Guest blog – Belinda Hughes the Natural Beauty Expert

Anyone that is interested in improving their health would have come across the theory that good health starts with your gut. This is why we see an endless advertisement of ‘good probiotics’ in everything from our supplements to our yoghurt. The skin is our largest detoxifying organ on our body, so it’s safe to say everything that we put in our body, comes out on our skin. So using a $300 ‘miracle’ moisturiser isn’t going to work if it’s fighting toxic waste coming from the inside out. To achieve optimum skin health it must be a combined effort of internal gut health and good skin care.

If hormones aren’t in balance and your body is trying to deal with a bunch of preservatives, sugar and lifestyle factors (sun, alcohol, smoke and stress) then your skin is always going to look dull, have breakouts and age quicker. Also if your products contain preservatives and petro chemical-based ingredients, your skin won’t be able to find it’s happy balance to function properly either. Probiotics aren’t created equal just like skin care is not created equal. Typically over the counter or supermarket probitoics won’t be strong enough to have the kind of effect that professional strength ones do that you get from a health food retailer or naturopath. As someone who has struggled my whole life with gut health I’m in love with the three-step system available from Sunlighten called maintainME. It’s a powdered probiotic made from real food and teamed with an electrolyte and silver supplement and it really gets my insides singing! Probiotics are also excellent for your skin, especially if you’re suffering from acne. The professional brand I use in my clinic, Eminence Organic Skin Care, offers probiotics in their ‘Clear Skin’ collection to help eliminate bad bacteria so the skin can balance itself after an outbreak of acne.

It is important to always support your body and skin instead of bullying it into doing something that it isn’t ready to do; this never yields long-term results. Whether you’re trying to lose weight or clear your skin, reducing inflammation is always the best way to go about it, when your body is not inflamed it can heal more effectively so you achieve long terms results. This leads to a happier lifestyle instead of the pain of yo-yoing back and forth with your body and skin. If you have a real concern it’s always best to find a good naturopath to get you on your way. The same goes for your skin, find a good beauty therapist that preferably uses toxic free products and your skin will thank you.