During my first decade as a beauty therapist in the 1980’s I tried to treat skin with topical treatments and products alone. 

That was fine when I was dealing with basically strong and healthy skin. But as soon as I was faced with sensitive or inflamed skin or skin disorders like acne or rosacea, I was out of my depth. Eventually, I became so disillusioned that I left the career I loved and did the 9-5 office thing.

I returned to the beauty industry two years later, determined to find answers, and providentially came across the woman who would become my mentor – Janice Sarre Smith, naturopath and holistic skincare therapist.

Through Jan, I discovered a respectful way of working with skin that preserved the integrity of the protective top layer of the skin (the stratum corneum). 

AND, I discovered how absolutely essential skin nutrition was.

Topical skincare is important but true skin transformation is only possible when we nourish the skin from within.

Your skin is created from within. Your visible skin is the end result of a process that begins deep in the skin layers and is influenced by your diet, your lifestyle, your gut health and your stress resilience. It’s not going too far to say that your skin is a reflection of your life.

During my 15 year career as a dermo-nutritionist and skin health therapist I have learnt that:

• Gut health is directly connected to skin health. 

• Dull, inflamed or spotty skin are indicators that your body is not getting enough of the nutrients it needs, or that poor diet is actively working against a clear, glowing complexion.

• EFA’s are essential for preventing and treating break outs, for clearing congestion, for moisturising dry skin and for promoting a smooth texture and luminous glow.

• Fibroblasts (anti-ageing cells that produce collagen and elastin) require a regular supply of key nutrients and a deficiency in just one nutrient will limit anti-ageing activity.

• You can’t heal a constipated skin. Acne and congested skin are exacerbated by a build-up of toxicity caused by a sluggish digestive system.  

• Congesting foods fuel acne from within and need to be removed for progress to be made.

• Heating foods exacerbate inflamed skin conditions and need to be removed from the diet to give the skin a chance to calm and heal.

• Bestow skin nutrition boosters can fill the nutrient gaps in our modern diets and ensure our skin has the vital nutrients it needs to heal and thrive.

• Self-care rituals are vital for skin health and wellbeing. 

So, whether you are looking to heal sensitive or challenged skin, or take healthy skin from good to glow, skin nutrition is a vital piece of the puzzle. Remember…

What you put on your skin is only half the story.