Your largest organ needs your help. It protects you, absorbs what you put on it into your bloodstream, and can make you feel bright and confident or depressed and "broken"(out).
I recently read an article titled “5 Nutrients For Bulletproof Skincare” by the Bulletproof staff. It gives us simple ingredients to improve skin tone, reverse UV damage, and turn back our biological clock. It helped me realize that any skincare product we purchase is attempting to be a whole food or mineral that we most likely already consume (or should). So why not head to the kitchen and use real organic ingredients and rub it all over your face and body?
Here are the 5 Nutrients mentioned in the article:
1. Vitamin C
5. Coffee
Here are 7 that I would add:
1. Egg whites
2. Garlic
3. Raw Honey
4. Olive Oil
5. Cucumber
6. Avocado
7. Herbs (mint, cilantro etc)
Here are a few simple recipes to get you started
(I do not measure anything I create or cook so these measurements are guidelines not rules)
Morning Coffee Mask/Exfoliator
“Studies show that caffeine reduces inflammation and redness, increases circulation, promotes the repair of DNA, and reverses UV-induced skin damage.” [1]
(Great for swimmers and other outdoor athletes like me!)
2-5 Tbsp fresh organic coffee grounds
2-4 Tbsp Brain octane or coconut oil
1 Tsp Raw Organic Honey
½ Avocado
Optional: Lemon juice and raw minced garlic
Take coffee grounds (could be leftover from your morning coffee) combine with Brain Octane or Coconut oil, mix together and add honey. It will form into a thick blackish paste.
Apply layer to entire face, neck and anywhere else on your body. Get it close to your eyes where that sun damage and DNA damage show up in wrinkles but don’t get it in your eyes. Leave on for 15-20 mins. I like to lightly exfoliate my face with grounds. I drink coffee once every few days so I just add the leftover grounds to my coffee mask tub in the fridge and never run out.
Veggie Omelet… On your face
Take one egg white from a fresh *Pasture raised free range egg* (If you don’t believe there is a difference between cage free and pasture raised just google it) and apply thin layer to entire face. Let this dry and you will feel it literally toning and lifting your skin. Rinse off after you feel like it has worked and apply the rest of the veggie omelet mask.
3 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
½ -1 Cucumber
1-2 cloves raw garlic
½ squeezed lemon
1 Tsp honey
Optional: Cilantro, mint, rosemary or chamomile
*blend ingredients in a blender and add oils or lemon juice as necessary. Feel free to experiment with other fruits or veggies you have laying around. Apply mask evenly to face, neck and upper shoulders. Rinse and enjoy.
Here are some of my favorite face and body oils that I have been experimenting with as well. (great for swimmers that get exposed to chlorine and UVA/UVB damage)
Kukui Nut Oil (my favorite body moisturizer)
Moroccan Argan Oil (great facial moisturizer)
Arnica Oil (good for relieving muscle soreness and tension)
Castor Oil (smear on the eyes before bed, or put on scars or burns to heal)
Take care of your largest organ and remember that everything you put on your skin ends up in your blood stream. Take a look at your lotion bottle or hygienic products and if there are some ingredients that Bill Nye would have trouble pronouncing I would stay away from it.
Sources:
Morning Coffee...On Your Face
