Beautifully Clean: Clear skin ahead

by Therese Bowen
Freshlife Personal Care Coach

Anyone with teenagers knows what an emotionally challenging time it can be watching them make their way into adulthood. Issues you and I find to be just part of a normal day are often amplified to young folks. Now let’s factor in the body changes and really complicate things! If this isn’t enough, many teens also experience a very common skin problem…acne.

Acne has an array of causes. To successfully heal troubled skin, you must first get to the root of the problem. It can be brought on by hormonal changes in maturing bodies. Rising hormone levels can stimulate a fibrous protein that can block the skin’s pores. This blockage will then cause an overproduction of sebum. Sebum is a mixture of oils and waxes that lubricate the skin and prevent loss of water. When overproduced, sebum will block skin’s pores along the tiny hair canal. Incomplete blockages will form blackheads and complete blockages will also cause an overgrowth of bacteria producing whiteheads and redness—the inflammation known as a “pimple.”

Another cause of acne can be intestinal toxemia. Nutritional status and improper hygiene are also major culprits. Change of diet, internal cleansing, dietary supplements and proper skin care can often greatly improve this skin disorder.

Here are some suggestions for improving acne:

• Eliminate all refined sugar and flour.
• Limit the intake of high-fat foods.
• Eliminate hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated and oxidized fats.
• Milk should be rGBH-free and limited to no more than 4-6 oz. daily. (This is due to the trans fatty acid created during pasteurization.)
• Drink plenty of pure water (approximately half of your bodyweight in ounces).
• Consider a series of cleansing and detoxification to make sure that the bowels are moving at least twice a day.
• Take a good multivitamin along with fish or flax seed oil daily.
• Use an acne treatment supplement such as Derma Klear, Clearin or Herpanicine.

For hygiene, I would recommend a line of cleansing and treatment products from Derma-e called Very Clear. There are four components of this system. You may or may not need all four but here’s a brief overview of what they are and how they work.

Very Clear Problem Skin Cleanser gently reduces oil and debris, unclogs pores and helps nourish the skin to prevent future breakouts. With a special blend of ingredients such as tea tree oil, willow bark, rosewood, and lavender, this product has been shown to be very effective due to the natural anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of these herbs. Use this to cleanse the face at least morning and night, and more frequently if the user is quite active and perspires often.

Very Clear Spot Blemish Treatment also contains the herbs mentioned above. It is rich in anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties so it effectively treats skin flare-ups and reduces redness and sensitivity. It may be used as often as necessary whenever breakouts occur to soothe red, inflamed, irritated skin.

Very Clear Cleansing Scrub works as an exfoliant by removing dead skin cells to unclog pores. This gentle but effective scrub utilizes Aloe and Apricot hulls and should be used once or twice a week to draw out impurities, reduce bacteria and promote new cell growth for clean, clearer skin.

Very Clear Problem Skin Moisturizer is an oil-free, nourishing crème fortified with the herbal ingredients used in the other products so it fights inflammation and infection, reduces sebum production and stimulates healing while keeping the skin well-hydrated.

Freshlife also offers a topical cream made here in the store from a recipe developed by Barb Jarmoska. Known as Complexion Clear, this cream is a powerful combination of detoxifying herbs and essential oils that both discourage bacteria and encourage the growth of new, healthy skin cells.

The four Derma-e products will be available at a reduced cost for the month of July. Give those kids a head start on clearer skin and send them back to school with beautiful, prideful smiles!