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Paleo Diet Primal Better Skin Care Acne Eczema Spots Breakouts-min

Paleo for Better Skin

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I've read about so many people going onto a paleo diet and noticing significant improvements in their skin. With a few tweaks, eating this way seems to have helped a lot of people suffering from acne, eczema, spots, redness, blemishes and breakouts.

Paleo Diet Primal Better Skin Care Acne Eczema Spots Breakouts-min

What causes skin problems?

It seems that a lot of issues are down to inflammation. Of course, grains are inflammatory, so removing them from the diet – and being very strict and vigilant, especially where gluten is concerned, will make a big difference.
Gut health and permeability also appear to be significant factors in skin. Heal your gut – and heal your complexion.
Hormones are another big factor. Eating foods like soy can interfere with hormones – so obviously following a paleo protocol (and ditching those legumes) will mitigate this issue.

Natural skin care

The chemicals in many of the commercial products are frightening. Lots of people on the paleo community swear by coconut oil.

Eat more fat

Getting over fear of fat seems to have helped many people with their skin issues. Try to get more fat in your diet – from good Paleo sources, of course.

Gelatin

Another paleo skin cure seems to be bone broth. Regularly consuming a high quality home made bone broth could be what is standing between you and beautiful blemish free, glowing, skin!
Liz Wolfe has produced a natural, paleo skin care guide, called “The Skintervention Guide“, so if you're still have problems with your complexion – and want to find a natural solutions, you can check it out here.

Has your skin changed since you went paleo? Please share your tips in the comments below!
Homemade Moisturiser Recipe skincare paleo-min

Paleo Skincare – Homemade Moisturiser Recipe

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Everyone loves to pamper their skin, and in the colder months a moisturiser can be especially useful help prevent dry, flaking skin caused by cold winds and heating. Unfortunately the many commercial brands of moisturiser seem to come with so many added chemicals. Moisturisers often have harmful chemicals such as parabens added in order to preserve the life of a product. When you’re being so careful to have a clean, natural Paleo diet – the last thing you want to do is let these chemicals soak into your skin.

Homemade Moisturiser Recipe skincare paleo-min

You can use coconut oil on your skin, but if you’re after something a little different, you might like to try making a homemade moisturiser.

The following recipe uses natural ingredients only and is designed to be kind and gentle to the skin, while also nourishing it through all of the seasons. Once set, this moisturiser is harder and firmer than traditional moisturises and can be used as a balm for the lips, elbows and any other areas of the skin with dry patches.

Natural skin moisturiser

Ingredients:

  • 28g (1oz) of Shea Butter
  • 21g (0.75oz) of cosmetic grade beeswax
  • 20 mls of vitamin e oil, wheat germ oil or almond oil
  • Essential oils:
  • For greasy skin ad 10 – 20 drops of tea tree or lavender essential oil
  • For dry skin add 10 – 20 drops of lavender or geranium oil
  • For sensitive/combination skin add 15 – 20 drops of camomile essential oil
  • Storage jar

The more oil added, the stronger it will smell so add the oils gradually first and build up to the desired strength.

NB: Be careful when making this as the beeswax can get very hot; take care not to get it on your skin.

Add the Shea butter to a saucepan and melt it on low on an oven ring or melt in the microwave. Once it has melted, give it a stir and then add the beeswax. Melt the beeswax either on an oven ring or in the microwave. Mix the Shea butter and beeswax together and then add your oil. Stir in your chosen carrier oil and then add the essential oils.

Once it has all blended together, add the mix to a small glass jar. Be careful not to touch the sides of the jar as it will be extremely hot. Leave it in its place to cool down. It is probably best left until the next morning.

Once ready the mixture can be used like a salve to soften skin and moisturise.

NB: Pregnant women should take medical advice before using essential oils.

Natural alternatives to soap paleo healthcare skincare recipe-min

Natural Alternatives To Soap

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So you’re careful to eat a natural paleo diet, but what skincare products do you use? Have you looked at the ingredients in the soap you use?

While soap is considered a necessity by most people for keeping clean, if often comes loaded with chemicals. Soap can also be very drying to a lot of skin types and strips the skin of its natural moisturisers and of its natural defences.

While there are many natural soaps based around essential oils and herbs, there are alternatives to keeping your skin clean without the need for soap.

Essential Oils

For some added fragrance when it comes to bath time, try adding some essential oils to the bath water. Camomile or lavender make an ideal combination if for relaxing, peppermint oils are good for stimulating and lifting your mood, and ylang ylang and geranium essential oils will increase your feeling of well-being.

Natural alternatives to soap paleo healthcare skincare recipe-min

Epsom Salts

Some people find that once they have stopped using soap their skin becomes much drier. For some people this might be temporary, while for others the skin can continue to remain dry. Adding some Epsom salts to a tub of bath water will help soften the skin. Epsom salts are also believed to have many health benefits. The magnesium content helps to relax nerves and muscles and reduce stress. Epsom salts are also thought to reduce toxins in the body and relieve muscle cramps and pain.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is great on the skin – and if you have dry skin, applying coconut oil will certainly help.

Instead of using soap, try filling a muslin cloth with your selected herbs and then add in five to ten drops of essential oils. Tie the muslin cloth to the bath tap and let the aromas spill out.  The muslin cloth can also be used to exfoliate the skin and slough away dead skin cells without the need for an exfoliator, which can be damaging to some skin types.

Do you use a commercial soap, or have you found a more natural alternative? Share your suggestions and recipes in the comments section.

Coconut Oil Paleo Diet Uses-min

20 Other Uses For Coconut Oil

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Coconut Oil is by far the best oil for cooking with. It has a high saturated fat content (this is a good thing) and can withstand far higher heats, meaning it won’t oxidise and go rancid in the same way that other oils would.

Coconut Oil has got so many health benefits when eaten and cooked with; but what else can you do with it? As well as for cooking with, have you tried Coconut Oil for any of these things too? Perhaps it’s worth having a jar in every room…

In The Bathroom

    1. Conditioner – leave to soak in for half an hour – or overnight for a deep hair treatment
    2. Hair Styling – Use in place of hair gel
    3. Moisturiser – use as an all over moisturiser; it even smells good!
    4. Make Up Remover – far better than chemically laden commercial products, just use Coconut Oil
    5. Massage Oil – you can also add a few drops of essential oils
    6. Lip Balm – use to soften and protect your lips
    7. Toothpaste – Instead of using a commercial toothpaste, you can make your own using coconut oil as a base
    8. Exfoliation/ Body Scrub – mix with sea salt for an all over exfoliator
    9. Making Soap – use Coconut Oil as a base
    10. Deodorant – Check out some home-made recipes using the oil
    11. Aftershave – apply to soothe your skin

In The Medicine Cabinet

    1. Insect Bites – apply to the bite to start the healing process and stop the itching
    2. Insect Repellent – Get the Coconut Oil out before you've been bitten, mix it with peppermint oil and stop the insects attacking!
    3. Cuts, scrapes and bruises – apply to the area to promote healing and form a protective barrier
    4. After Sun – if you over did the sun and got a little burnt, Coconut Oil will soothe your skin
    5. Sun protection – you can also use the oil as a natural sun screen

Coconut Oil Paleo Diet Uses-min

In The Kitchen

    1. Oil your wooden chopping boards
    2. Season your iron cookware

In The Nursery

  1. Babies Cradle Cap – a natural remedy for a dry scalp
  2. Nappy (diaper) rash – use coconut oil instead of commercial products

What else do you use Coconut Oil for? Have you tried any of the uses above?
No shampoo no poo natural health beauty paleo-min

No Shampoo?

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The one Paleo area I've been completely avoiding has been the whole No Shampoo & No Soap issue.  I recently had my hair done for my Birthday and I was quite shocked by the number of products I was smothered in (my hair didn't look that amazing after either):

  • Shampoo
  • Colours for highlights
  • Shampoo
  • Toner
  • Shampoo
  • Conditioner
  • Leave in conditioner
  • Spray to make my hair soft
  • Spray to give my hair volume
  • Wax to give my hair texture, and
  • Hairspray

No shampoo no poo natural health beauty paleo-min

This trip to the hairdressers has forced me to think about the other chemicals I expose myself too.  It’s all well and good being strict with my nutrition, but surely reducing exposure to chemicals like this, is of great importance too.

The ingredients list in a typical bottle of shampoo or shower gel often reads like a chemistry text book.  Given that skin is our largest organ, it’s a reasonable assumption that chemicals are going to be able to transfer from the products to your blood stream.

Shampoo

I just looked up the ingredients of a Pantene shampoo I often use.  I can't even pronounce some of these chemicals: –

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Fragrance, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Citric Acid, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Benzoate, Tetrasodium Edta, Panthenol, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Methylchloroisothiazolinone/Methylisothiazolinone

When researching the ingredients used in commercial shampoos and soaps all sorts less than favourable articles came up.  Many of the chemicals are irritants and have many properties I just don’t want in my system.

A lot of Paleo people go entirely without shampoo and soap, but I just don’t think I'm ready to go this far, yet.  My main problem with camping is not being able to wash my hair every morning; the thought of voluntarily doing this from the comfort of my home isn't a terribly attractive proposition!

The harsh chemicals in shampoo seem to strip away the scalps natural sebum, drying it out – and greasy hair appears to be the scalps compensation for this overly dried out scalp!  From what I’ve read and from speaking to Paleo friends who've gone no ‘poo, it seems like the first week or two is not a good look – but then your hair is supposed to become soft, shiny and wonderful!

A lot of people use natural products such as eggs, apple cider vinegar and baking soda, so perhaps that would be a good place to start.

What are your thoughts on giving up shampoo?  Or perhaps you have some top tips for conquering my shampoo habit?