The Blog

Pregnancy is a time when for some, everything with their skin falls into place and they get that rosy, healthy glow. Unfortunately that’s not the case for all women and it can also be a time where skin goes a little out of control. During pregnancy there is a real shift in hormone production, primarily relating to skin, there is an increase in the female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone while also some androgens can elevate. Hormones are produced to aid in fetal growth and our body’s ability to relax to accommodate the growing fetus and placenta while also gifting the flexibility for delivery. Hormones for bonding and milk supply are also plentiful. So what does this mean for skin...

Melasma can be a very frustrating and destabilising skin condition to deal with. Topical treatment can be quite effective, however many experiencing this skin condition deal with recurrence of the pigment all too soon. So why is this happening and what can we do about it with holistic medicine? Melasma is a pigmentation of the skin that appears as darker or pigmented patches generally appearing on the face, around the cheeks, chin, upper lip, bridge of the nose and forehead, but can also appear on areas of the body such as neck and forearms. Women suffer with Melasma more frequently, making up 90% of cases and melasma occurs in a general sense, due to an upregulation of melanin production in...

Diet is a really imperative tool for holistic skin healing. It’s not the whole pie but definitely a piece that has a very positive influence on skin and over all health resolution. Whether you have hormonal acne, rosacea, psoriasis or eczema/dermatitis there are foods that are likely to aggravate your symptoms. Of those foods there are a few common offenders and they often come up in sweet treats or comfort foods. This is a little guide of some replacement sweets and snacks that you can use as guilt free alternatives. What to Avoid for your Skin Condition. The big ones for hormonal acne are dairy and sugar. Sugar increases insulin which intern increases androgens, while the A1 protein in A1...

Pregnancy can be a tricky time to work on both new and pre-existing health concerns. So much care needs to be taken to minimise any risk of harm to the developing bub that it can be hard to know what your options are for managing issues like skin conditions. This is true for pharmaceutical interventions and holistic medicine alike, however safety queries around medication can be easier to access clear guidelines for. Not to mention that pregnancy for some is a time when skin issues can flare. I wanted to share some of the most important nutrients for pregnancy and how they can also very safely support your skins radiance and health.   Firstly my Favourites 3 Supplements for Pregnancy...

There is a gut skin access and if your experiencing gut issues you may be wearing the evidence on your face or other areas of your skin. Your digestive system and skin are intricately connected. The micro-biome of your gut and its cellular integrity set the tone for your skin's micro-biome and skin barrier integrity. There is even evidence that suggests this can also works vice versa in some scenarios such as atopic dermatitis. Acne, eczema, red/flaky dermatitis, rosacea and psoriasis are all conditions where gut bug balance is of huge importance. If you’re lucky enough not to have an active skin condition, you can still enjoy the benefits of good gut health in supporting healthy aging and resilient youthful...

Cellulite is simply stored fat in fibrous bands of connective tissue below the skin. Its appearance is enhanced when there is an excess of fat deposition or water retention in the effected area or breakdown of the smoothing compounds such as collagen in the skin. Microcirculation, healthy lymphatic drainage, fat loss and muscle tone all play roles in aiding the appearance of cellulite, while hormonal balance will result in less formation. Cellulite effects all individuals to a degree while females and those genetically pre-disposed find it will affect them more easily, partially due to hormone production and connective tissue structuring. Diet and Exercise Avoiding chemically refined oils, trans fats and excessive consumption of saturated fats from animals will of course...

Beauty sleep is a term we are all familiar with and it goes beyond just looking tired after a bad nights sleep.  The physiological impact from stress and sleep disturbances have a real impact on skin healing and aging. Sleep disturbances regularly occur as a part of mental health condition such as chronic stress, while those suffering from a sleep issue may develop mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety secondary to disrupted sleep or insomnia. It’s one of those self perpetuating patterns that if left unchecked has the ability to run over into other health conditions, such as chronic skin issues. If your struggling with a skin condition and sleep optimization isn’t something you have considered, its probably...

Stress is no stranger to the modern human, it is also no friend when presenting in the chronic state that many have normalized. We are no longer relying on our stress response just to survive. It has become a new state of being for many, with any little trivial daily inconvenience kicking our hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis into full swing. Not to mention the uncertainty of our health and futures only emphasizing this in recent months. The brain loves precision, meaning it favors the pathways that it knows best, when you are in a state of chronic stress, intervention is needed to stop the brain from favoring the stress inducing pathways that lead to changes in the brains architecture and mental...

There is more and more discussion these days surrounding the skin barrier and the role that disruption of these complex tissues plays in inflammatory skin conditions. This connection between barrier and skin health at large has been recognized in literature for decades now. The thing we aren’t talking about enough is that just as we know it’s ideal to manage skin disharmony with both internal and external healing paradigms so does the story go for that of our skins outer protective layer. When it comes to skin barrier repair we want to optimize the availability of nutritional building blocks like lipids to form the lipid matrix of the skin’s outer layer and other components of strong structural barrier integrity. What...

Many of us have heard of the gut skin axis and are aware that if you are experiencing tell tale signs of digestive disturbances concurrent to a skin ailment there is likely a connection between the two. However the details of the actual link and how to proceed with dealing with the two entwined but separate health issues may be somewhat puzzling. I would like to demystify some common gut to skin connections, as to empower those with these concurrent issues to access preliminary treatment options and or further support where it’s needed. Low Stomach Acid and Digestive Insufficiency Digestion starts with stomach acid so it must be mentioned first, it is often not the whole picture of digestive disturbance...