What is Holistic Skin Care?

​The term "holistic" comes from the Greek word "holos", meaning whole. This concept draws from the universal natural laws that state a whole is made up of the sum of all of its parts, and those parts are interrelated and interdependent. In this context, holistic skin care considers the health of the person as a whole — including nutrition, lifestyle, and emotional factors.

Do you ever wonder why you get a massive blemish right before a huge work presentation? How about that pesky friend that visits your chin once a month right before your menstrual cycle? That’s because your skin is a direct reflection of everything that’s going on inside of your body — which is why a holistic approach to skin care is so important.

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How Lifestyle Contributes to Holistic Skin Health

​The first rule of holistic skin care is that it’s not enough to treat your skin from the outside only. You have to nurture it from the inside as well. There are a few important ways to do this:

Eat healthy

​Have you ever heard the saying, "Everything you eat comes out of your pores"? People with a healthier gut microbiome have a better fatty acid outline, which means their skin is extremely hydrated, moisturized, and supple. And the inverse is also true: imbalances in the digestive system can lead to inflammation and sensitized skin.

To encourage clear, healthy skin, it’s essential to eat foods loaded with antioxidants, probiotics, and phytonutrients, which reduce inflammation in the body. Load your plate with leafy greens, whole grains, and lean proteins — and stay away from unhealthy fats, added sugar, and refined carbohydrates.

Drink plenty of water

We hear this advice so often that it’s easy to undervalue it. But the fact is, getting enough water is one of the best things you can do for your skin. A good moisturizer can only go so far when it comes to skin hydration — drinking water feeds the skin from the inside, helping to keep it soft and supple. Not to mention, it aids the liver in eliminating toxins from the body, reduces puffiness, and helps with kidney function (which in turn helps dark circles appear lighter).

If you have a hard time drinking enough fluids every day, at least make sure you're consuming plenty of water-rich foods such as cucumbers, lettuce, watermelon, celery, zucchini, and peaches.

Get some rest

​They don’t call it "beauty sleep" for nothing. Getting good, restful sleep is essential for proper skin cell and tissue rejuvenation. Not only does sleep deprivation result in dark circles and gray, saggy skin, but it can also lead to elevated levels of stress hormones. This can cause even more inflammation and the worsening of conditions like eczema or psoriasis.

You should be aiming for seven to eight hours of sleep each night to give your entire body time to repair and recharge for the next day.

Manage your stress

​Speaking of stress hormones, the natural stress of a daily routine fills us with adrenaline and cortisol — and those deposits cause aging, dehydration, lines, and even muscular spasms. If that stress isn’t properly managed, it has a way of wreaking havoc on our health (and especially our skin).

Stress can sometimes be unavoidable, but what we can control is how we respond to it. Find ways to reduce stress by scaling back your to-do list, taking deep breaths, or engaging in a stress-relief activity like meditation or yoga.

The Benefits of a Holistic Skin Care Specialist

​Knowing how to take care of your skin can be challenging. Fortunately, a skin esthetician can work with you to develop a holistic skin care regimen that takes into account all factors that can impact your skin health. Here are some of the best reasons to work with a holistic skin care specialist:

Get a personalized touch

No two faces are alike, which is why any holistic skin care program should be tailored to each individual. As a skin esthetician, the first thing I do before I even touch a client’s skin is ask them an extensive list of questions to better understand their skin type, lifestyle, and skincare goals.

This esthetician skin analysis can then help to develop a comprehensive esthetician skin care plan — which will include curated products and facials customized to fit your needs, as well as recommendations for how to take care of your skin from the inside out.

Work with a natural esthetician

​Many people are cautious about leaning too heavily on prescription medications, topical retinoids, or other medical interventions — and instead prefer products and treatments that use all-natural ingredients and methods for anti-aging or acne.

A holistic skin care specialist emphasizes the maintenance of healthy skin as a reflection of inner health, and promotes the use of natural products and holistic approaches over invasive surgical techniques or abrasive dermatological treatments.

Holistic Esthetician Treatments

A specialist will also be able to recommend specific treatments that complement a holistic program. The benefits of that type of esthetician skin care include:

Use products curated and customized for you

​Holistic skin care means choosing products that are right for your skin — and you’d be surprised how many facial skin care products include ingredients that can actually work against your skincare goals.

There's no question that the best skin care line for estheticians is the Face Reality skin care system, which is meticulously crafted with only the highest-quality skin nourishing ingredients. This helps to strengthen and repair the skin barrier, preventing environmental and inflammatory imbalances like acne, rosacea, eczema, dermatitis, and premature aging.

Experience the difference facials can make

Whether you’re looking for an acne facial or a facial to reverse aging, facials are one of the most meaningful changes you can make to your skincare routine, and a key component of holistic skin care. They work to gently remove dirt and dead cells from the skin’s surface, rehydrate the skin, and encourage collagen production — and facial skin care products contain a number of active ingredients to restore lost volume and elasticity, clear your complexion, and maintain skin health.

That said, not all facials are created equal. For true holistic skin health, I recommend the Dermasound Facial — because it operates at a cellular level. Utilizing water and ultrasonic frequency, it repairs and re-balances skin cells by assisting in the transport of nutrients, eliminating waste, and increasing their energy source for better health, radiance, and vitality. In fact, Simply Skin offers the only Dermasound Facial Treatment in San Diego.

A Holistic Approach to Skin Care Wellness

​​Ready to put your best face forward? Learn more about my holistic approach to skin care wellness by scheduling a consultation today.

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