Detox Your Skin, Head To Toe (And Glow On!)

Detox diets are really popular, though not always healthy; it depends on the method chosen and a person’s particular needs and goals. Same with your skin: Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought: “I just want to get rid of a layer or two and get down to good, clean, healthy skin.” Or perhaps you just want to let your skin breathe or give it a break from the routine.

Experts have different definitions of what “detox” means: When discussing “detoxing” your body, it can mean fasting, or eating only certain foods for a while, or drinking only certain juices—the goal being to alter your usual eating patterns or habits in order to increase health or jump-start a new diet regime.

For this discussion of skin, I’m using “detox” to suggest ways to give your skin a little break from routine, or a boost, or a re-boot with the goals to increase your skin’s health and glow, and improve skin problems.

There are several ways you can detox the skin, and here are some methods to try that will help toward your goals:

Full-Body Skin Detox

If you have never done this, try it once a week and watch how quickly your skin improves: There will see fewer bumps on the back of your arms and legs, fewer breakouts on the chest and back, and smoother all-over skin.

First, get a pair of “skin scrub gloves” at Bed Bed and Beyond or The Body Shop or a larger drugstore chain (see photo for examples). You can also use a good loofah or body brush but I prefer the easy control of scrubbing gloves that can be washed and air-dried and reused numerous times. Poor on a good moisturizing soap and scrub with the gloves or loofah from head to toe, even getting between the toes and behind and around the ears. If you have oily skin or bumps/acne on the chest and back, try using the  Glycolic and Lactic Body Wash, and perform the scrub on the troubled areas every three days—those spots will be gone in no time!

After the scrub, if you have oily skin, apply a gentle moisturizer only on the dry areas to let your skin breathe for a day. If you have dry skin, you now have a wonderfully exfoliated body that will soak up a good moisturizer like the  L’il Ones Body Cream. Yes, it is made with kids in mind, but with natural virgin shea butter and silk amino acids, it is also perfect for moisturizing all types of adult skin.

Facial Detox

If you just want a simple breather, take a night to cleanse thoroughly. For sensitive skin, use a washcloth or an inexpensive skin brush from the drug store to really get in the pores with a gentle cleanser like the  Gentle Cleansing Lotion. If you have oily or acne prone skin, use a slightly exfoliating cleanser with the washcloth or brush, such as the Basics 3-in-1 Cleanser with fruit acids to help with problem skin.

After cleansing, try an optional mask to target your needs. Dry skin? --You might like the  Apple Stem Cell Caviar Extract Hydration Mask. Oily skin? --The Zinc and Sulfur Acne Treatment Mask is a good one to try.

Afterward your optional mask, if you have oily skin, skip all your usual products to let your skin breath for the night. If you have dry skin, apply a gentle, non-comedogenic moisturizer like the  Advanced Care Moisturizer, which will still let your skin breath and relax for the evening while providing essential moisture to prevent irritation.

Detoxing with a peel

If you don’t use peel regularly or have never tried one, using a mild peel to exfoliate dead skin cells before allowing your skin to relax and breathe for the night would be a nice thing to try. You would cleanse your skin as outlined above, but instead of an optional mask—or just before using an optional moisturizing mask—you would use a mild peel like the  1-4-All Peel which is layer-able to adjust the strength, or the Mandelic Peel in the 22% strength, which is mild enough for rosacea sufferers.

Note: You do not want to do a peel followed by an exfoliating mask—that could be too harsh for your skin. If you decide to use a peel, simply moisturize the dry areas afterwards, or use a moisturizing mask like the  Apple Stem Cell Caviar Extract Hydration Mask before dabbing on moisturizer on dry areas and turning in the for evening as described above.

The goal is to remove dead skin and let your skin breathe for an evening!

Where can I buy Dana's Book?

The Skin Regime; Boot Camp for Beautiful Skin, available as a Kindle download or Buy paperback to buy your paperback copy from Platinum Skin Care. You can also read the first chapter--FREE--by click here to read 1st chapter.

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