4 Measures To Achieve Healthy And Well-cared For Skin

The skin is the outer part of the body, in contact with the environment. It performs various functions, mainly protection, sensitivity and thermal regulation. To take care of it and prevent diseases, natural therapies try to favor its balance or help to purify it and keep it in good condition through diet, hydrotherapy, massages, medicinal plants, natural cosmetics …

Without forgetting the close relationship between the skin and the emotions. Not surprisingly, the skin derives – like the nervous system – from the ectoderm of the embryo. That is why certain pathologies can be considered psychosomatic and almost all of them improve by cultivating tranquility and positive emotions.

1. Optimal skin hygiene

To protect the skin, its daily cleaning is necessary. Deep but soft, it is essential to rid the skin’s surface of residues and impurities, such as those released by automobiles and industries.

Milks, lotions and gels with mild and soothing ingredients are the most suitable. With your face completely clean, you can apply a night cream based on vitamin complexes, plant extracts or natural antioxidants.

2. The best diet for the skin

In addition to general dietary advice, there are specific nutrients that are especially important for the skin:

• Essential fatty acids. There is usually a deficiency of them or a difficulty in synthesizing them. Consequently, prostaglandins, with anti-inflammatory properties, decrease. The therapeutic dose of fish oil or vegetable oils such as evening primrose or flaxseed is 3-4 g per day for a month, which is then reduced to 1 g per day.
• Hydration of the skin is important. That is why it is recommended to drink water during the day, about 2 liters, which also prevents constipation.
• It is preferable to abstain as much as possible from industrial foods: pastries, soft drinks, chips …
• Sulfur is an important mineral for the skin and hair, in addition to collaborating in liver purification, interesting against dermatological problems. They contain: egg, garlic, onion, turnip, leek, cabbage, cauliflower …
• Zinc is also of interest for the good condition of the skin. It participates as an enzyme in numerous metabolic processes, protects the liver, is part of the immune system and favors the conversion of fatty acids into prostaglandins that reduce skin inflammation. It also stimulates wound healing. They are foods rich in this mineral: meat, wheat germ, whole grains, pine nuts, soy flour … As a dietary supplement in the case of eczema and psoriasis, about 50 mg a day can be taken.

3. Medicinal plants for the skin

You have to choose those that reduce the release of histamine, especially those containing flavonoids like quercetin.

The burdock ( Arctium lappa ) has a long history in the treatment of eczema. Its active principle, inulin (a beneficial prebiotic for the intestinal flora) corrects the inflammatory tendency and immune disorders. It also helps control staph infections, to which those who suffer from these dermatitis are prone.

On the other hand, the plants that purify the skin are:

• Elder. 20 g of flowers per liter of water. It is left to infuse until it cools and is drunk.
• Would smoke. One tablespoon per liter of water. It is left to infuse and two or three cups are taken a day.
• Saponaria. 50 g of leaves or roots are boiled in a liter of water, strained and taken three cups a day before meals.
• Greater nettle. Decoction of 30-40 g of root per liter of water. It is drunk over two days.

4. Heat and moisture to stimulate the skin

In addition to following a healthy diet, you can take care of your skin by regularly taking a sauna or bath with Epson salts, to stimulate the elimination of toxins and activate blood circulation.

Baths to open pores

Here is an example of a bath to reactivate skin exchange. Its purpose is to dilate the pores and cause abundant perspiration that helps eliminate the residues that accumulate on the skin.

It is recommended in case of suffering from dermatitis and psoriasis. Before bathing it is advisable to drink a glass of water to facilitate sweating. One kilo of Epson salts (magnesium chloride), which can be purchased in drugstores, will dissolve in the already prepared bathtub, two-thirds full of hot water.

• Without lathering, you must first rub your skin vigorously.
• Then soak in the water for about twenty minutes.
• When you get out of the bathtub, after drying yourself well, it is advisable to get into bed warm to induce sweat.
• After half an hour, you have to dry again and apply almond oil to the skin with a gentle massage.

Sauna to eliminate toxins

It is a good way to stimulate the elimination of toxins. The objective is to cause perspiration, which is achieved by means of high and very dry heat so that it supports better (throwing water on the stones increases the sensation of heat).

In order to increase the stimulation of the skin and the circulation of the blood, in the Nordic countries they are whipped with birch branches. This detail can be replaced between us by a massage.

In the sauna, at the same time as the circulation is activated, sedation of the nervous system is achieved . It is very important not to be in a hurry and to refrain from all useless movements, since if the sauna is not taken correctly it can cause some fainting.

It is also important to take it completely naked. If there is no medical contraindication – cardiopathies, for example – the periodicity of the sessions can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly.