Supporting the body to release acne

Today I want to talk to you about some of the ways to support working through releasing acne from your body. And we're not going to talk today about the skincare aspects of acne, but really focus on some of the supplementary or the complementary aspects of acne. This is a two part process: looking at the unconscious conversation and dialogue that we have with ourselves about our skin, and then also some supportive nutritional recommendations for dealing with acne from the inside. 

The first consideration regards your belief system, and what you say to yourself, as that’s what you project and continue to put into your reality moving forward. Try this for yourself: go to  a mirror, and notice what you see about yourself and then hear the dialogue that happens when you see these things. Most of us tend to look in the mirror and we notice what we don't like first and then we start picking on ourselves regarding what it is that we don't love about ourselves. And so if you're saying things like:

“I hate that my skin looks this way.”

“Why bother with eating healthy and taking extra care.”

“Nothing works, it's still a mess.”

“My skin is terrible.”

I really want to get clear that  these ideas have been imprinted on your unconscious, and then ripple through the effects of your body. And so, we want to really acknowledge those things. Write down the top ten things you say about your skin. 

Then implement a  three part affirmation phase: acknowledge things that you're saying that have been not supportive, and neutralize what you’re saying by then putting something really powerful in its place. So you could say something like “ I love and honor my skin in the process it’s in right now, and I will continue to show love to my skin as I deepen my connection with myself and my body, and I know that my love and my comes from within, and allow that to shine through no matter what my skin is going through.” This is a really beautiful affirmation that you can share your pain if you have acne. I recommend that you say this three times where you want to cancel out what you said. The first time will neutralize any side effects of negative dialogue. The second will affirm this new notion and then third is where a new belief system is projected to reality. 

So, then we want to really look into our body at the level of communication. Remember that your skin is an excretory organ for your liver, your large intestine and your lungs. And so, we want to understand that it is valuable for us to take a look at what might be going on in these organs if  we're going to create some balance and harmony so  the skin doesn't have to project acne. 

I tend to focus on the liver, that's the big one. I recommend a protocol for eliminating certain foods out of your diet for 60 days, after which you slowly reintroduce the foods individually all while you have this communication practice when you add them back in. You wait one at a time, you wait a couple days, and you see how your body feels and you really check in and you ask your body. How is, how is. You do each food one at a time over the course of a few days and take the time to check in and ask yourself questions like:

How is my body odor?

How is my energy level? 

How is my digestion?

How is my mood?

In this process, you  journal how you're healing from these differences to make note of what might support you, what is more neutral for you and what actually might be causing irritation for your skin. There are some basic foods that we want to avoid because they affect the liver in a way that can cause acne. We want to support the liver so it does not become overwhelmed by viruses and bacteria. Try eliminating all artificial sweeteners, dairy, corn, citric acid, canola oil, chicken and egg. I recommend stopping these for 60 days and notice how you're feeling. 

I just got a really beautiful letter from a friend of mine, she's been on the protocol for about three weeks. She’s been trying to lose ten pounds for about two years, since her baby was born. She adopted this regimen for her skin not really considering how it could affect her weight, just noticing the changes from the absence of the different foods. She noticed the shifts in her body, and when she got on a scale after three weeks she had lost the ten pounds, and she’s feeling really good about that. This isn’t specifically a weight loss program, but the elimination of these foods can certainly work toward that goal as well.

And then I like to focus on the lymphatic system since it is crucial for detoxification and movement in the body.  I have two processes I use; the first is dry brushing.  A natural bristle brush is preferred. For best results, I like a cactus bristle brush.  You're also going to first apply essential oils to your skin. This isn’t recommended by many, but that’s what I like. If it's your preference to stick with carrier oil, go for it, but I like essential oils.  Citrus oils like grapefruit and lemon are really fantastic. These oils have a phototoxic effect, so you cannot wear them on your body and then go out into the sun. You can also work with peppermint, ginger and rosemary as those are my other favorite oils for lymph. I like to kind of put them down the side of my neck, in  my armpits,  just on the inside of my arm, inside of my thighs, and around my ankle. I massage those essential oils in and then I take the dry brush and brush towards my heart. 

The second lymphatic activator that I like to work with is hot and cold showers. Spend a few minutes in the cold shower drenching your entire body with the cold water. 

And then, after a couple of minutes, change the water to warm for a couple of minutes. This back and forth between hot and cold water causes traction and a release in the body. It’s like an exercise for your body, because everything is attracting and then releasing, and this creates that pumping sensation in the body that allows the lymphatic fluid to start moving. 

And then last, hydration. I recommend drinking a lot of water when you have acne, especially first thing in the morning when you wake up. I recommend 30 minutes before you do anything else to drink 16-32 ounces of room temperature water with lemon. This way, the first thing you do in your day is to flush the toxins from the liver that have now accumulated while you were resting. I’ve been making this really beautiful tea with peppermint, sage, lemon balm, garlic and if you consume honey then you can add that as well. Drink about a half a gallon of this tea a day. I love the herbs in this tea and their ability to support the body, and their ability to aid the release of acne. Remember your body is always a tool for communication, its upsets are showing you that there's something going on inside of it that isn’t aligning for you, and doesn’t support your full vitality and energy. We want to do things very gently and simply. We want to receive guidance from within, so we can learn to understand what our body's asking for and learn how to have that internal dialogue so we can respond more powerfully on an instinctual level.