Great skin without trying!

beijaflores loves you: Nom. Nom. Nom... Is your skin getting hungry?

Ok, so the title for this post may not be something you naturally think of when it comes to my blog. "What? The girl thats all about ethics is talking about skin care?"

Well. Yes. Yes I am.

That said, what I want to talk to you about has nothing to do with cosmetics or collagen. It's about adopting a healthy lifestyle that will (I promise) improve your skin.

1. Drink at least 2 litres of water a day:
The worst thing you can do for your skin is be dehydrated. If you aren't drinking enough, your skin gets flaky and blotchy and spotty. It can also contribute to those dark circles under your eyes- Eek! But a warning: pace yourself. We can only absorb something like 500ml of water per hour, so don't bother drinking a litre first thing in the morning and nothing until dinner- spread it throughout the day.

2. Stop thinking and go to bed:
Dark circles, stress lines, pale skin... Anyone else been there? Not getting enough sleep is for the body what running on an empty tank is for a car. When you're tired you have less energy for your body to heal and renew. Staying up all night worrying leads to stress, which equals spots and lines (not to mention being horrible all on its very own). Your body will always reflect your state of mind, and bad skin can be a reflection of how your feeling. Try to switch off. Rest.

3. Eat more vegetables:
Bringing more fruit and veggies into your diet will make your skin clearer.Try really, really hard (even if you don't like it) to get more greens in your diet. That is all.

4. Get some sunshine:
With the current Western lifestyle and our fear of sunspots and wrinkles, we (Australians included) spend far too much time indoors. Aside from being disconnected from our environment, research is finding that a number of people, women in particular, are Vitamin D deficient, which is being linked to all kinds of health problems. While I encourage you to be sun smart, do me a favour and GO OUTSIDE! Your body, and your skin needs the sun.

5. Make sweet skin love to Rosehip Oil:
Oh Rosehip Oil! You are the butter to my bread, the sun to my sky... This stuff is, essentially, the bomb. A drop of rosehip oil is like a magic eraser on your scarring, it's life-giving to dry skin. I massage a few drops on my face about once a week for a nourishing treatment and I wouldn't do without it. You can thank me later.

6. Follow Jamie Oliver's lead and add a dash of olive oil to...everything:
Since the crazes of high carb-no fat, high protein-no fat, high celery-no fat dieting came about, we've had an unnatural and uncalled for fear of oils. All oil. While we should definitely avoid some fats, too many of us are missing out on the nutrients provided by good oil. Olive, avocado, linseed, grapeseed, nuts... We need these to maintain a healthy lifestyle and have a complete diet. They are essential for balanced skin.

Still want more?
For those of you that still seek a good moisturiser and cosmetic range, look for products that are free from petrochemicals (they're the nasty things that dry your skin out and burn your eyes). Re: making ethical decisions about your purchases, check out a couple of recent posts about the ethical consumer guide and App available. If a product makes your skin itch or burn, or where your eyes become red and sore, don't use it. Even if you look super pretty. Don't use it. Understand?

The above is basically all there is to my skin care routine I go through phases of cleansing and moisturising twice a day, and phases where I don't moisturise for a month. I really think that lifestyle matters a lot more than an expensive bottle of moisturiser. Try something on this list. Just one. And let me know how you go.

Kate xx