Our skin can be one of the best indicators of overall internal health. After all, it’s your body’s largest detoxification organ! Because of this, when your internal and external environment are healthy, your skin will reflect that health. Certain nutrients and lifestyle habits can help support your skin health and give it the glow it may need! Let's dive rigth into these natural beauty tips!   

10 Natural Beauty Tips for Glowing Skin

Grass-Fed Collagen 

Collagen is a protein that the body produces. It plays an essential role in the structure and function of skin. As you age, collagen production decreases significantly! But adding a scoop of grass-fed collagen powder into your morning smoothie or coffee can be extremely helpful in maintaining your skin’s integrity and glow! A grass-fed collagen powder is the most absorbable type of collagen. For your body to rapidly absorb supplements, try using liquid or powder as it has no barrier like a pill does. Consuming grass-fed collagen is also extremely important as research has reported that corn fed beef has lower collagen content than grass-fed cattle. Why? Bovine collagen is extracted from various organs. 100% grass-fed and grass-finished collagen powder will help you reap collagen's full benefits. 

Vitamin D

Skin health is very much supported by moderate sun exposure. In fact, this is one of my favorite natural beauty tips! Through Vitamin D's antioxidant properties and sunlight triggering synthesis, Vitamin D helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles on the skin. 

In fact, research has indicated that people who suffer with skin conditions have seen significant improvement in their conditions when exposed to sunlight. These conditions range from psoriasis, eczema to dermatitis. It is thought that increased vitamin D and exposure to UV radiation may help reduce skin inflammation, thereby alleviating dryness, itching, and inflammation. So before you run out and start lathering your face with creams and moisturizers, give the sun a chance to play doctor. 

Dry Brushing

Dry brushing originated in India over five millennia ago. Its uses today are extremely helpful for skin health and more relevant than ever before! Smooth skin, detoxifying the body, move lymph and increase circulation are all benefits of dry brushing. Dry brushing can be done on your face and neck, not just upper and lower body. Dry brushing on the face can help you glow by naturally exfoliating the skin. This can help oil production and prevent acne breakouts on your face leaving your skin brighter and smoother!  

Eat Good Fats 

Egg yolks, avocado, and butter oh my! Bottom line, good fats feed your skin cells and your skin needs healthy fats to look its best. How? The fat you consume helps your skin hold onto moisture, smoothing and plumping. Dietary fats also provide essential fatty acids (omega 3s) that strengthen skin cell membranes which can help to keep your skin supple, elastic, and youthful-looking. In fact, research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer! 

If you are looking for more recommendations of healthy fats you can add into your diet or natural beauty tips, reach out to one of our Vessel Nutritionist's on live chat in the app. Our coaches can provide nutrition and lifestyle recommendations towards your goals or just give you meal ideas and recipes for keeping things interesting!

Movement

Yes, exercise can give you a glow! When your blood starts pumping from a workout, circulation and collagen increase. Blood flow also helps carry away waste products, including free radicals, from working cells which helps support smooth and glowing skin. One study exhibited that exercise can improve the skin’s ability to retain moisture. So next time you want to get your face glowing, try heading to the gym!

There's More That Goes Into Skin Health

Drink Bone Broth

If there is any food out there that can help give you a skin glow up, it would be bone broth. Bone broth is much more than an overhyped food fad.  Bone broth is used for it's beautifying qualities and has been for centuries. In fact, some people even recommend trying a bone broth facial if you don’t want to drink it! So what makes bone broth so magical? For starters, bone broth is chock full of minerals and collagen which are essential nutrients for keeping skin vibrant! Bone broth is also well known for its anti-inflammatory mechanisms due to it being rich in glycine and arginine which are two amino acids that have been shown to reduce inflammation and science backs this anti-inflammatory theory up! 

Say "No" to Tap Water

Contaminants in your tap water may be causing your skin to look a bit more dull. From chlorine, to pharmaceuticals to herbicides in tap water, it's a recipe for disaster when it comes to your skin. While it depends on where you live, most tap water contains high amounts of chlorine. What does this mean for your water? Chlorinated water can disturb your skin's pH and deplete the skin of its natural oils and hydration. Once this natural barrier is disrupted, moisture from the inside is lost.

Over time this can lead to premature aging and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Investing in a shower filter can help you reduce your exposure to chlorinated water. Drinking tap water can also heavily affect your skin health. How? By destroying good bacteria in your gut! Due to the various contaminants present in tap water, drinking it can negatively affect the gut microbiome and science suggests that the gut microbiota can affect the skin directly.   

Say "Yes" to Coconut Water

Hydration is key to skin looking smooth, and one of the most hydrating beverages you can drink is coconut water! Coconut water is rich in electrolytes which makes it extra hydrating which is excellent in supporting skin. Staying hydrated helps rejuvenate skin so it looks and feels smooth and soft. This is due to the fact that the outermost layer of the skin has the moisture it needs to flush away toxins and carry nutrients to the skin's cells. Rich in antioxidants, coconut water also has antimicrobial properties. One study conducted on rats found that consumption of coconut water may even boost antioxidant systems which can neutralize the effects of free radicals and promote anti-aging!  

Prioritize Your Gut

The gut and brain are in direct communication with one another via the gut and skin axis. This means that if your gut health is less than stellar, your skin may reflect this. The microbiome of our bodies does much of the gut and skin communication. Thus, prioritizing your gut microbiome health may help support your skin health! In fact, a 2017 study reported that individuals with rosacea have a higher incidence of gastrointestinal disease. This further proves that the skin is a great barometer of what is going on inside the body. So how can you prioritize your gut health? Eating fermented foods, limiting stress and cutting out seed oils is a great place to start! 

Check Your Cosmetics

Cosmetics can be manufactured with over 10,000 chemical ingredients! Some of which are suspected to be highly toxic and carcinogenic which can wreak havoc on your skin's texture and shine. In fact, many “moisturizing lotions” have a wide variety of harmful chemicals that can dry out and dull your skin. If you aren’t exactly sure what to look for, or how to check the toxin level of your products, head over to EWG.org to check out their database to make a search on your specific products. EWG gives you practical solutions to protect you and your family from everyday exposures to chemicals in cosmetics. This database is backed by science and designed for you to learn what’s really in your personal care products.  

Recap of Natural Beauty Tips

Achieving a beautiful glow may seem impossible in this day and age due to society's lack of sunlight, exposure to chemicals and standard American diet! It may seem as though the world is against your beauty in this day and age! But, by adopting healthful lifestyle patterns and choosing nourishing foods, you can significantly give your skin the support it needs to shine no matter what your age is!