essential minerals the body requires for enzymes, hormones and the body’s building blocks, such as collagen for skin. With a stressful lifestyle you need to keep refuelling mineral requirements. Supplements are great but natural sources from food have a higher bioavailability. To include seaweed, add a few seaweed flakes, 1 teaspoon, to your meals.
• Sardines are a fantastic source of calcium which is required to maintain the skin barrier leading to   hydrated, glowing skin. Its now well known that our body is generally not equipped to digest dairy products, the previously more popular source of calcium. Dairy is an inflammatory food which is reflected on your skin. Instead, consume sardines with their bones. Not only are they low in toxic heavy metals, they are rich in inflammation fighting omega 3 oils.  I know many who will find consuming this small fish difficult at first. Find a recipe that you like. I have tried a delicious sardine curry that pleases many who try it.
• Bone broth is a time consuming drink to prepare but the health benefits it promises makes it worth your valuable time. Bone broth is just that, a broth made from boiling the bones of with chicken or beef for 24hrs, removing any fat and drinking the remaining nutrient dense liquid. Its is packed with easily absorbed amino acids. These are required by the body, along with minerals to maintain enzyme function and also to protect collagen levels. Collagen levels decrease with stress, and the body replenishes less and less over time. The aim for healthy skin is to slow the destruction of this precious protein but following a balanced lifestyle. Drinking bone broth daily, helps not only your skin but also your endocrine system, liver, natural detoxification process and joints.  Different animals will add slightly different nutritional values to your bone broth For example chicken broth is richer in omega 6 while beef broth will die more omega 3

Homeopathic tissue salts:

You may have heard these called Schüssler salts, a group of homeopathic minerals that are naturally found in our body. If these minerals are lacking, then our body will produce symptoms of this deficiency. There are 3 tissue salts that will be of interest for your skin. These three are silica, calcerea fluorica and natrum muriaticum

Silica is essential for collagen function. It’s naturally found in vegetables such as celery and cucumber but if these are not available, you can take a daily dose of the homeopathic tissue salt. Calc Fluor helps maintain elasticity in the body. Good skin, among other things is a good balance between collagen and elastin..  Both of which decline with age, although the rate they decline at can vary depending on your lifestyle and genetics. You heard of collagen supplements but what about elastin. Elastin is important for maintaining tight skin and reduce sagging. This tissue salt will help.

Natrum Mur is required to maintain water levels in the body. While some of us look at our skin and this we have dry, premature ageing skin, all we are is dehydrated. Start drinking enough water and limiting dehydrating foods such as sugar, caffeine and alcohol. To balance hydration levels, natrum muriaticum will help.

You can purchase all 3 tissue salts in a combination at a 3X (DH) dilution and take 1-3 times day.

Dry Brush

I adore dry brushing and when I suggest it to my patients, they quickly become addicted.

there are many advantages to including regular dry brushing into your morning routine:

It boosts circulation and helps you feel awake, without needing a coffee, reducing you caffeine levels.

It helps clean your lymphatic system which will have a positive impact of your immune function and help your own detoxification process. Whats this knock on effect? A natural improvement in body odour. No need for those harsh deodorants.

Regular brushing will help exfoliate your skin and give the skin on your body a natural glow.

To dry brush, start with your feet and work your way up your body, towards your hard with short light brushing movements.  You do not need long, 2-3 minutes is enough for the magic. Then jump into your shower and follow with a good argan oil.

Wash your face with oil

The oil cleanse method is cleansing method where make-up, pollution, daily impurities are broken down by massaging oil into your face and removing it with a warm damp towel. This method is fantastic for improving skin texture and hydration but not overly stripping your skins natural barrier with harsh ingredients. Each face will have its own preferred oil, such as olive oil, sesame oil or jojoba oil. At the moment I am trying out Cucumber seed oil by Anita Grant as its naturally full of silica.

Treat your skin like a delicate petal

With the rise in popularity of more active ingredients in our daily skincare, if chosen inappropriately for your skin type, these can be super harsh on your delicate skin, disturbing your skin barrier and leading to dehydrated, dry, damaged skin. Actives such as enzyme peels, retinols, and acids, can have fantastic effect on your skin when used in the right situation. Instead of including the newest skincare ingredient daily to your topical skin care routine, stick to simple gentle products such as an oil cleanser, rose hydrating mist and a well selected oil. When looking for a more specialised and specific treatment, visit a professional who will evaluate your skin and choose appropriate actives for your needs.

Julia Edgely:

With over 20 years experience in the wellness industry passionate practitioner of homeopathy Julia Edgely is at the forefront of promoting the importance of clean, natural beauty. With her expert knowledge and research, Julia aims to help everyone, including her patients, make informed alternative beauty choices by educating and hosting her popular “Clean Your Beauty Routine” workshops and consultations worldwide. For more information visit www.juliaedgely.com