Detox: Is it Necessary?

Today it seems everyone is talking about detoxing the body.We hear about juice cleanses, drinking apple cider vinegar, detox foot pads, colonic, and many other interesting suggestions on how to remove toxins from the body. So do we need to detox ourselves? It is true that we are exposed to both natural and synthetic chemicals on a daily basis. We breath them in. We eat and drink them. We absorb them through our skin. This is why the human body has natural detoxification systems to keep our bodies safe and healthy.

The body naturally removes toxins through the lungs, the skin, the lymphatic system, the gastrointestinal system, the liver and kidneys. Toxins from both the environment and natural body chemical reactions are removed by expelling gases through the lungs, toxins through sweat, feces, and urine. The liver and kidneys filter the blood of toxins The body will also vomit or expel toxins through diarrhea. Though the body has systems in place to cleanse the body there are times when something in the body goes wrong, one of these systems is not working properly, or the body is poisoned by a toxic substance, such as a child ingesting laundry soap.

You may have heard of activated charcoal. In the event of certain poisons that have been ingested,  medical professionals can use activated charcoal to draw poison from the body. Charcoal is also used in drinking water filtration and air purification. Charcoal absorbs over 1,000 times its weight in dirt, toxins, and other impurities, which is why skin care products such as Perfectly Posh's The Stripper (body mask), Gender Bender (bath bar), Love the Dark (body scrub), Cackle Spackle (face mask), Hunk Chunk (bath bar), and Whole Lava Love (exfoliate) all contain charcoal. These products can help draw out impurities in the skin and cleanse pores in a way that a general cleanser can not. 

Take the Gender Bender chunk bar for example. The charcoal in this bath bar can help remove acne causing bacteria, black heads, and cleanse deep down dirt from the skin. It is wonderful for mechanics, gardeners, artists, and your average Joe or Jill. It can be used as a facial bar, whole body soap, or hand soap. It works wonderfully for cleaning out makeup brushes and has even been known to remove laundry stains such as set in ketchup. It's a versatile little soap with powerful cleansing action. 

So do we have to detox our body? If the body is functioning as it should, we shouldn't have to do anything extra. But eating poorly, not drinking enough water, a sedentary lifestyle, working or living in a polluted environment all add up. Trying to eat clean, get regular exercise, and other healthy lifestyle choices can help. And using charcoal infused products to help cleanse the skin in an effective and safe way can give you cleaner skin and a more clearer complexion. 

Showing Your Age with the Flick of Your Wrist

I want you to do something right now. Raise your hands in front of you and look at them. Do they look smooth or rough? Are the veins of your hand very visible? Do you have age spots/brown spots on your hands? Our hands are used throughout our day, every day to complete a variety of tasks. We feed our children, clean our home, steer our automobile, lift our coffee to our lips, give prasie through clapping, wave hello and goodbye, and other expressive gestures. As much as we use our hands and as often as we see them, we certainly don't treat them as well as they deserve to be treated. And a lack of care for your hands is a certain indicator of age. 

We spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars in skin care products and services for our face, but not for our hands. And here is the scary part, our hands naturally have less fat in them and as we age the natural fibers that provide tone in the skin decrease. Hand skin is also thinner than that of the face. So as we age our hands naturally and quickly begin to show it. Now take into consideration that we don't always use sunscreen and that as we drive there is more than 60% UV exposure focused right on your hands. So your commute back and forth can really be showing in the appearance of your hands.

So that's all the bad news that can lead to frown lines on your face. So here's the good news. You can both prevent further damage and start aiding your skins appearance right now. And you don't have to spend a fortune or seek a dermatologist for treatment. First thing first, please use your sunscreen daily on your hands as well as your other areas of exposed skin. Indoors and out. As the suns rays still penetrate you indoors via windows. Exfoliate your hands twice a week. This can be as simple as taking a few teaspoons of brown sugar, and a tsp of olive oil. Mix together and rub on your hands in a circular motion and rinse. This removes the dead layers of the skin, revealing newer softer skin.

Moisturize. Use a hand creme with nourishing mositurizers such as the Big Fat Yummy Hand Cremes from Perfectly Posh. They contain apricot kernal and coconut oil that nourish the skin providing a non greasy moisturizer.  They also contain vitamin E, aloe, and allantoin. Allantoin is a chemical compound found in the comfrey plant. It has skin soothing and softening  properties to name some of this simple ingredients benefits. All ingredients combined in Perfectly Posh hand cremes create a wonderful aromatic scent and soothing moisture in a tube that fits easily in your purse, backpack, or automobile. They last a long time and are well worth their $9 price. Lil Snarky is one of my favorites. It has a wonderful fragrant mix of lily, freesia, and sandalwood. https://christenemakin.po.sh/big-fat-yummy-hand-creme/lil-snarky

So you are protecting, exfoliating, and mositurizing your hands. Go a step further by wearing gloves. Wear gloves when you garden or work outdoors. Wear gloves when you wash your dishes or use household cleaning products. Take it from me, personal experience is that not using gloves destroys your nails and creates hands that look much older. At 37 I am just now doing right by my hands and wearing gloves. Also consider driving gloves. Yes they are more than for race car grip or a fashion statement. They actually block a lot of the uv rays you are exposed to when driving. And of course wear gloves during the dry winter months, when our skin is very suseptible to the elements of the season.  If you do these simple things you will see and feel a difference in the skin of your hands. Why have a youthful lovely face and haggard hands? Take good care of your hands. Pamper them a little bit. They do so much for you everyday.