1. Sea Salt
Sea salt is a beautiful cleanser and exfoliant. You donʼt need much else! Use sea salt to cleanse your skin at least once a day, either dissolved in a bowl of good quality water or just mixed with a little water in the palm of your hand. Sea salt can be quite coarse so if you donʼt fully dissolve the salt it will exfoliate your skin too. This is great if you donʼt have any active inflammations (i.e.pimples). I keep a jar of raw organic celtic sea salt in my shower. When Iʼm salt cleansing I dissolve a little with water in the palm of my hand and use it to both cleanse and exfoliate my skin at the same time. While using this method my skin improved dramatically - my skin tone evened out, my blackheads and whiteheads cleared up and I got less breakouts.
Itʼs important to choose good salt!
There is such a thing as good and bad salts, so make sure you invest in a good one. Celtic Sea Salt and Himalayan Crystal Salt are the best, and make sure theyʼre organic. I always opt for the sea salt because I feel like Iʼm recreating the healing powers of the ocean.
Lemon Salt Scrub
To make a great facial scrub, mix enough fresh lemon juice and sea salt together to make a paste. Then gently scrub and exfoliate as you apply. Rinse off with warm water.
To make a great facial scrub, mix enough fresh lemon juice and sea salt together to make a paste. Then gently scrub and exfoliate as you apply. Rinse off with warm water.
2. Medicinal Honey
Medicinal honeys - Manuka honey,Jelly bush honey and Manuka oils are amazing healers! All Manuka roducts come from the Manuka tree which is native to New Zealand. I prefer to work with the honey ecause it has added healing powers. However some prefer to use the oil on the skin because it isnʼt so sticky. Medicinal honeys are anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal making them very powerful and very versatile. When purchasing medicinal honey, make sure it has a Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) or Unique Leptospermum Factor (ULF) of at least 16+. This is a measure of how antibacterial the honey is. In my experiments with using honey, anything less than 16+ is not effective enough. I personally use Jelly bush honey because itʼs native to Australia and is equally as powerful as Manuka.Medicinal honey as a spot treatment.
To use medicinal honey as a spot treatment,simply dab the honey or the oil on the inflammation,cut or scar and leave on overnight while sleeping. It will rapidly speed up the healing process. You can also mix a little cinnamon powder or cinnamon oil with the honey or oil to heighten the anti-bacterial powers (and possibly make the honey a little less sticky!).
Medicinal honey as a mask.
The honey used as a mask can very quickly improve the quality of the skin making it a great product for anti-aging. Simply apply the honey to your skin and leave on for at least 10-20 minutes (the longer the better). Try this every day for two weeks. You will be blown away by the results.
Medicinal honey as a cleanser.
You can even use medicinal honey as a great cleanser. In fact, I highly recommend it and itʼs what I personally use. I love it because itʼs so incredibly natural, extremely hydrating and very antibacterial. Which is especially great for acne prone sensitive skin, but great of course for all skin types too. I keep a jar of Jelly bush honey in my shower and use it every morning, then usually use the mask in the evening if I have a bath which doubles up as a cleanser. Honey is water soluble so will is not sticky when you use it with water. In fact itʼs incredibly easy and luscious to use. Itʼs also cleansing enough to remove mineral makeup.
3. Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera will speed up the healing process of scabs, scars and burns significantly. It is a natural anti-inflammatory so will reduce the redness, irritation and inflammation of the skin. Fresh is obviously better so keep some aloe in your garden or in a pot if you can. The gels however are still really powerful. I actually keep both fresh plants and bottled gels!Aloe Vera and the sun.Fresh Aloe Vera picked straight off the plant can be used as a natural light sunblock. Itʼs also very powerful at healing burns, including sunburn. For both sun protection and healing sunburn, you will need to use the fresh gel picked directly from the plant. Remember to apply liberally.
Fresh aloe vera as a mask.Aloe Vera contains natural Salicylic Acid so will gently exfoliate your pores when used regularly as a mask. imply break off a leaf of the plant, slice it open and paste the gel over your face. Leave on until dry then wash off with warm water or leave on overnight which is even better!
Aloe gel to heal scabs.
Iʼve found bottled aloe vera gel to speed up the healing process of scabs significantly. Simply apply a thick layer to the scab whenever you can. If the scab is facial you may wish to do this just overnight. You can also mix in a little paw-paw gel for an even more powerful scab healer.
4. Lemon
This guide would not be complete of course without the amazing lemon. I use lemons daily both in side and out. Every morning I drink the juice of two lemons (mixed with a lot of water and MSM). And very evening I use lemon juice on my skin topically to fade acne scars if I have them. You can just imagine how many lemons I buy at my local organic farmers market each week! Drinking lemon water is just one way of helping support healthy liver function. A healthy liver usually means healthy skin. Using lemon juice topically on the skin is great! Itʼs a natural Alpha Hydroxyl Acid (AHA) which basically means it does a great job at very gently exfoliating the skin (so great for blackheads and whiteheads).Lemon juice to fade acne scars.
Lemon juice can be used as a skin lightener which means it will also help to fade acne pigmentation scars. Simply apply organic lemon juice to your scars once or twice a day after cleansing. The usual practice is to wash it off after 15 minutes, but if it doesnʼt irritate your skin you can leave it on. If the lemon juice makes your skin itch, apply a coating of aloe vera gel over the top. This itch is usually due to dry skin so make sure you stay moisturized and hydrated.
5. Oxygen & Sunshine!
The absolute best my skin ever looks and feels is after a run or skate. Iʼm sure it has a lot to do with the extra oxygen Iʼm pumping through my body by getting my heart rate up, and the sunshine from being outdoors.Oxygen
Your skin and body needs good quality oxygen to stay healthy. Take for example the cell turnaround of skin. Normally skin renews itself roughly every 28 days, however if thereʼs not enough oxygen to support new cell growth, it can take a lot longer. More oxygen in your body also means more healing oxygen is sent to your skin. So get as much oxygen into your body as you can. The absolute best way to get this oxygen in is by exercising. So go down to the park and run around until you fall over!
Sunshine
To me the sun is like a little kiss from heaven. Itʼs warm, healing and if you get just the right amount, it can make your skin glow. Itʼs incredibly important to get direct sunlight on the skin. I aim for around 0-20 minutes per day but it will depend on the tone of your skin and where your little place on the planet is. If you have very fair skin you also may need to “train” your skin. You can do this by applying coconut oil to your skin and starting off with just ten minutes maximum each time youʼre out in the sun. Gradually ease in to a longer time, but make sure you avoid sunburn!! Itʼs also very important to get direct sunlight, not sunlight through glass. Getting direct sunlight will create Vitamin D in your body, while sunlight through glass will in fact destroy it.