10 natural remedies for spots and acne

1 Don’t eat rubbish!
The skin is an organ of elimination so if your diet is high in mucus producing things like salt, sugar, alcohol, poor quality fats (good oils we need), additives, dairy products caffeine, etc. your skin will need to work overtime to clear all your internal mucus.

2 Drink lots of water
This can be hot, warm or cold. Making sure that you are well hydrated helps the kidneys and the bowel eliminate toxicity so your skin doesn’t need to work so hard. It also stops your skin from becoming dehydrated and flaky.

3 Eat lots of fibre
Eating foods such as whole grains and vegetables that are high in fibre encourages the bowel to work well. If the bowel is working efficiently then toxicity is able to leave the body. However if your diet is lacking in fibre the bowel will be sluggish and other routes of elimination, such as the skin, will become over worked.

4 Eat less bread
For some people cutting out or reducing bread can make a huge difference to their bowel and therefore to their skin. Bread is high in gluten which tends to clog the bowel and make us feel sluggish and bloated. Spots across the forehead can indicate that the bowel is congested.

5 Get your lymphatic system working well
Gets your lymph moving to clear toxicity and improve your skin. The lymph doesn’t have its own pump so it depends upon the movement of our muscles and circulation. Anything that causes the skin to flush will help.

Try working up a little bit of a sweat every day or body brushing with a dry brush before showering. This not only encourages the movement of the lymph it also removes dead skin cells and keeps the skin clear. Or try turning the water from warm to cool a few times at the end of your daily shower.

6 Keep your hands away from your face
Picking and squeezing spots only makes them worse and can cause scarring but touching your face at any time is generally not a good idea. Dirt from your hands can easily be transferred to your skin and cause spots. If you get patches of spots in particular areas it may be because you are touching your face more than you realise.

Sitting at a desk you might rest your head in your hands or touch your chin when you’re thinking. This is often the case with students and school children or anyone who works at a keyboard. Cleansing your face after work, school or college can help as well as making a conscious effort not to touch your face unless you need to.

7 Use natural skin care
Good quality natural skin care is made with plant oils which have molecules that are small enough to be absorbed into the skin. Other products are made with petrochemicals that sit on the surface of the skin and block the pores which can lead to spots and blackheads.

However other unnecessary chemicals may be absorbed in to your body so stick to products that are free from toxic ingredients like parabens, SLS, triclosan and synthetic fragrance.

8 Protect your skin’s acid mantle
Our skin has a fine protective covering which is known as the acid mantle. If you use cleansers that leave your skin feeling tight and uncomfortable then the acid mantle has been damaged. The skin will either over produce sebum, which can lead to spots and blemishes, or will become too dry.

Many manufacturers will claim that their product is pH balanced to work in harmony with the acid mantle but let your skin decide. If after using it, your skin feels taut and dry then it’s damaging the acid mantle and is best avoided.

9 If your skin’s oily - give it some oil!
This seems like a very strange concept but it works. If we use harsh cleansers that strip our skin of its natural oils (see no 8) it will simply produce more. By using a treatment oil as a moisturiser your skin will feel comfortable and will start to produce only the oil that it needs.

10 Use naturally antibacterial skin care
There are certain natural plant oils that are known to fight the bacteria that cause spots and there is one oil in particular which we have found to be quite extraordinary. Manuka essential oil is a little known oil from New Zealand.

Its properties are similar to Tea Tree but it is clinically proven to be much more effective against bacteria and less drying to the skin. It often comes combined with Manuka Honey which helps skin to heal without becoming dry and therefore greatly reduces the chances of a scar forming.

Essential Care organic lip balm review

Lip Silk Essential Care lip balm is just the most amazing lip balm I've ever tried. It's soothing and healing, keeps your lips feeling supple, it lasts brilliantly and it tastes great. Lip Silk stays on well through eating and drinking and I think it's the best protection against those cold winter winds. It's also certified organic so there's no nasty chemicals to worry about.

I used Lip Silk for the first time a couple of weeks ago at the onset of a cold sore. My lips healed really quickly without the usual messy, weeping scab that usually accompanies the irritating tingle and general nerve pain. Any fellow cold sore sufferers will know what a joy they are.

One of the problems with cold sores is that as they heal the skin dries out. So when you smile your lip splits open and the whole healing process needs to begin again.

However, if you can keep the skin supple the cold sore will be able to heal and you can smile without falling apart. Which is always a bonus. Who wants to look grumpy and scabby!

I started using Essential Care lip balm at the first tingle and whenever I felt that my lips were getting a bit dry I would slap some more on. However it does last incredibly well so I wasn't applying it that often. I'd put some on last thing at night and my lips would still feel nourished and silky in the morning. Not stuck together so that they split as soon as you open your mouth! (a common cold sore phenomenon).

My cold sore didn't amount to much and healed completely within just 4 days. I think this was largely due to the nourishing and healing ingredients in the lip balm and the fact that my lips didn't split once.

Lip Silk has a rich base of shea butter and calendula and a slight taste of orange essential oil. It also contains rosemary essential oil which helps skin regenerate. At £4.50 it's not the cheapest lip balm on the market but it works so well that I think it's worth every penny.

free gift from Living Nature

Sorry - this offer has now expired.
Living Nature are feeling very generous at this time of year. Probably something to do with them being in the glorious New Zealand sunshine, where as we are plummeting headlong towards the shortest day of the year.

Anyway, whatever the reason, if you spend just £25 on their delicious Manuka honey skin care products or 100% natural make up you get a Living Nature "Nature's Gift" set worth a whopping £28.

Nature's Gift is a very smart, black canvas zip up bag packed with a selection of Living Nature's most popular products:

• Vitalising Cleanser 50 ml
  
• Hydrating Gel 50 ml
  
• Hydrating Gel Mask 5 ml
  
• Firming Flax Cream 2 ml
  
• Lip Balm 10 ml

If you order over £25 of Living Nature products from our web site you'll automatically receive a Nature's Gift pack ......... while stocks last of course but don't worry, we'll let you know as soon as they've all been snapped up!