Hello.
Welcome to my corner of the internet where I hope to inspire you to nourish yourself in your pursuit of clear, healthy skin, as well as supporting you through motherhood
Welcome to my corner of the internet where I hope to inspire you to nourish yourself in your pursuit of clear, healthy skin, as well as supporting you through motherhood
Hi friend, I'm so glad you're here! Thank you for trusting me to help guide you on the path to healthy skin. The following steps are things I talk about with every client when we start working together, they can be so impactful.
DRINK WATER! I’m sure you knew this one already, but we all could use some reminding to drink more water every day. The average adults body is 50-65% water, at least it should be! Every cell in our body needs water, but our skin is low on the priority list. This means that if we’re not consuming enough water our skin is missing out. A big indicator of hydration is the texture of your lips. Are they cracked and dry? Do you keep putting on lip balm and it barely makes a difference? You are probably dehydrated. Are your lips soft and smooth? Keep on rockin’ because most likely your water game is strong.
Now you may be wondering how much water to drink. A good rule of thumb is half your body weight in ounces per day. So if your 140lbs aim for 70oz of water a day at a minimum. Add more to your minimum if you: sweat, are breastfeeding, drink coffee, drink alcohol. I am 125lbs, breastfeeding, drink coffee most mornings, and have an occasional glass of wine in the evenings. I drink about 84oz of water every day.
Okay, I can hear you, “but I don’t want to pee all day!” I get it! If you’re drinking more water and its just running through you, you might need to add some electrolytes or minerals. This can easily be done by adding lemon, cucumber, quality salt, or an electrolyte powder. I am a big fan of Redmond for the last two options so much so that I asked them for a coupon code for you! Just type in code graceholistic at check out! I have noticed a huge difference when I include one of these options in my water. Play around and see what works best for you and your body.
One last thing about water: quality is important. Unfortunately, our tap water is not great. Get an idea of what’s in yours by typing in your zip code on the EWG Tap Water Database. The best filters I have found and LOVE are the Berkey Filter Systems.
Wash your face EVERY night! Don’t go to bed with a dirty face, even if you didn’t put on makeup, there is still gunk from the day on your face. Sorry if it sounds gross but it’s the easiest way to put it. Our skin does its best repair work while we sleep (remember that term beauty sleep?) If it is clogged with makeup, dirt, dust, excess oils, contaminates from pollution, etc. it can’t breathe and its harder for it to do its job. Gunk + cellular debris + dead skin cells can get built up clogging things up more leading to rough texture and breakouts.
My favorite is oil cleansing because it helps preserve the skin’s microbiome, balance oil production, remove all the gunk (sorry just going to keep using this word), and makeup IN ONE STEP. Can I get a hallelujah?! Everything softens when you remove the oil with a steamy washcloth AND no annoying water running down your arm making a mess on the counter. It’s the best in my opinion. If you’re in the market for a new cleanser I have a couple available in my shop.
Another little secret while we’re talking about cleansing… I don’t wash my face in the mornings. Just a little splash or rinse with water then on to hydrating and moisturizing.
Swap your moisturizer and creams for oils and balms paired with a hydrating mist. Moisturizers, lotions, and creams are all mixtures of oil and water ingredients. Now this isn’t necessarily bad because our skin needs oil and water, but when we have oil and water together in a product, we need emulsifiers and preservatives to keep the product safe and thoroughly combined. Emulsifiers and preservatives are not our skin’s best friends though. If you apply a facial oil or balm after a hydrating mist you will get the oil and water your skin needs without all the extra stuff. My personal regime: mist with hydrating mist, massage in three drops of oil. At night or days when I’m feeling a little dry, I like to add one more layer of hydrating mist and a layer of balm.
Maintain a healthy gut by taking a quality probiotic, eating probiotic rich foods, ensuring your diet is full of whole, real foods, and removing refined sugars/ultra-processed foods. A lot of skin issues are rooted in the gut. When there is an imbalance of good to bad bacteria or an overgrowth of yeast it can affect our whole system. Did you know that most of our serotonin is made in the gut? This is the neurotransmitter known for the role it plays in feelings of well-being and happiness. But, when we don’t have enough of the beneficial bacteria that produce serotonin we run the risk of low serotonin, making it more difficult to feel those feel good happy feelings.
If you feel like probiotics don’t agree with you, you may be in a state of dysbiosis. A great way to asses the status of your gut is to do a probiotic challenge, basically increasing your dose of probiotics over a 12 day span and tracking the results. Learn more about it here! I’d love to help guide you through!
Aside from supporting the microbiome, we also want to support the gut lining. This can take a hit from stress, inflammatory foods, medications, etc., and a weakened gut lining can lead to leaky gut. Rosacea is one skin condition heavily tied to leaky gut, but I have also seen acne cases flare with this as well, especially cystic acne. This is one of the main reasons why I encourage you to consume bone broth on a regular basis, the collagen and gelatin in the broth help to strengthen and build up gut integrity. I have had multiple clients benefit from bringing in a supplemental support such as the Naturally Nourished GI Lining support.
Move your body! Even if its just going on a 30-minute walk, try to incorporate movement into your daily routine. I’m sure you know how exercise is important to overall health, and if you’re supporting your overall health, you’re supporting healthy skin! Gentle movement, like walking, stretching, or even bouncing on a rebounder (a mini trampoline) can help activate the lymphatic system and move stagnated fluid. Improved circulation will help bring fresh blood to skin cells with oxygen and nutrients and taking a break to move your body will refresh your mind helping you release tension in your facial muscles. Bonus points for getting outside and exposing your skin to the natural light and/or getting your bare feet in the grass!
Of course, there are more things you can do to support vibrant skin, the five I listed are just my basic starting points. With many of these steps, you may even notice an improvement in your overall health, mental clarity, and perhaps even quality of sleep. Our body is one whole system with so many working parts that are all connected. It is so important that we keep that in mind as we work to improve the skin, just applying topical products will only get us so far and might not address the actual cause of symptoms.
As always please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. I’d love to meet with you for a free consultation or if you are ready to deep dive into your skin wellness apply for a free discovery session and my group program here! I am here to support YOU!
Xo Ashley
