What 1 change have you made which has improved skin most?

[sleepdodger]

Water
Routine
Diet
Unicorn tears face cream
I know prob all but would like a best place to start from!

Low carb eating (for life), regular exercise and very simple skin care (wash + olay, nivea at night). People tend to think I look at least 10 years younger.

Lots of water, regular exercise, plenty of sleep (that's usually the hardest to manage though) and a good, balanced diet.

I wear make up most days and as long as you cleanse properly it shouldn't knack your skin.

Makeup (and cleanser!) certainly does damage my skin- it's hard to find any that don't bring me out in a rash or make my eyelids swell up and go red and watery (not a good look!).

And it can be hard to find out what's actually in the stuff sometimes.

Bare minerals and other pure mineral powders are really good, but labels still need to be scrutinised!

Plain soap and water or just plain warm water for washing and a simple organic moisturiser (when I use any at all).

It would be lovely to just walk up to the makeup counter without the expectation that anything I decide to try will probably make me blotchy and red eyed .

The things that bother my skin most- grain derivatives (usually from maize/corn), which are in lots of makeup, and some of the chemical additives/perfumes.

Another Caroline Hirons changed my skin person here. This time list year I used wipes. I am appalled at that now! I now hot cleanse in the morning and evening and use toner and hydraluron. I also use the nip fab far glycolic acid pads, they really give a good glow. Hot yoga helps my skin all over and fish oil tablets too. If I don't use the fish oil I notice within a fortnight that my skin is drier. As for toner I was a real sceptic so used it on half my face for a week. It really felt so much softer.

That sounds rubbish RawCoconut. I cheerfully withdraw my comment about make up not affecting your skin, I'm not an expert and obviously it does for some folk.

After learning about 'proper' face cleaning I agree that I will never use wipes again.

What is 'double cleansing'? Clean once and then again straight away?

Shu uemura cleansing oil with warm water.

Rawcoconut.

You can get makeup etc free from
All nasties and allergens here:
www.beingcontent.com/

And here:
www.naturisimo.com/

And here
www.lucyrose.biz/

I don't use cleaners toners etc. I oil cleanse with hazelnut oil or rice bran oil.
I double cleanse with the oils.
I some times use a few drops of Pomegranate oil or raspberry oil

I get my oils fromAkamuti
Here
www.akamuti.co.uk/?jssCart=28e57e72167ff22488372b7f2de4d724

I suffer from rosacea. Oil cleansing and not using products with chemicals and avoiding traditional style moisturisers has almost removed my rosacea. And it was very bad. Think very red face all over. I couldn't even use mineral make up on it because it was in such bad shape. I no longer use prescription medication for it either.

Olive oil soap bar 100% olive oil, nothing else. I wash everywhere with it.

Other than that, just clean living. i.e. no booze, very little refined sugar, lots of fresh air and exercise.

Thanks for those links mrsFlorrick -

I'll have a look at those with interest.

Rosacea, very common especially in pale Celtic types like me! Mine has virtually disappeared since a major change in diet (paleo, grain free), a couple of years ago and I go along with the (quite) new idea that it's an autoimmune condition (or has an autoimmune component). Certainly there is inflammation at work in the blood vessels and skin when people have a flare up. Eating maize/corn is even worse for my skin/eyes than spreading it on top (in make up).

Alcohol with sulphites in seem to be a bad thing for me too. Clear spirits are better.

Finding that link to my diet was accidental btw, I was cutting out the grains for other health reasons and had no idea it would sort out quite a few apparently unconnected health niggles!

Rawcoconut.

Thanks . I have tried the "standard" recommended rosacea diet tips and none worked.
I've never really been a drinker and developed rosacea despite barely touching alcohol at all.
Nothing I tried diet wise made any difference at all.

But I've not tried cutting out grains. Hmm. I've been losing weight (baby weight) for the last couple of years. And I have tried low carb and currently 5:2. I don't eat pasta or white bread now but I am not fully paleo so I do eat stuff with grains. And I've also eaten biscuits a plenty over Xmas.

So I may have a bash at going grain free.

I have wondered about dairy. I do think its worse when I have too much of it.

Grrr. I love cheese. I can give up biscuits, bread pasta and other grain containing foods in a heart beat but cheese will be a big struggle.

Still may give it a bash!
Thanks again. That was enlightening.

It's worth a try, mrsFlorrick. For me the maize certainly seems to be the cause (or a cause anyway). Going by my little "experiment" over Christmas, eating gluten free Christmas cake and chrismas pudding (wheat free/gluten free but both containing maize/corn derivatives)... 3 days, slightly blotchy skin the first day and painful patches of pustules on both cheeks, read nose and raised blotches on forehead, along with broken veins round both nostrils!!! Sounds dramatic but actually very mild/minor I'm just obsessing over my own stupidity. I probably just look rosy cheeked to other people. My eyes/kids are quite red too. Still good motivation to get back to clean eating now.

I was low carb for many years (5?) and my skin/other issues were better (and I lost a lot of weight), but it was going fully grain free that did the trick - redness and rashes settled quickly but the little veins took longer, they gradually faded and one day I realised I didn't have any.

But - if you have a sensitivity to maize/corn, you have to be a real label hawk, or make everything yourself from scratch, it's in bloody everything! Corn, cornflour and modified starch are the easy ones, but there are dozens of derivatives such as dextrose, hfcs, glucose-fructose syrup, Xanthan gum...

In a lot of ways it's just easier to follow paleo or primal because all the recipes are completely grain free. I started off dairy free too, but now have cream and butter (and small amounts of raw cheese). No milk though.

Hth, good luck!

Going fragrance-free made the most amazing difference to my skin. Not just on my face, but all over my body.

I no longer take my own bedding with me when travelling, just a pillowcase sometimes. Instead I make sure to moisturise well all over my body, which seems to improve the barrier of my skin and I tolerate being in a 'fragrant' environment. But I always take my own face towel. My face is the most sensitive to fragrances.

I've also been low-carbing for a year. Have noticed that my skin has continued improving - very interested to hear that other low-carvers notice an improvement in their skin, too.

Pure virgin cold-pressed coconut oil, used very sparingly, is a marvellous moisturiser. It does not block my pores or make my face greasy.

Coconut/Mrs Florrick, really interested to read these tips re rosacea. Ive struggled with this for a long time and having another go at getting my skin better atm.

Interested to hear that oil based cleansers work for you Mrs Florrick. Id tried an Akamuti orange/oil cleanser in the past but without success and thought oil might exacerbate it as felt v heavy. Currently trying rosewater ams and Logona rose cleanser evenings.

Ref diet Ive cut out alcohol, chocolate, milk and caffeine, all of which seem to exacerbate it. Just starting to cut out cheese which i love but doesn't help i think. But Im not fully paleo as eat brown rice a lot, quinoa, brown bread and porridge oats. They are not maize based though so not sure that they are likely to be problematic. What do you think?

Also interested to read about coconut oil.. have some in the fridge so may try that!

Mrs Florrick, did you try paleo and no cheese? Did it make any difference for you?

Marking place to read later.

Giving up smoking!

Another vote for Jan Marini - her acid peel facial and skin care range cured my rosacia.

Bha

And another vote for Jan Marini - the bioglycolic lotion in particular, every second night.
Double cleansing (although I use wipes to take makeup off first, didnt realise this was bad?!)
And going COMPLETELY dairy free (including casein and whey products) basically cures all of my acne (wish it wasn't so hard to stick to!)

Giving up sugar. My fines lines are less noticeable and my 11s are almost gone.

Stopping almost all skincare and switching to water and castile soap. No more adult acne, perioral dermatitis and sensitivity reactions!

Frugal, which castile soap do you use? Just Googled and there are loads to choose from. A recommendation would be great

Hi Mirth - mine is homemade (went to a soap-making class once, it was great fun, you only need oil and lye, wheat bran or coffee grounds for texture, it's made with a stick blender and we used milk cartons as molds) but people with skin issues seem to like Le Chat and aleppo soap too. Basically any you see in natural stores. I wanted to avoid essential oils because my skin was raw and sensitive and natural perfumery materials are common contact allergens. Don't usually have problems with them but wanted to be extra careful because of my eczema.