Posted on May 22, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

Skin Detox 101

It’s time to tell your skin whose in charge…

• Out and off, dead skin cells!
• Open up, clogged pores!
• Brighten up, skin!

After all, when it comes to your skin, you’re the boss!

A is for Antioxidants

Antioxidants are essential for detoxifying your skin. They sop up the free radicals that are implicated in aging and skin damage, so antioxidant-rich care is critical.

Napa Valley Bath’s Lavender Sea Salt Scrub is rich in antioxidants like vitamin E from our home-grown extra virgin Sevillano olive oil.   The dead sea salts in this magical concoction slough away dry skin, opens up pores, and restores luminosity to your skin.

Increase your antioxidant intake with these ingredients:

• Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
• Green tea
• Idebenone
• Coffeeberry
• Coenzyme Q10

Healthy Body, Healthy Skin!

Luckily, our skin is highly regenerative. It’s your liver, kidneys, and digestive system that work hard to remove waste and toxins from your body. When these three waste removal systems become overloaded, your skin picks up the slack.

Avoid sun and watch what you eat and drink; these three things will help keep skin toxin-free in the first place.

Be Your Skin’s Advocate

Being a smart consumer is critical to finding the purist personal care products and keeping your skin in permanent detox mode. Read labels and ask questions:  you have to be your own advocate when seeking out toxin-free personal care products you can fully trust.

The Environmental Working Group’s top ingredients to avoid as seen on their handy Shopper’s Guide to Safe Cosmetics include:

• DMDM hydantoin and imidazolidinyl urea
• Fragrance and dyes
• Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone
• Parabens or “-paraben”
• “PEG” and “-eth”
• Sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate
• Triclosan and triclocarban
• Triethanolamine (TEA)

Bottom line: skin detox starts by treating your skin right in the first place. Use simpler, fewer products overall, and opt for all organic when possible.

Now go and glow!