An Inspirational Quote
“If you feel loved you remain healthy and make healthy choices. If you are not, your chances of having a major illness and being an addict of some sort by midlife are over 90 percent.”
Bernie Siegel, author, Love, Medicine and Miracles
Growing up in Savannah, Georgia, my earliest memories of what it meant to become an attractive woman were shaped by accompanying my mother on her weekly trips to the local beauty parlour.
I remember being bored out of my mind while she sat, seemingly forever, with her locks rolled in pink curlers under the helmet-shaped hair dryer. She sat patiently while the stylist combed her curls and sprayed her head with sticky aerosol to glue her looks in place for another week. “It’s painful to be beautiful,” she used to say to me.
Flash forward about 40 years.
Today, I have learned that a lot of things we women do to try to look attractive are not only painful, but potentially deadly. And I’m not just talking about overly strict dieting or over-exercising – I’m talking about what we women put on our skin, hair and nails. For more inspiration, I encourage everyone to listen to our recent interview with Kim Erickson, author of Drop-Dead Gorgeous: Protecting Yourself From the Hidden Dangers of Cosmetics at this link: https://www.totalfitness.net/radio_show_past_shows.htm
Over the years, I have had many clients who owned spas, gave facials and sold cosmetics. They were all well-meaning women who truly wanted to help their customers look and feel better about themselves. Unfortunately they had little understanding that many of the products they were selling were actually causing breakouts, contributing to their customers’ total toxic load, and even interfering with their own ability to reduce body fat.
A simple fact to remember: You hold toxins in your fat cells. Understanding this fact, why would you ever want to eat aspartame, consume food laced with artificial hormones, or slather chemicals on your skin that your body can’t process?
These professionals would bring their products to me and I would test them using kinesiology. Although I had studied the chemical effects of these substances, it was actually testing the cleansers, toners, and supposed “miracle” creams myself that made me a believer in the importance of organic cosmetics.
With kinesiology, I can test how any substance affects a person’s liver, kidneys or any other organ. When you smear anything on your skin, your body absorbs that substance into your bloodstream and into your organs. That’s why medical doctors can prescribe hormone creams or patches. When I began testing cosmetics, I quickly saw that the majority of what is being marketed is actually toxic. It’s a new kind of pain to realize that the $100 product you thought was going to erase your wrinkles is actually clogging your liver. Many products work like colored wall filler – they literally fill in the wrinkles on your face, and do nothing to restore the health of your skin cells – they just pollute and suffocate them with a toxic plastic-like substance. A colleague of mine had told me that many of her clients were not able to achieve their ideal size until they gave up their toxic personal care products.
Being a true Southern woman and an unapologetic girly girl, I am not about to give up my beauty regime and walk around au naturel. I just chose the healthiest products I can find and I have noticed an improvement in my own complexion. I still love to receive manicures and pedicures, but now I ask the technicians to buff my nails instead of painting them with toxic polishes.
Realizing that we women are still going to try to become more beautiful than we already are, here are my suggestions for naturally beautiful skin:
Drink enough water. Many of our clients are chronically dehydrated. If you are not properly hydrated, you can’t release toxins out of your cells. Your skin is 70 percent water and reflects your level of hydration. Your complexion will be clearer when you drink 5oz spring water for every 10Ibs of body weight
Keep your colon moving. Your skin is your largest organ of detoxification, but your detoxification system also includes your large intestine, liver and kidneys. Consider colonics or enemas.
Make sure you are getting enough essential fatty acids. The side effects of adequate fish oil consumption include shiny hair and glowing skin. Healthy fats are essential for beautiful, shiny and manageable hair.
Drink fresh vegetable juice daily. Although I understood the many benefits of juicing, what actually convinced me to start making my own juice every day was reading a testimonial from a doctor whose women clients who juiced still had beautiful skin into their 70s.
Eat unprocessed organic food. Lower your toxic load by choosing the cleanest diet possible free of hormones, artificial colourings and chemical additives. Remember that organic junk foods are no healthier than non-organic ones.
Use a mini trampoline to improve your circulation. Although many forms of exercise increase the circulation of blood and lymph, bouncing is one of the best for exercising and detoxifying the cells. If you have foot, knee, back or neck problems then go for a brisk walk instead.
Meditate and practice yoga. One of the most inspiring things about going to yoga conventions is meeting fellow yoginis – you can’t tell how old they are! Contrast this with meeting tri-athletes – they often look tired.
Ask me to test your personal care products. If you are unsure how your cosmetics are affecting you, bring them to your next appointment and ask me to test them using kinesiology. You can quickly discover which ones actually work.
Download “The Top 10 Cosmetic Ingredients You Should Avoid” contributed by author Kim Erickson.
Ask me about the healing benefits of organic essential oils. I love perfume as much as any girly girl. You don’t have to give up beautiful scents – just learn about the many emotional and spiritual benefits of the healthier alternatives.
Further Resources:
www.kindredspiritskincare.com – The website of our client Sally Larsen. You can also purchase her organic line here at our Total Fitness office.
www.thebodydeli.com – This company based in Palm Desert, California, makes organic personal care products, including shampoo and conditioner.
www.creatinghealthybeauty.com – Kim Erickson’s website. Kim is creating a whole new line of organic skin care. Visit her website to print out recipes for products you can make yourself.