We get asked about these 4 common skin conditions all the time. Discover how to tackle their surprising underlying causes.
Breakouts on the forehead
If pimples appear between the eyebrows, it’s a sign that the liver may be under pressure, perhaps from too much caffeine, alcohol, or fruit sugars. Elsewhere on the forehead signals digestion issues like food intolerances and the overgrowth of “bad” gut bacteria.
Rosacea
Rosacea is linked to digestive issues including abdominal bloating, constipation and gastric reflux. Ongoing stress is also a factor because high levels of our stress hormone cortisol can trigger inflammation in the skin and the widening of blood vessels – increasing redness.
Chemicals in our cosmetics, toiletries, environment, and food can overload our liver, kidneys and gut, so the body starts detoxing via the skin. The result can be skin conditions including rosacea, eczema (see below), psoriasis, rashes, etc.
Eczema
Eating foods that are hard for the body to digest like wheat and dairy can cause irritation in the gut. This triggers the cells of the gut lining to become ‘leaky’ where small particles of incompletely digested food can enter the bloodstream. These set off an immune response, leading to systemic inflammation, where the skin can become inflamed, dry, red and itchy.
Eating hard to digest foods (and others that you may be intolerant to) every day or several times a day triggers this reaction and puts the immune system under a big strain, meaning it is less effective at healing and repairing damaged cells.
The combo of a highly active immune system, that itself produces free radicals in our body, plus toxins we’re exposed to (we outlined this above), means that we have a high requirement for antioxidants.
If we don’t eat enough of a wide variety of different antioxidant compounds, the result may be free radical damage to cells – in ‘real’ terms this looks like lines, dark spots, and blemishes that take ages to heal.
Breakouts on cheeks and chin
Toxins can overload the body resulting in the skin literally pushing them out here! Blemishes in these areas signal that our bodies are having some major hormonal fluctuations – imbalances of hormones can cause excess sebum (oil) to be produced in the skin that can lead to those really deep painful pimples, ouch!
How to help:
- Acai – Packed with powerful polyphenols and Vitamin E that have an antioxidant effect, neutralising free radicals that cause damage to skin cells. Ours is concentrated and potent, thanks to the freeze-drying process, unlike Acai pouches that have a high water content.
- Turmeric – Another antioxidant powerhouse! There are literally hundreds of antioxidant compounds in Turmeric, and eating the whole natural plant, like our pure Turmeric powder, rather than an isolated supplement of Curcumin (the most famous of its compounds) means you’re getting even better effects. There are numerous studies that show Turmeric switches off the over-stimulation of the immune system, to calm redness and irritation.
- Chlorella – Helps digestion by balancing gut flora and supports the liver in removing toxins from the body. Studies showed it can offer "significant protective effects on the intestinal mucosa” (said to be “our body’s second skin”). Our Chlorella helps to renew cells because it is bursting with an incredible compound called Chlorella Growth Factor.
- Tip: You can make an amazing face mask by mixing 1tsp Organic Burst Chlorella, with 1tbsp Aloe Vera gel, smooth onto face and leave for 15mins or longer before rinsing. For more hydration, replace Aloe Vera with coconut or almond oil.
- Maca – A powerful adaptogenic root that nourishes the pituitary gland to help regulate our entire hormonal system. Studies have shown that Maca lowers our stress hormone cortisol if it’s too high – important for avoiding redness and irritated skin. Maca is known to balance sex hormones that have gone out of whack and can cause issues such as PMS, PCOS, and hormonal breakouts.
These 4 skin-saving Bursts form our Clear Skin bundle with 10% off!