How to Detox for Clean Skin at Home
If you’re feeling the need to rejuvenate, we’re sharing how to detox at home. Perhaps you:
- Have felt under the weather or want an immunity boost
- Were traveling and want to do a “rinse”
- Feel a desire to cleanse after (too many?) processed foods
- Simply need a reet
This desire to rinse the body and release old junk is not a new practice, no matter what juice cleanses or infomercials you may see.
Practiced for centuries by cultures around the world — including Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine systems — detoxification is about resting, cleansing and nourishing the body from the inside out. By removing and eliminating toxins, then feeding your body with healthy nutrients, detoxifying can help protect you from disease and renew your ability to maintain optimum health through a range of methods including yoga, meditation and more. [source]
Let’s detox for clear skin
In this blog, we’re going to show ways to detox for clear skin through releasing toxins. We will delve into:
- How powerful detoxing can be for the body
- The best vegan foods for detoxing the body
- Easy ways to detox your skin
(Before beginning any detox, do make sure to consult with your trusted physician to make sure what is good and safe for your body.)
What is detoxification?
Basically, detoxification means cleansing the (wait for it) blood.
Yes, blood.
This is done by removing impurities via the liver, where toxins are processed for elimination. The body also eliminates toxins through the kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymphatic system, and skin. [source]
The liver is the body’s filter + #1 fat burner
Many people to detoxes to help with their skin or in weight maintenance. For weight management, the reason for fat burning which many people do not realize?
The liver is the #1 fat burning organ in the entire body.
In addition, the liver:
- Filters out through the blood, from medications to alcohol (including that 2nd or, maybe 3rd, margarita)
- Helps the digestive system by creating bile that helps break down and absorb fat
- Assists in regulating glucose, insulin and hormones like estrogen
- Because it helps break down fat and regulation of sugar, if clogged up this can have results (Source)
How the liver gives you sweet release
Detoxification starts in your liver. While it’s a complicated process, your liver essentially does this in two phases.
First, the liver converts toxic substances to highly reactive metabolites and then excretes these toxins. Your kidneys, lungs, and even gut also play a role in detoxification.
Why you may want to release toxins?
Toxins can impact organs both acutely and cumulatively. More dangerous are the persistent, low-grade toxins such as residue you consume regularly in conventionally grown fruits and vegetables. Reactions aren’t immediate, and you might not see the connection between chronic low-grade toxicity and struggle with weight management.
When toxins build up, especially in the gut and skin itself, the result can be clogged pores and blockages that lead to greater acne. (That’s why, shortly, we’ll show specific ways to detox for clear skin.)
How do you know if you need to detoxify?
While releasing toxins and symptoms are different for every person, here are some general signs and symptoms to look out for. If you:
- See more acne, especially cystic acne, than usual
- Have fatigue, even after a good amount of sleep
- Are feeling “gross” - such as having bloating
- See bags under the eyes
- Are a bit foggy, finding it hard to focus and get clarity
The Best Foods for Natural Detoxification
Fats and Oils
Natural fats and oils like extra virgin olive oil and organic coconut oil provide energy for the detox and biotransformation processes, helping to activate a detox for clear skin.
Nuts and Seeds
Try almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and flax seeds for a healthy snack. Nuts and seeds are excellent sources of fiber that assists in proper excretion and elimination.
Legumes
Beans, lentils, and other legumes are a splendid source of soluble and insoluble fiber, as well as a variety of amino acid precursors.
The #1 Vegetables for Detox
Among their nutrients, non-starchy vegetables provide a wide variety of phytochemicals and fiber. The top vegetables for detoxing:
- Kale
- Spinach (Which can be easier for juicing or blending into smoothies than kale)
- Cabbage
- Beets
Celery Juice
There is a phenomenon around juicing celery as a first morning drink to detox. It’s said to:
- Help relieve digestive issues and move things along, eliminating toxins this way
- Have anti-inflammatory effects and antioxidants to aid in liver’s elimination of free radicals
-
Assist in kidney health, including expelling excess calcium deposits that can lead to kidney stones and gallstones (Source)
Fruits
Fruits contain a wide variety of phytonutrients, such as beta-carotene, lutein, and anthocyanins that have protective antioxidant properties. They are also a good source of soluble and insoluble fiber and are high in water content.
Does organic matter?
Whenever possible, choose organic plant foods.
The Environmental Working Group or EWG estimates:
Conventional produce may contain as much as 178 pesticides.
If you can’t choose organic because of cost or availability, check out the EWG’s guide to the most — and least — pesticide-ridden fruits and vegetables, appropriately called the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15. (Source)
5 Other Natural Ways to Support Your Body’s Detox System
Here are additional ways to help support the liver and the natural ways your body wants to detox, especially to take toxins away from the skin.
1. Support your gut with these “biotics”
Gut imbalances can provoke an increase in a shocking amount of skin issues, including acne and other issues like eczema.
One way is to increase levels of probiotics and prebiotics. Daily foods and even medicine that helps us can end up impacting levels of gut balance we ar meant to have. An antibiotic may end up killing healthy gut bacteria that help fight off and release toxins.
Probiotics and prebiotics can be taken in a variety of ways, from fermented foods (like kimchi), drinks (like kombucha) and pills or gummies.
2. Drink this type of water
You know the power of drinking water in helping your body to flush out toxins, support skin’s glow and have many other benefits. However, here is what is often missed:
Drink purified water that is more alkaline.
If water is running through pipes, it can change pH and become more acidic. Modern diets already have such high levels of acidity, which can create more intense gut, skin and health issues. (Source)
3. Sweat out your toxins
While there are many upsides to moving your body (whether yoga, running, home dance videos or any other style of workout you prefer), exercise is also powerful for helping to detox.
The skin is the biggest organ and releases vast amounts of toxins through sweat.
4. Get good sleep
Sleep not only has us feel more alert, improve memory and make sure our bodies function in many fantastic ways, a brain detoxification process has been found when you sleep.
According to Andy R. Eugene and Jolanta Masiak, insufficient sleep impairs your glymphatic system. If this system isn’t supported, there can be toxin build-up. [source]
5. Detox ingredients to put directly on your skin
Vitamin C
Vitamin C can help heal and release, especially after or during a detox:
- Vitamin C can act as a natural toner, smoothing out the colors
- Can acts as an anti-inflammatory, which is fantastic because when you begin detoxing, this can release toxins which initially cause discomfort or inflammation before exiting the body
Learn more about the power of Vitamin C for skin here..
Charcoal
This may be the perfect time to try a charcoal mask.
Plastic Surgeon, Melissa Doft, MD. shares that with pores that get congested, charcoal acts as a magnet and can absorb 100 to 200 times its weight in impurities. The more raw and organic the ingredients, remember, the better. (Source)
Natural, organic products
Many bottles on your bathroom shelf right now may contain additives and chemicals, even bottles that appear green or “eco-friendly looking”.
Even if you detox with the right foods, if creams packed with additives are on your face and skin every day, the toxins will build up and keep causing more skin issues.
That’s why it is so vital to have a natural, vegan moisturizer that lets skin detox.
*If you can make one change, the #1 step is to switch your moisturizer, since a cleanser will at least be rinsed off but this will stay on your face all day long.
