A common complaint we see in the clinic is acne, which is a condition that lends itself to treatment with naturopathy incredibly well.
When treating acne or poor skin tone the most important thing is to uncover the underlying cause of it – which is a different approach to what your dermatologist may be telling you. It is possible to have better skin with naturopathy.
These are our Five Ways To Better Skin…
Instead of putting more and more expensive products on your skin, and spending thousands on treatments, try working on your skin from the inside out will see lasting improvements – not just temporary changes.
Some of the drivers of acne or other skin conditions we see in clinic are nutritional deficiencies, PCOS, hormonal disturbances, digestive issues such as Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth – SIBO, poor upper digestive function like reflux, malabsorption, bacterial imbalances, stress(!), autoimmune conditions and food intolerances – oh the list can go on!
One of the most common ones we see is Post-Pill Acne – where your skin goes bonkers after coming off the pill. And, yes – there is so much you can do to prevent this and help heal with which doesn’t involve going back on the Pill.
It is important to remember that your acne will probably have a driver that you can do something about. It may take time – but with the proper investigations and understanding about how your body is working you will begin to see changes.
However, here is a list of the most important things we go suggest to our clients to help them improve their skin. Implementing some or all of these will really help your skin heal from the inside.
At New Leaf we promote the idea that life is about balance and sometimes having the cake – but cake every day is something you can address and change. What sugar do we mean – well it is mainly processed sugars – so the raw and refined sugars you’ll find in processed foods – not just the junk food in bright packaging and soft drinks, but also in breakfast cereals, muesli bars, yogurt and things you may think are “healthy”.
Read the ingredients and see if it contains sugar – you’ll be surprised! However, also eating raw, paleo or vegan treats which seem healthy are packed with sugar – mainly fructose – and this can also cause havoc with your skin.
Don’t forget that alcohol is a massive sugar hit to your system – so reducing alcohol as well can improve your skin as well.
If your acne gets worse at the same time every month it is highly likely that the driver is your hormones. The shifting levels that is your period often results in a few pimples popping out, but sometimes there are more than just a few. This is especially true of teenagers! Deep sore, angry cystic acne is common. Following the other tips on this page will absolutely help you – but hormonal acne is a great example of how you have to work from the inside out to improve your skin.
Your GP may suggest that the Oral Contraceptive Pill will be the thing to cure this hormonal acne, however we know that this is just a temporary fix and when you come off the Pill you’ll still have acne and it will probably be worse. Seeking an alternative to hormonal birth control to manage your acne is possible – speak to us to see how we can get your periods balanced and then your skin will follow.
This is one of the most important things to do to improve your skin. Skin care should not cost you the earth. We recommend tips and tricks to make your own skin care in our consults and ensure acne prone skin has all the things it needs to be clean and healthy.
The common mistake we see our clients making with cleansing is using drying products on their skin: “too many pimples means the skin is too oily so I have to dry it out“. Often it is products with tea tree in them, but those very drying, chemically loaded “pH balanced” (umm yeah, right) skin care products are the worse for acne healing and for preventing scarring. We suggest Oil Cleansing – with Sweet Almond Oil, or Jojoba Oil, or the blend of oils we make at the clinic, as a cleanser. Also Black Soap for very cystic acne a few times a week is very cleansing.
Ensure you have a great alcohol free, nourishing toner and a simple moisturiser (we love The Ordinary which is so affordable and is great for all skin types.)
So Cleanse + Tone + Moisturise at least once a day! Your skin will love you.
This is a controversial one, but dropping the cow’s milk really does make a difference. It may not be forever, but while we are working from the inside making this simple change in your diet can help your skin improve so much. This is particularly true of hormonal acne pictures.
Sometimes a bit of goat or sheep cheese is tolerable for your skin. However, our clients notice that if they’ve been off the dairy for a while and their skin has improved but they sit down to a bit of a cheese and biscuit fiesta they will have a couple of red pimples appear the next day. Give it a go and see what happens. A 100% diary free trail for a month should see some massive improvements.
It is easy to be dairy free these days – but don’t forget to check the added sugar in your nut mylks and coconut yogurts! They have epic amounts so always get sugar free versions. So perhaps try and make your own?
These days there are so many natural skin care and make up products available which makes it easy to look after your skin. Choosing make up which is cruelty free and chemical free is so important for your skin – and the environment. Avoiding toxic petrochemicals, endocrine disrupting chemicals and synthetic products and fragrances will help your skin, and your whole body be healthy. Remember that everything you put on your skin ends up inside your body – so if choose products that are free of nasties your overall health will improve in many ways. Or make your own! Get some tips here from Green+ Simple.
We really understanding that having happy skin is important – feeling confident with how the world sees you make things a bit easier. At New Leaf we work through the underlying causes of your conditions and work to inspire you to look after yourself inside and out. Our individual approach to health aims to fit in with your lifestyle, way of eating, and your body.
