Skin Cleansing Detox

Skin Cleansing

First of all, an explanation why skin cleansing is on our site. Your skin is an organ, just like your liver or kidney, that is actually responsible for 10% of your body's toxin removal! That's right, you may not realize it, but your skin is an important exit route for all the pesticides, chemicals and drugs that are stored in your system.

An improperly functioning colon can give you symptoms such as gas or bloating. Likewise, if your skin is unable to eliminate these toxins then you also get symptoms, but in this case they come in the shape of acne or other skin conditions. So a good skin cleanse should be a part of any detox treatment or colon cleanse.

Skin Cleansing Techniques

A good skin cleanse will improve your complexion and restore a vital organ in your body to health. There are 4 main ways to achieve this - Skin Brushing, Sauna, Contrast Showers and Diet.

Skin Brushing
This is a technique, used in many Asian spas, to eliminate toxins by stimulating the lymphatic system. The idea is that firm but gentle brush strokes across the skin will improve your blood circulation, clean out clogged pores and enable your body to remove toxins faster.

First you need to buy a brush from your local health food store. It should have natural bristles and a long handle. Secondly, make sure your skin is dry. Many people do a skin brushing in the morning just before their shower, so that the dead cells are immediately washed away.

Start the skin brushing with the soles of your feet, using slow, gentle, circular movements. Move up your body, all the time brushing towards your chest, but be careful to avoid areas where your skin is particularly sensitive.

Sauna
If you've ever been to Sweden then you know that some cultures regularly use saunas to detoxify, cleanse and lose weight. If you don't have your own sauna, then going to your local gym is a great way to find one. Saunas actually work better after exercise, because when you sweat your pores open up.

A good sauna will increase blood circulation and dislodge chemicals that are stuck to your fat cells. Make sure that the sauna has not been treated with toxic chemicals.

Be careful to drink lots of water and ensure that your mineral levels are high enough - there are plenty of new 'vitamin water' drinks that are perfect for this.

Stay in the sauna from 15-45 minutes, and make sure that the sauna is not too hot. If you find yourself sweating heavily after only 15 minutes, then you should turn the temperature down.

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Diet
You can't do an effective skin cleanse without changes to your diet. The most important advice is to drink more water. You should be drinking at least 8-12 glasses of water a day to flush out the toxins from your body.

As for food, make sure that you are getting all the vitamins and minerals that you need. Using some of the recipes from our juice cleansing page will help, and vitamin supplements are also a good idea.

Contrast Showers
A great way to improve your blood circulation and immune system is with contrast showers.

Improved circulation brings nutrients to damaged skin cells and carries away waste products, while contrast showers can also increase the number of your white blood cells and boost your immune system.

Start with 3 minutes of hot water, followed by less than a minute of cold water. Repeat this cycle at least once. A good time to do a contrast shower is straight after the gym, perhaps before or after using the sauna.

Skin Products

Without even realizing it, we pollute our body with toxic beauty products. Creams and potions are absorbed into our skin and scalp, but some of these harmful chemicals in our beauty regimes could also be causing skin problems such as acne, eczema and rashes. Switch to reputable natural organic products such as to natural soaps, skin creams, shampoos, conditioners and detergents.