THIS MONTH'S FEATURED ARTICLE
Skin Deep
They say that true beauty is more than skin-deep. On the other hand, the color and texture of the skin is generally considered a good indication of how things are below the surface. That said, skin quality is influenced by far more than simply what we eat. Have you ever cleansed your skin after walking around in a big city? Our skin is actually one of our vital organs: the largest in the entire body. It is our barrier between what's inside of us and everything else. It's the point of reckoning and mediation. It's an organ of excretion, but also of absorption.
Many people who become interested in natural foods and healthy living quickly realize that what they put on their bodies should also come up for scrutiny. "If you can't eat it, you shouldn't put it on your body" is a popular, and sensible, rule of thumb.
Skin blemishes and acne can be devastating to self-esteem, and the idea of discontinuing the use of cover-up products and skin treatments can be daunting. I want to discuss a few of the reasons why skin breakouts happen, to offer up the idea that they have a purpose to serve; also that they sometimes occur due to circumstances beyond our conscious control, so there's no need to feel guilty for having them. It's a strange kind of superiority complex that's rampant in the natural health and raw foods movement, that suggests that if you're not looking perfect and in perfect health, you must be 'doing something wrong.' Of course, at the other extreme, there are the 'detox' aficionados who will welcome and prize breakouts as dramatic indications of healing. I know that this information won't make you feel any more beautiful during a breakout, but at least there are some rationalizations that might make it easier to accept. And I'll mention a few things that seem to me to be helpful with smoothing and soothing skin.
By way of illustration of the causes of breakouts, here is some of my own experience. When I was on the 'cleanest' diet I've ever eaten (100% raw, mostly fruit, lots of greens, very low fat, much of the food locally produced) I was by no means immune to skin breakouts. Sometimes, my skin was super-clear, but periodically, I'd have lots of zits. I don't think that this was just 'ongoing detox.' At the time, I lived in Berkeley, CA (which is suburban and part of a very densely populated area) and rode my bike in traffic a lot. I didn't do anything specific for my skin and didn't pay attention to breakouts. My skin was exposed to all kinds of crud, so perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that it wasn't always clear. I like to suggest to myself that the breakouts meant that that crud wasn't being absorbed into my system on a deeper level: the skin was dealing with it in situ.
In addition, at that time I was maintaining an unhealthily low weight and didn't menstruate for close to a decade. I've learned since then that the body continues to produce estrogen even during amenorrhea and has to sequester it somehow when it isn't regulated by the monthly flow. This leads (and, in my case, led) to problems with polycystic ovaries and hormone imbalances later on. It's highly possible that it caused fluctuations in my complexion at that time too. Hormonal imbalances and hormonal fluctuations in general can sometimes be accompanied by skin breakouts--hence teenage acne and time-of-the-month breakouts.
Fluctuations and changes in general, not just of hormones, can be reflected in the skin. I've noticed that whenever I adjust my diet, whether it's by eating more fruit, less fruit; more raw, less raw; more fat, less fat; the change itself can (but doesn't always) trigger a breakout. Perhaps this is an idiosyncrasy of my own body after the difficulties it's been through, but I don't think I'm the only person who experiences this. It's a peculiarly vulnerable space, when you've moved out of a comfort zone, are perhaps doing some major house-cleaning within your body and spirit, are a work-in-progress, and your instability is laid out there for all to see with a return to an adolescent complexion!
Another thing that I didn't do back in those days was drink enough water. Generally, I drank a quart of water when I first got up, and that was it for the day--and sometimes I didn't even do that. Ever noticed how dry and, sometimes, broken-out your skin gets after a plane ride? Flying is one of the most dehydrating ways to spend time possible! Especially living in a suburban environment, even with all the fruit I was eating I'd have been better off had I drank lots more good quality water throughout the day. It dilutes the toxins to which we're inevitably exposed and helps to move things through.
Finally, I do believe that sometimes breakouts are genuinely due to 'detox:' I just think that this explanation tends to get invoked gratuitously and inappropriately. As well as absorbing, skin excretes. There are toxins that end up inside us as well as outside.
My mom is a homeopath, and recognizes various constitutional types among people. Have you noticed how different people have different 'Achilles' heels' in their health? Some people are more prone to digestive trouble, some to respiratory problems, others to skin eruptions and boils, etc. Unsightly as it can be, my mom maintains that people (like my dad) who tend to 'get rid of' malign substances in their body by means of boils and rashes are fortunate, because it's a relatively direct route out of the body and, although it doesn't look nice, it's less debilitating than asthma or chronic digestive issues.
If you are broken out, and want to feel like you're doing something about it, there are some wonderfully formulated natural skincare products that I'm not qualified to talk about (but are likely discussed elsewhere in this month's issue). What I can say is this: sometimes, it's important to feel like you're doing something about it, and just that feeling can help to improve things. At other times, it's best just to let things run their course.
Air and water are probably the fundamental skin helpers: breathe deeply, and seek out good quality air. Drink plenty of good water. Sweating is also wonderful, both for the skin and for moving the lymph, causing deeper-level cleansing which will benefit the skin further. Alternating sauna with cold rinses several times causes the skin pores to expand and contract, facilitating the release of toxins and improving their suppleness. (This is particularly wonderful if you live in a cold climate, as I currently do.)
Beyond these basics, there are just three things that I have found most helpful. One is lemon: some lemon squeezed in warm water first thing in the morning is great, especially if you then rub the lemon over your face, particularly any problem areas. (Check the mirror afterward for stray bits of pulp!) I find that it's best if I don't do this every day forever: lemon is potent, and I've found that overdoing it can actually make me itchy! (This is probably a sign of incipient sensitivity/intolerance, which can be resolved by simply rotating away from it for a while.)
The other two are both sulphur-containing substances: aloe vera, both gel from the fresh leaves and even the juice/gel that you can buy, and MSM. Aloe vera grows as an indoor plant and is incredibly hardy and easy to care for. However, my experience is that when the climate allows for it to grow outside, the gel from the leaves tastes infinitely better than from indoor plants. I haven't found a way to grow them indoors and have the gel be palatable, but they're still wonderful as a topical application, for breakouts, burns (including sunburns) and more.
I had a friend who used to describe MSM powder as 'crystallized clouds.' I've also known many people who swear that taking it regularly made old scars that they had simply disappear. This suggests that it works at a deep and regenerative level. I love to make a lemonade with water, MSM, lemon and a little stevia--MSM is incredibly bitter! Start with a half a teaspoon and work up to a teaspoon, or even a tablespoon. The more water you use to dissolve it, the less intense the bitterness.
I hope that these rationalizations help you to see that skin breakouts can occur for a plethora of reasons and are nothing to feel guilty about. And I hope that the suggestions for dealing with them are of some help too: don't worry too much, and let your inner beauty radiate outward!
BIO
Ela Harrison Gordon is a Classical scholar, linguist and poet who has chosen to devote her life to healing and spiritual growth. She has worked as a raw food chef, beekeeper and farmer as well asa translator, writer and editor. Of English and Israeli heritage and raised in London, she has lived inthe USA since 2000 and has explored cultivated and wild land whilst living in California,
Hawaii and now Alaska.She regards her body's intolerance of grains and most modern foods, as well as her journey back
from near-death from anorexia, as blessings that have led her to a greater reverence for the body and its place in our
spiritual development, a more holistic understanding of health, and a deep interest in nutrition both of person and of planet. These blessings first led her to raw foods in 2003, and she is excited to share the breadth of what she has learned from pursuing the lifestyle in a variety of climates whilst integrating with local customs and growth patterns.
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