Skin Wellness

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Zain’s **No More CELLULITE** Game Plan
Not sure if its something in the air this week but I have received several messages on social media asking about tips on how to deal with cellulite.
As the warmer season approaches and we start bearing more skin, we women become super conscious about the little fat pockets that like to park right up on our thighs and hips.
Before I started living the way I live and eating the way I eat, I too dreaded the ‘cottage cheese-like’ lumpy skin around the tops of my legs but I can honestly say that now, due to my lifestyle, it is nowhere to be found.
Cellulite is simply fluid retained in fat cells that increase as weight/body fat increases and due to a lack of oxygen in the area, they get squished together creating the dimply look. Free-radicals, age, diet and lifestyle have a lot to do with it but let me tell you, clean eating is a major game changer. I had more cellulite at 25 than I have at 33 and that is a fact.
So here’s what I do to keep cellulite at bay:
1. Diet
Choose foods that oxygenate the blood and help release fluid retention
beet root
radish
parsley
asparagus
lemon
salmon and other fatty fish
flax seeds
spinach
kelp
cucumber
berries
dill weed
anise
fennel
*drink at least 3 liters of water per day, every day as well as lots of herbal tea
*my PURIFY VITAMIN WATER works wonders for fluid retention so sipping on this all day will benefit you big time in the cellulite department
*coconut water works wonders
*enjoy foods packed with healthy fats and oils as they will help your body let go of the fat it is holding onto. I recommend fatty fish such as salmon or black cod as well as coconut oil, walnuts, avocado and chia seeds
*avoid highly acidic foods and stick to alkaline foods, to find out more about what this means click here.
*avoid sugar, salt, alcohol and caffeine (including chocolate, not raw cacao) as these things SUCK the oxygen right out of your blood stream.
2. Training
A regular weight training and cardio program will do wonders for you. Weight training, transforms fat cells, which hold 25% water, into muscle cells which hold 75% water. The magic ingredient in water is….you got it….oxygen.
Here are some of my favourite cellulite-fighting training activities. Try to incorporate these activities into your life at 4-5 days per week.

HIIT sprints
full-body weight training
functional training
yoga
barre classes
hiking
running

3. Secret Tips & Tricks

Being the complete tomboy that I was growing up, I was fortunate to have a sister who was really in the know about all things beauty related. Her natural talents for creating amazing skin and body care recipes as a kid ultimately led her to becoming the founder of an incredible skincare line sold and used at some of the top spas around the world. Her stuff is the only product I will use on my skin and body and its made with organic indigenous ingredients such as kelp, clay, oils and herbs.

*That said, you should look for a product line that is all-natural, that suits your particular body. Don’t buy into all the humbo jumbo magic creams.

*My sister also swears by something called dry-brushing. For those of you unfamiliar with this, you use a dry loofah brush in a circular motion on your ‘cellulitey’ areas and this helps to break up the fat and increase circulation. To see a demonstration of how to perform dry brushing technique, click here.

Here is a little recipe for a masque that my sister would make for cellulite. This should be applied directly to your trouble areas to help oxygenate, tighten and relieve fluid retention.

AntiCellulite DIY Masque -

Combine 1 avocado, 1 beaten egg, 1 tsp of kelp powder, 10 drops of sweet orange oil, 5 drops of fennel oil, 1 tbsp coconut oil and 1 tbsp raw honey. Mix together and store in a mason jar in the fridge.

Start by dry-brushing the area then apply this masque to your trouble areas 2-3 times per week allowing the masque to sit until it dries, then wash off with cool water.

Remember, cellulite will not vanish overnight but if you remain committed to a clean diet with lots of antioxidant fighting foods, train regularly and practice dry-brushing, you will start to notice your body transform and your cellulite will become a thing of the past!

Zain’s **No More CELLULITE** Game Plan

Not sure if its something in the air this week but I have received several messages on social media asking about tips on how to deal with cellulite.

As the warmer season approaches and we start bearing more skin, we women become super conscious about the little fat pockets that like to park right up on our thighs and hips.

Before I started living the way I live and eating the way I eat, I too dreaded the ‘cottage cheese-like’ lumpy skin around the tops of my legs but I can honestly say that now, due to my lifestyle, it is nowhere to be found.

Cellulite is simply fluid retained in fat cells that increase as weight/body fat increases and due to a lack of oxygen in the area, they get squished together creating the dimply look. Free-radicals, age, diet and lifestyle have a lot to do with it but let me tell you, clean eating is a major game changer. I had more cellulite at 25 than I have at 33 and that is a fact.

So here’s what I do to keep cellulite at bay:

1. Diet

Choose foods that oxygenate the blood and help release fluid retention

beet root

radish

parsley

asparagus

lemon

salmon and other fatty fish

flax seeds

spinach

kelp

cucumber

berries

dill weed

anise

fennel

*drink at least 3 liters of water per day, every day as well as lots of herbal tea

*my PURIFY VITAMIN WATER works wonders for fluid retention so sipping on this all day will benefit you big time in the cellulite department

*coconut water works wonders

*enjoy foods packed with healthy fats and oils as they will help your body let go of the fat it is holding onto. I recommend fatty fish such as salmon or black cod as well as coconut oil, walnuts, avocado and chia seeds

*avoid highly acidic foods and stick to alkaline foods, to find out more about what this means click here.

*avoid sugar, salt, alcohol and caffeine (including chocolate, not raw cacao) as these things SUCK the oxygen right out of your blood stream.

2. Training

A regular weight training and cardio program will do wonders for you. Weight training, transforms fat cells, which hold 25% water, into muscle cells which hold 75% water. The magic ingredient in water is….you got it….oxygen.

Here are some of my favourite cellulite-fighting training activities. Try to incorporate these activities into your life at 4-5 days per week.

HIIT sprints

full-body weight training

functional training

yoga

barre classes

hiking

running

3. Secret Tips & Tricks

Being the complete tomboy that I was growing up, I was fortunate to have a sister who was really in the know about all things beauty related. Her natural talents for creating amazing skin and body care recipes as a kid ultimately led her to becoming the founder of an incredible skincare line sold and used at some of the top spas around the world. Her stuff is the only product I will use on my skin and body and its made with organic indigenous ingredients such as kelp, clay, oils and herbs.

*That said, you should look for a product line that is all-natural, that suits your particular body. Don’t buy into all the humbo jumbo magic creams.

*My sister also swears by something called dry-brushing. For those of you unfamiliar with this, you use a dry loofah brush in a circular motion on your ‘cellulitey’ areas and this helps to break up the fat and increase circulation. To see a demonstration of how to perform dry brushing technique, click here.

Here is a little recipe for a masque that my sister would make for cellulite. This should be applied directly to your trouble areas to help oxygenate, tighten and relieve fluid retention.

AntiCellulite DIY Masque -

Combine 1 avocado, 1 beaten egg, 1 tsp of kelp powder, 10 drops of sweet orange oil, 5 drops of fennel oil, 1 tbsp coconut oil and 1 tbsp raw honey. Mix together and store in a mason jar in the fridge.

Start by dry-brushing the area then apply this masque to your trouble areas 2-3 times per week allowing the masque to sit until it dries, then wash off with cool water.

Remember, cellulite will not vanish overnight but if you remain committed to a clean diet with lots of antioxidant fighting foods, train regularly and practice dry-brushing, you will start to notice your body transform and your cellulite will become a thing of the past!

Beware of this “Beauty” Trend

Lately, I have been obsessed with Pinterest (I’m sure I’m not alone…) and I have been seeing more and more pins about “Lemon’s benefits for your skin”.

Every time I see one, I cringe.

It scares the crap out of me to think that people are using lemon on their skin and going about on their day… As a matter of fact, the straw that broke the camel’s back and what inspired me to write this post was a picture someone sent me last week of her hands.

I asked her about her day and her response was: “hmm.. let’s see… I made lemonade and then went gardening…”. She didn’t have to say anything else. I knew right away that it was the lemon+sun combo. Plus she lives in Miami, so it was that gorgeous (but strong) sun.

You see, lemon (and lime) is incredibly photosensitizing, which means it makes skin sensitive to sunlight. They contain bergapten (5-methoxypsoralen), which is a potent topical phototoxic chemical.

(source)

The correct term for this condition is Phytophotodermatitis.

Phytophotodermatitis is when the skin is harmed by the sun because of contact with certain plant extracts. Some citrus plants are one of many photosensitizing plants.

Phyto meaning from plants, Photo meaning light or sun, dermatitis meaning skin inflammation.

The pigmentation caused by lemon and sun exposure can vary.

From just pigmentation:

(source)

To mild burns:

(source)

To all the way to serious burns, like this bartender, who was making margaritas under the sun: (warning, graphic photo!)

(source)

Fortunately, the pigmentation caused by phytophotodermatitis only lasts about a couple of months. It is still a couple of months of this:

(source)

There was one pin on Pinterest that at least mentioned something about the sun:

Still… In my opinion? Nope, not worth it. If you ask me, I would strongly recommend staying away from lemon as a cosmetic. Lemons and limes are not cosmetics.

Not sure about what to use? Ask me. You know where to find me. ;)

Love,

Maria

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The Myth of Unpronounceable Ingredients

Myth: being able to pronounce the ingredients in a cosmetic means the cosmetic is safe.

Truth: wrong. Sometimes this might be true, but it is certainly not the rule.

I have heard way too many times the “logic” that if you can’t pronounce an ingredient it can’t be good for you. In foods? Absolutely! in cosmetics? not so much…

The reality is, ingredient phonetics have nothing to do with how beneficial (or harmful) an ingredient can be for our skin or our body.

One simple example is hyaluronic acid. Sort of hard to pronounce isn’t it? Yet not only it’s great for our skin, it is produced by our skin. It is found in our skin.

What if your cream contained “Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate”? Would you be worried?

Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate is vitamin C. VITAMIN C! But “magnesium ascorbyl phosphate” sounds a lot more scary than “vitamin C” right?

Then there are ingredients like tetrahydroxypropyl ethylenediamine, which is incredibly safe and compatible eith the skin. It has an immediate and long term clinical improvement of the skin’s appearance. (Source here).

Lets take a look now at some very “pronounceable” ingredients and what they can do to our skin:

Paraffin: Extremely comedogenic ingredient. Petroleum derivative.

Parfum/ fragrance: one of the biggest reasons people have allergic reactions to cosmetics. Fragrance is a general term that hides a cocktail of thousands of different chemicals that are not required to be named by cosmetic companies. (Source).

Paraben: Do we really need to go into this one? It has been found INTACT inside breast cancer tissue. Enough said. (for the actual medical publication go here)

If you want to check out more, here’s a pretty interesting list of “natural” ingredients that can cause serious allergic reactions in certain people. Some of these include almond oil, papaya, cottonseed oil, apricot extract, to name a few.

What To Do Then?

Read, ask questions, and most importantly: give your skin what it naturally produces, and therefore, what it naturally needs!

Nurturing our skin with ingredients that are compatible with it (or even better: naturally found already in it) is the solution to skin sensitivities and skin conditions. Bring your skin back to health by giving it exactly what it’s lacking, rather than giving it something else to defend itself from.

Still a bit confused? Ask me, it’s my job (and passion) to answer your skin wellness questions!
Enjoy your weekend!

Maria