We all want great skin. We want that dewy, fresh, smooth, bright, even toned skin that that we see in print ads and on our favorite icons. Reese Witherspoon is perfect, right? Miranda Kerr is #skingoals.

Well, besides the fact that it is their actual job to be that intimidatingly, & seemingly effortlessly, beautiful, & that usually what we see is a touched up version of the actual situation {They both have young children. Let’s be real ~ they are not getting full, uninterrupted nights’ sleep}, that dream skin takes fierce commitment & I’m not just talking about drinking water & being sure to remove your make up every night.

Your plan to achieve your ultimate skin takes into account your diet, exercise, sleep schedule, professionally recommended {& monitored} at~home Skin Care Regimen & regular treatments with your trusted esthetician. To achieve the skin we’re talking about all of these factors need to be addressed.

My friend has recently started working out again. He knows that to achieve his goals it takes more than sporadically hitting the gym, it takes commitment to a more healthy diet & lifestyle, & he’ll have to slow his roll on Beer Friday. He’ll need more sleep each night so his body can work, & recover, at it’s optimum & he’ll need to drink significantly more water. It’s a lifestyle change, &, honestly, healthy, glowing skin is a direct reflection of virtually the same healthy choices.

Let’s have a closer look at how these healthy habits impact our skin…

E X E R C I S E | Moving our bodies is beneficial on so many levels. Not only does it help us maintain healthy weight, improve heart health & increase our strength & stamina, regular exercise helps our bodies to eliminate toxins. Most obviously through sweat, but also by boosting the process of our Lymphatic Systems.

Our Lymphatic System runs alongside our Circulatory System, but does not have the benefit of a heart to keep the Lymphatic fluid moving. The Lymphatic System relies on our movement to drive toxins to Lymph nodes so they can be moved to the blood stream for elimination. This is why patients in hospitals who are unable to move for long periods are prone to bed sores ~ the lymph pools at the lowest-most areas and the toxins accumulate. Thank goodness for nurses. & hospital staff who turn them regularly! Lymphatic vessels run in one direction, with valves at intervals to prevent Lymphatic fluid from flowing backward. {That’s why Lymphatic Massage is a pulsing motion. It applies pressure to the valves to allow the Lymph to move through the valves.}

Exercise also increases circulation of blood. Blood carries nutrients & oxygen to all cells of the body, including those in our skin. Nourished, oxygenated cells are bright & beautiful & are able to do their specific jobs as they are meant to.

Poor Lymphatic or Circulatory function can result in dull, lackluster skin with possibly a gray undertone. Skin’s with healthy Lymphatic or Circulatory function, glow with health.

D I E T | I am not a dietician or a nutritionist, but there are many irrefutable truths in this world, one of which is: “You are what you eat”. What you choose to put into your body will have a direct impact on how you look & feel. All systems in our bodies rely on us providing the correct nutrients, vitamins & minerals for them to function well. Sadly, much of the food offered these days has had most of it’s goodness processed out. A diet with lots of fresh vegetables & fruits, including leafy greens, citrus & yummy Vitamin A-rich sweet potatoes, healthy protein & fats is vital for skin health.

Foods known to be inflammatory, like sugar, dairy & gluten can contribute to skin conditions like acne or rosacea. Limiting these foods could help to improve inflammation in the skin.

Food intolerances & allergies can also impact the skin. I once had a client with severe, red, inflamed acne that was not improving with home care or treatments or avoiding known inflammatory foods. She eventually had an allergy test completed to discover that she was highly allergic to her favorite food – tomatoes! What she thought was a healthy choice, was actually the cause of her issue. She took them out of her diet & eventually healed to the beautiful, clear, even-toned skin she had dreamed of.

Certain medications & more socially accepted ‘drugs’ like caffeine, tobacco & alcohol can also have a detrimental affect on the skin. They are generally dehydrating & can deplete nutrients that allow the skin to perform well. Thankfully, smoking seems to be less fashionable these days. Smoking, among other things, reduces blood cell’s ability to carry oxygen to the cells. This will result in skin that is dull & gray, & unable to function normally.

Not eating a well balanced diet of more whole foods will also affect our digestion & elimination. Poor digestion means that crucial nutrients are not making their way to our skin’s cells. Poor elimination means that waste from our food remains longer in our bodies which leads to the possibility of toxins building up. Not to mention the fact that we just feel blah.

S L E E P | Who amongst us doesn’t enjoy a goodnight’s sleep? To wake up feeling refreshed & rejuvenated is such an amazing feeling! It’s more than just a recharge for our minds & bodies though. The natural cycle of life, otherwise known as Circadian Rhythms {which is what BLOOM’s preferred skincare line, Circadia by Dr Pugliese is based on}, uses the time that we are sleeping to repair & restore our bodies. Cells are cleaned up, old or damaged cells are replaced, muscles are repaired. Bodies that don’t get enough rest perform more sluggishly, because they haven’t had their ‘Catch Up Time’. Blood & Lymph Circulation is reduced – so less nutrients & oxygen are delivered to the skin, & toxins & cellular debris are left to sit longer. It’s also why we get dark circles under our eyes when we are tired. The skin is thinner in the eye area & blood that is not circulating well pools there. Our metabolism rate is decreased meaning energy for new cell production is at a minimum. So, friends, we can say hello to that gray-caste again…

W A T E R | Oh, the pure essence of life! Water makes up about 60% of our body content. That’s huge! Lack of water in our bodies can present in many ways. High blood pressure, headaches, constipation, brain fog {just to name a few} which can all then lead to other issues. Our blood, & lymph, need high water contents to flow readily so they can deliver, & collect, nutrients & waste as they are meant to. All cells of the body need water to function correctly. Cells that produce collagen, cells that generate new skin cells must be well hydrated to produce quality cells. Our skins are the last place that water makes its way to when we consume it, which is why it is so important to be sure to drink ample water & to be sure our skins have adequate oil flow/ nourishment to ensure we can keep as much moisture as possible in!

S K I N C A R E | In past posts I have touched on the importance of proper skin care. What you do at home on a daily basis has the most impact, the same as brushing your teeth on the daily beats a six monthly cleaning at the dentist on it’s own. Skincare is very personalized, & it’s a delicate science. For example, just because you have breakouts, doesn’t always mean you have excess oil & using product for oily skin or breakouts may only make the breakouts worse. It’s important, especially if you are struggling with a particular issue, to consult a professional. Estheticians are trained to understand the skin so that we can find & treat the cause, rather than just treating the symptoms. Professional skin care treatments help to intensify the results & target specific concerns, by using products that are more concentrated with active ingredients – think peels, enzymes, occlusive masks, intensive treatments like Circadia’s SWiCH Dermal Rejuvenation or the Oxygen Rx & even electrical modalities like LED light, microcurrent or high frequency. Facial massage, that’s included in most skin care treatments at BLOOM, is sooo beneficial. Massage increases circulation of blood & lymph, improves muscle tone, relaxes & helps ingredients penetrate the skin more effectively. Skin care treatments also allow us to evaluate how your home care is working for your skin. We may need to tweak or change certain products as your concerns improve or change.

Sometimes, even when we have all of these factors that we can control in alignment, we still experience issues with our skin. Sometimes our skin feels out of control. Breakouts – sometimes in areas other than our faces, unwanted hair & subsequent ingrown hairs, pigmentation. You know where I’m going – Hormones. What do we do when our hormones are wreaking havoc on our skins? Stay tuned – that’s a whole other post!