Detox Your Skin
Your skin, your body‘s largest organ is your biological shield against the outside world. Women put on average 515 chemicals on your skin every day. These chemicals come from lotions, perfumes, make up and skin care products we use daily.
To help keep your skin firm, brighter and more useful, here are five things I do to detox my skin.
Dry Brush
Think about all the things you take a brush to, your hair, your teeth, your body even flicking a new coat of paint on your wall with a brush. In all of those cases you’re improving the health and appearance of that thing when you brush it. I love to dry brush my body, it unclogs your pores, removes excess dry skin and Stimulates your lymphatic system which stimulates blood flow.
This is important as your skin cells don’t turn over as quickly as I did when you were younger. Your lymphatic system plays a role in removing toxins out of your body. To use a dry brush move the brush towards your heart and upward strokes, focusing on the back of your knees and softly under your armpits. It’s a great feeling when you brush your legs,arms, even the side of your ribs.
Stretching
Your overall health relies a lot on your lymphatic system as it’s responsible for moving toxins out of your body. To help improve the lymphatic movement as it should be an even flow of detoxification, you want a running tap not a trickling one.
Stretching, massage or light movement like walking can help your body. I even love a good lymphatic massage.
But even stretching for just 15 minutes a day will help support your lymphatic system.
Your body does more work throughout the day than you may even realize. Your organs, joints, and muscles all work together seamlessly so you can function at your optimum level. Because your body works so hard every day, it is important to take time to tend to it. Healthy dieting and exercise are crucial habits to practice, so you can keep your body happy and healthy. Additionally, taking just a few minutes out of your day can have numerous positive effects on your body.
Breathing
Taking deep breaths are good for so many things, relaxation, stress relief and improved circulation, which can have an affect on your skin. When you breathe deeply you’re telling your nervous system to rest and relax putting your body in a more parasympathetic state. When you breathe in your organs a literally getting a massage. When you’re more in a stressed anxious state you’re more likely to hold onto toxins which means you’re less likely to detoxify the body.
Breathing releases carbon monoxide, which is important to fully release. Actually, breathing is in charge of 70% of cleansing the body of toxins (the other 30% is through bladder and bowels.) If you do not breathe fully, your body must work overtime to release these toxins.
Important tips: Deep breathing should be slow and gentle. Remember to fill the abdomen, not just the chest. A simple way to make sure you are doing this is to place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest. Breath deeply and make sure your hand on your stomach is rising. Try to be aware of your breath, heartbeat and to release tension from your body. Sometimes it’s easier to lie down or sit comfortably in a chair.
Now, deep breathing is something that is unnatural for your body to do, so just like learning any new skill, it takes practice! Try to incorporate one breathing exercise each day. Here is a simple breathing exercise that can be incorporated into your daily routine:
Breathe in calmly, through the nose, filling your abdomen and chest, for 5 seconds (or longer, not exceeding 7 seconds). Hold this breath in for 3 seconds. Slowly and gently release the breath through the mouth for 5 seconds (or more, whatever is comfortable.) breathe out through a slightly parted lip or “O” shaped lips. Repeat this 5 times, or even better, continue for 5 minutes.
Drink
To help keep your cells youthful, it’s important to activate autophagy — a sort of cellular repair process that keeps your cells young. This is especially important for your skin, which is constantly under attack (from age, as well as outside influences). While there are many ways to activate autophagy, one of the easiest ways is to drink tea.
Today, green tea has developed a shining reputation for its high levels of antioxidants. But that’s not it’s only star quality; green tea health benefits also include detoxing, calming inflammation, and an ability to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol.
While these impressive green tea health benefits can be enjoyed by simply drinking it, applying green tea on skin also has its perks.
Antioxidants are a powerful piece in the anti-aging puzzle, because they work to reduce inflammation and free radicals that accelerate skin aging. Green tea is a particularly valuable ingredient when it comes to antioxidants, because it contains EGCG: a compound that counters the effects of pollution, sun damage, and chemicals.
Sweat
When you exercise with some intensity to work up a sweat, you’re also stimulating your sweat glands to eliminate the toxins that you may have in your body. Remember, this is your body’s most natural way of removing the toxins, so that’s why it’s important to find a way to sweat every day.
In many cases, exercise translates into a number of health benefits including:
- boosting energy
- maintaining healthy weight
- defending against many diseases and health conditions
- improving mood
- promoting good sleep