In 2022 if your rent hasn’t gone up, your electricity bills have. Or if your petrol hasn’t gone up, your bus fare has. And when did we start paying $7 for a takeaway coffee?! Cost of living pressures mean that there’s less money in the bank for non-essential items. But to me, skin care is health care, which means it’s essential. That doesn’t mean that it has to be expensive. So, in today’s blog article I’m going to tell you how to help your skin – without breaking the bank.
You know that saying, the best things in life are free? Well, when it comes to your skin, that’s kinda true. Good skin starts with good pillars of health – I’m talking things like solid, restful sleep, good hydration levels, good nourishment and daily movement. Without these essentials in place, your skin will suffer. We need beauty sleep to help our skin repair and regenerate. Water helps hydrate and nourish our skin and ensures that trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) is minimised, so your skin barrier stays healthy. Movement gets our lymphatic system working, so waste products aren’t left to detoxify and excrete through the skin. Nourishment builds the foundations of how our skin cells are fed, which is the core of cellular function; poor functioning cells = poor functioning skin. Trust me when I say you won’t have a glowing complexion if your skin is busy trying to excrete last night’s margaritas or if your cells are trying to work with a bunch of transfats as fuel!
The next thing to look at is your grocery list. Instead of spending money on things that make your acne / eczema worse (hello chocolate, coffee and processed foods), tip the balance in favour of fresh produce. Fresh is best girl, and the more colourful the food, the better. This is because brighter foods tend to have more antioxidants like polyphenols and other nutritious compounds, so when it comes to say salad greens, opt for dark kale and bright green spinach instead of iceberg lettuce. Of course, organic produce is always the preference – for both their nutrition content but also the lack of chemicals – but I totally get that this isn’t always cheap. The ones that really matter in regards to being organic are the ones that have a higher water content and no skin to protect them; think celery, cucumber, leafy greens. Most health food stores have weekly specials (I’ve been buying massive bunches of organic celery for $4.50 at my local organic store), so stock up when you see a good special. Sign up to their mailing lists to get the best deals. Oh, and remember how easy it is to regrow some of these vegies - celery is my favourite for this! Just chop off the base, let it sprout in water for a little bit then throw it in the ground and get at least 5 more bunches of celery from having just bought one!
Skin care is another important one, which truly doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective. $200 moisturisers mean you’re paying for advertising budgets and fancy packaging, with a supermodel to star in the campaigns. Just because it’s cost a fortune, It doesn’t necessarily mean that the skin care is good. So how do you know? Look at the ingredient list. If there are names on there that you don’t understand, put it back on the shelf. Our skin doesn’t need (or want) synthetic preservatives, fragrances, emulsifiers or fillers. Keep it simple, and your skin will thank you for it.
If you have a skin condition and can’t afford 1:1 support, I’ve got you girl. On my website you’ll find so many free resources where you can learn about your skin and what to do about it. I’m talking free Masterclasses, stacks of reading material, and my exclusive Naturopathic Skin Appraisal where you can find out what’s driving your skin condition. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to be the first to know when I’m releasing another free Masterclass – I’ve got another one in the works and I know you’re going to love it.
Now for my last tip; this is one area where you really don’t want to skimp girl. I’m talking about omega-3s, in the form of fish oil. Essential fatty acids in fish oil, namely EPA, are one of the fundamental ingredients our skin cells needs to work. We also need essential fatty acids to be able to create a healthy cell membrane, which is the foundation of a normal functioning cell Cheap, bulk buckets of fish oil are likely oxidised and rancid, which when ingested creates even more inflammation for your skin. Cheap fish oil is also cheap for a reason; they’re usually lacking in the active constituents (DHA and EPA) which are the chemicals that actually do something for your skin. If you’re taking 1g of fish oil per capsule and you can’t account for at least half of that amount being in the form of actives, then it’s not going to help anything. High quality (and yes, more expensive) fish oils have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and are likely assessed to a higher standard for heavy metal contamination. Please, please, please don’t be enticed by Costco-sized buckets at Chemist Warehouse! And if you want to know more about why I’m so big on fish oil, check out one of those free Masterclasses I mentioned - The Nutrition for Skin Masterclass.
Remember, skin care doesn’t have to be expensive. Invest wisely in a healthy lifestyle, choose products for their ingredient list – not their marketing – and save some money for supplements that matter.
Much love,
Em (Founder, Naturopath, Skin-thusiast)
