Lemon Love

LEMONS!

When life gives you them,  squuuueze them! into your water, of course. :) Drink that water, steam your face with that water, and feel like a new born babe all over again.

;)wink. Just watch those precious eyeballs. They'd rather stay out of it.

 

 

refreshing benefits:

sourced from: beautifulskincareblog.com (thank you!)

 

Exfoliating – Exfoliate with lemon to maintain clear, youthful skin! Lemon fruit acids are ideal for gentle exfoliation; add the vitamin content of lemons and you’ve got a complete skincare treatment right in your kitchen! To exfoliate, apply lemon juice on clean skin for 5-10 minutes then rinse.

Teeth Brightening – It’s not a secret anymore that one of the best natural whitening products is lemon.

Rub half a lemon on your face or any darker areas like elbows and knees. Repeat every day until you notice improvement in pigmentation. But remember to use sunscreen all time for increased protection!

Neutralizing environmental damage – Sun, pollution and stress take their toll on your skin. Vitamin C is known to be a potent anti-oxidant that combats the effects of free radicals on your body. Why not use it on your skin as well? It helps prevent wrinkles and helps maintain skin elasticity. Mix a bit of lemon juice in your favourite home made treatment mask to reap the benefits of antioxidants!

Toning – Tired skin is no longer a problem when you have a lemon at hand. Shrink pores and regain your glow with this concoction: in a glass of water, squeeze half a lemon and add a few cucumber slices then shake and let stand for 5 minutes. With a cotton ball, wipe your face for a minute then clean with cold water.

Hydrating and nourishing – Lemons are popular for their Vitamin C content, don’t forget they are also a good source of folate, potassium, magnesium and Vitamin B6. Lemon’s nutrients detoxify, repair and renew skin from the inside out. Use this 20 minute mask to energize your skin: one teaspoon each of lemon, honey and black tea infusion.

Fighting wrinkles – because Vitamin C stimulates collagen formation, using lemon juice in your wrinkle treatments can improve your results. A home made, hydrating wrinkle treatment is a solution made of milk and a bit of lemon juice. Apply it on your face for 10 minutes then rinse with warm water.

Pore cleansing– If your skin is oily, and clogged pores or blackheads are often a problem, lemon can help. Because of its exfoliating and astringent properties, overnight lemon juice treatment on problem areas can help you achieve a beautiful, smooth skin in the morning. Apply with a cotton swab where needed and let dry.

xx

Your Skin: What Does Food Have to Do With It?

It is common knowledge that simply: We are what we eat.


But what happens when what is considered a healthy, healing diet, isn't showing the results we expected?

When it comes to skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis, eczema & pH imbalances, we can see that what we put in definitely comes out. Although nourishing foods packed with vitamins & minerals is key, often food alone is not the only answer. The real key lies in our digestive fire, the strength & tone of our organ systems, & basically our body's ability to thrive & really handle digestion. The truth is that we can be eating what we consider to be the healthiest diet ever, but if we are unable to properly digest fats, carbohydrates & protiens efficiently, we can end up feeling like we are going no where.

I highly recommend using high doses of powerful digestive enzymes with what you are already eating, & see if there is improvement. It is also beneficial to take them on an empty stomach, which helps clean up your blood & repair your tissues.

Digestion is quite the task, when you consider all that is involved. A perfect orchestration of pH, enzymes & muscle tone is required to complete the task.


Throughout the course of my journey, I tackled using different diets, elliminating possible allergens, cleanses, flushes - the whole schibang. Over the long run, & desperate for a cure, a lot of this protocol actually aggravated my conditions more - which looking back I can totally attribute it to stress.


It is so important to understand that eating is supposed to be a way to relieve stress, not to create it. Eating is designed to be a reward system, for the mind & body; to encourage us to keep putting things in our mouths that make us feel good. Granted in the 21st century, there is some intelligence involved in figuring out what is actually making us feel good. Food that tastes good, does not necessarily make us feel our very best.


But now a days, there are so many options when it comes to eating healthy, that there is just no excuse not to explore it. Personally, I find the options at health food stores super exciting. The taste of organic, simple food is just gigantic compared to conventional foods. My tastebuds are getting crazy just thinking about it.

Exploration is the key! As long as you are exploring different diets with love & excitement, I would say that is golden. But, often times jumping from one thing to the next, in search for an answer can cause extreme stress in the body & deter your digestion from rewarding & nourishing you.  Remember that stress is the root cause of all dis-ease.  Digestion under stress is very weak & makes even eating something as simple as an apple diffucult on the body.


All in all, eat with happiness & eat with intuition! Remember that you not only are feeding your body, but your mind & soul.  Don't hesitate to use Enzymes in order to experiment with getting more variety in your diet. You will be amazed at how much things get better.


Cheers to happy eating :)

the Bare Basics: Understanding Break Outs

Targeting the root causes of breakouts can seem overhelming at first, but really it comes down to 2 simple factors. Either your breakouts are being influenced by External factors, such as a disturbed pH balance from over-washing - or Internal factors, which are digestive imbalances.

Identifying what type of breakout you are having will give you a huge advantage in the long run. So, to start this journey, we'll look at the basics first.

Breakouts caused by External Factors
are most always very surface level - they mature quickly, and are usually instantly whiteheads or blackheads. Often they are just small red marks, but they do not go into deep layers of the skin. You will often notice these when you wake up in the morning, or throughout the course of just a couple hours in the day. This is the most simple type of breakout to deal with, as the stimulus that is causing it is usually just getting our skin's pH to a happy place.

Things that can Help Immediately!

• Gentle Cleansers with Salicylic Acid
• A soothing overnight aloe vera mask (mix with crushed asprin)
• Allowing your Skin to Breathe
• Quality organic skincare
• Being aware of the products you use & what is in them

Breakouts caused by Internal Factors
are much more slow to mature, they are often painful & can take weeks to actually fully heal. They often can leave scar tissue, because of the way this deep infection debilitates the cellular matrix of your skin's tissues - this often reults in a sunken, pitted type of scar.

Dealing with Internal Factors can be frusterating, but know that there are solutions. I plan on highlighting a lot of this in coming blogs. In the mean time, feel free to contact me directly with your questions.

Things that can Help Immediately!

• Start taking quality Digestive Enzymes with your meals
• Believing that there is a solution & that You will find it
• Deep Relaxation so that your body can Heal

Simply put, a lot of skin problems are solved simply by paying attention to what we are doing externally. Being aware of what we put onto our body counts. The key is to choose products that are gentle, nourishing & balanced- & perhaps even learning to make your own!

Topical Treats That Will Bring Your Skin to Life

3 Super-Charged Remedies:

• Green Tea
• Raw Honey
• Probiotics

After washing my face with a gentle cleanser, I have a spray bottle that I have put straight green tea in. It is important to get organic green tea, free of chemical additives - so that you know what you are putting on your skin is nothing less than nourishing.

You can use this green tea mixture just like you would a toner. Experiment with mixing small amounts (say a tsp. per 4 oz. of tea) of lemon juice in with it, for more of an astringent effect.

Raw Honey is another golden remedy. Honey is naturally anti-bacterial & contains a massive array of healing minerals that are necessary for tissue repair. After removing any makeup, try experimenting with honey as a facewash for when your skin is feeling dry - or a relaxing mask when your skin needs some love. It is definitely a sweet treat.


Last, but certaintly not least: the Pro-biotic mask! which is literally bursting with Life. Mix a capsule or 2 of pro-biotics (18 billion count capsules or higher is ideal) with some honey in order to distribute it onto your skin. Try using this before bedtime & letting it sit for about 20-30 minutes & then rinse. Follow it with your green tea toner & allow yourself to drift off into a restful sleep.


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Jump Start the Healing Process & See Immediate Results

When it comes to healing troublesome skin conditions such as acne & eczema, paying your body respect & giving it nutritious support from food, vitamins & digestive strengthening herbs, is without a doubt the best medicine that is available to us. But sometimes we need some encouragement; a protocol that will save us years of detoxing & healing just using dietary changes.

No matter where you are at on your journey to healthy, beautiful skin: Jump on to exploring colon hydrotherapy, quality digestive enzymes & probiotics will elliminate years of waiting to see a change.

The 3 Treasures:

HYDROTHERAPY
There is a lot of controversy out there with colon hydrotherapy, but I believe that the only way to really know if something is right for you or not, is to simply give it your own test run. It certaintly will not hurt you. The body has amazing natural healing abilities on its own. But I will say, that as soon as I opened myself to using hyderotherapy, my healing abilities increased a million-fold. The Hydrotherapy was able to assit my body in clearing digestive blocks, which not only left my skin feeling healthier, but also left me mentally feeling focused & energized.

For Qualified Practioners in your Area: http://www.colonic.net/

In combination with Hydrotherapy, the use of quality Digestive Enzymes & Probiotics, has changed my skin dramatically.

ENZYMES
It is important to find enzymes that have been evaluated for potency by the FCC - & this is seen in the way they measure dosage on the ingredients. You don't want an enzyme supplement that is measured just in milligrams. You want to see some crazy measurements like HUT, DU & BGU's. Ideally, you will also want a supplement that covers a wide variety of enzymes such as Amylase, Protease, Cellulase, Lipase & Lactase, just to start. The broader the spectrum the better. You can take enzymes away from meals in order to cleanse your blood & help manage bacteria in your system - or with your food to actually digest & breakdown carbs, protiens, fats & so on.

PROBIOTICS
Probiotics is a fun one - I recently learned that what may seem to some as overdosing on them, is actually incredibly benefical. A friend of mine & I split a bottle of Garden of Life Raw Probiotics & took the whole thing internally right before bed. I woke up feeling amazing & my digestion was spot on. If you aren't used to lots of fermented, cultured foods - you may notice some cleansing effects - multiple bowel movements & some gas - but! With all those toxins cleared, your colon will thank you by giving you light, blissful state of mind. 

After years of using different dietary approaches, tonifying herbs & different cleanses, these 3 simple regimens trump them all! You can be anywhere on the journey & start here. I highly recommend exploring these 3 treasures.

Cheers to your health :)