One of my biggest YES moments was when I was fighting my skincare battle. I struggled with poor skin conditions for quite a few years. When you are looking for a way to get perfectly clear skin you will do all the research in the world to figure out how to clear it. In desperation, you’ll buy anything that’s promising to help solve your problems. But let me tell you a secret: Everyone who sells a skin care product will promise you that they have the miracle item that will change your life (and your skin). That’s a really difficult promise to make when there is millions of people in the world with different types of skin, so it’s up to you to stop believing in simply the marketing, and find what is right for your specific skin type.

Let me tell you  a few of the things that I tried that did not work:

Birth Control

Looking back, I wonder if my doctor suggested I go on birth control simply because of the bonus they get for writing a birth control prescription. I was not even sexually active at the time so there must have been other alternatives he could have prescribed. The side effects were awful enough that I stopped taking them no more than 3 months after I began the prescription, and thankfully so. I was experiencing, mood swings, tiredness, and nausea. I was eating more than usual

Pharmacy Brand Skin Care

Have you ever read the ingredients list on these things? I’m sorry, but I do not believe that a product whose second ingredient is rubbing alcohol is going to cure my skin care issues. In fact, I believe that using these products is what threw my skin PH off of balance and started the issues in the first place. Some of the products that I used were Clean & Clear and Neutrogena. You know, those brands that tell you that washing your face is actually going to be the highlight of your day and you’ll want to invite your friends over to wash their faces with you.

Recently, one of my close friends who has always has unbelievably clear skin used Neutrogena face wash and has had the worst breakout she has ever seen, In fact, she thinks it may even be an allergic reaction.

This is no surprise to me, the ingredients in these products are much too harsh to be using on such a delicate area such as your face. They dry out your skin, leading it to produce way too much oil which in turn creates more of the bad skin conditions you were trying to rid yourself of.

Don’t give into their marketing. These companies will send the products to 100+ dermatologists and doctors. If even 1 of them responds saying that they liked the product then they will slap ‘Doctor and Dermatologist Recommended’ on the product.

Here are the changes you should make in your daily routine:

One thing to keep in mind is that your body is an amazing thing. It wants to heal itself and if you clear out the toxins that are stopping it from doing so, it will return back to its’ natural and perfect form. In our case, that means beautiful, plump and perfect skin.

Stop Using Hair Products

Do you get slight little bumps just underneath the surface of your skin? Those are simply clogged pores. When you put hair products in your hair, whether it be hair spray, gels, leave in conditioners, they start to seem down into your skin. This is an easy and quick fix. If you can diminish your hair product usage, or at least cut it down, I know you will see dramatic results.

Stop Pressing Your Phone to Your Cheeks

The heat emitted from pressing your dirty and bacteria infected phone causes your pores to open up and bacteria to seep in. I noticed this one day when only one of my cheeks was broken out while my skin on the other cheek was just perfect. I tested out not picking up my phone when it rang ( to the dismay of my social network) and eventually my cheeks cleared right up. Getting rid of any rubber phone cases that collect bacteria can make a huge difference as well.

The solution: now when I know I have to take a phone call, I simply use a headset or my headphones.

Drink Enough Water

This remedy can really help with so many ailments- and it really makes you look better and younger. As you get older, the water content in your body decreases as well as your ability to sense if you are even thirsty!

Knowing this, make an active effort to increase your water intake and you will see health benefits on top of clearer skin. Your body works hard every day to transport nutrients through your body and rid yourself of toxins. If we make it easier through drinking water ,the healing nutrients will heal what we need them to (that gross bump on your nose) while the toxins that cause damage will quickly be flushed out.

Reduce Sugar Intake

I think this is the biggest contributor to not only my better skin, but my overall increased health and energy levels!

While doing some research on face mapping (read more about it here) I realized that sugar intake can be a huge factor in the degredation of your skin ( as well a great deal of other health issues that I will talk about later).

Balancing your insulin levels is something you should start thinking about early in life. Especially now as the recurrance of diabetes is on the rise. Cutting refined sugar is the number 1 way to help balance your sugar levels. I went the extra mile and actually even reduced my natural sugar levels. That meant cutting down on my morning and afternoon banana, switching from natural fruit juices to all veggie juices, and granola bars and dates and saying no to bread and pastas-your body reacts to these like it does to sugar. If I absolutely MUST eat something with sugar, I eat it slower than usual and save some for later. I do this so that the spike in insulin levels that my body has to release to balance my blood sugar does not shock it.

I have actually found since cutting down sugar that my energy levels are much higher during the day and I don’t have that typical 3 PM crash.

Now I have no health ailments in terms of diabetes, but it is in my family history. It is better to start early with treating your body great than regret it after the fact.

Listen to these tips for your skin! Your body will thank you as well.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112365.php

Here are where the photographs are sourced:

snob fashion blog, tumblr: chanelbagsandcigarettes