New year, New skincare choices

The new year is when many us look at our lifestyle choices, what we eat, how often we exercise and our beauty routines. The option to be healthier and make choices that will improve our lifestyle is high on the agenda.

Reassess the choices we make so we can make better ones often push us into discovery mode and looking at what you put into and onto your body is something most of us want to improve.

So, let us look at what we put on our skin.

Our skin is porous, so it absorbs whatever you put on it, with this in mind choosing clean beauty is an option you should consider.

Cleaning out your skincare cupboard is a wonderful feeling, it is a detox of space, and the best way to complement it is to detox your products. Once you start using natural beauty, you will not go back. You will see all the benefits natural active products provide for your skin and have the confidence you are making the correct skincare choice.

Natural, clean skincare is full of active energy from the earth. The nutrition in botanical energizes and feeds your skin with essential vitamins and minerals. Full of anti-ageing properties and protective benefits, natural ingredients are the best detox you will make for your skin health. The best way to prevent collagen breakdown and slow down the ageing process is to keep your skin healthy. Maintaining a nutritious diet, stay hydrated and protect your skin from the sun are great steps towards healthy skin. When it comes to your skincare, you want to achieve four things.

1. Clean your skin well, especially before bed.

Removing dirt and pollution is vital for good skin health. A build-up of toxins can damage your skin, block pores and create congestion leading to breakouts. If your skin is irritated and inflamed, it may lead to damaging skin cells and scaring. Cleansing your skin also helps prepare your skin to absorb the product you apply.

2. Feed your skin with nutritional and hydrating skincare.

Your skin cells are thirsty for hydration and nutrition. Just as we feed our body for energy, our skin cells also need energy. Our skin is working hard, fighting off external toxins and protecting our internal body. We need to recharge and feed our skin with beneficial nutrients to keep it healthy.

3. Promote circulation

For many years we have been told to reduce the times we touch our skin, there was a concern with stretching skin, speeding up the ageing process. Now we know that massaging the muscles slows down the ageing process. Massage also helps with lymph drainage, removing toxins and blood circulation, feeding your skin with nutrients. Massaging with an oil-based serum will prevent your skin's pulling and allow you to glide along the muscle line.

4. Protect your skin against external environment and toxins.

Sun rays, pollution and weather all play a big part in attacking our skin externally. Using high-quality natural skincare and sunblock is a great way to protect your skin from these harmful elements. Natural products with fatty acids and vitamin E are a great way to protect your skin. Fatty acids strengthen your protective barrier on your skin's surface, reducing the stress on your skin.

We all see the benefits when our diet is full of natural, healthy foods; we glow, we are happier and healthy. Feeding our bodies with these foods creates a harmonious balance between your body and the energy it needs. Just like the food you eat, natural skincare is tuneful to your skin cells and reduces the negative effect of chemicals on your skin. Energy and nourishing benefits from seeds, flora and fruits, are blended and formulated to nurture your skin resulting in a beautiful, healthy completion.

Is it time you detoxed your skincare routine?

Natural Jojoba

A Japanese beauty

Camellia oil, Tsubaki oil, a beauty oil for beautiful skin.

Camellia Oil, the multivitamin cocktail you should have in your skincare routine every day.

This beautiful light oil absorbs deep into the lower layers of your skin, supporting healthy cell rejuvenation, which helps with restoring skin elasticity. Containing vitamins, A, B, C, D and E as well as Omega 3, 6 and 9, this vitamin cocktail is a boost of natural energy leaving your skin healthy and glowing.

Camellia oil is a non-comedogenic oil which means it will not clog your pores, reducing the chance of acne, as well as an anti-inflammatory, calming inflamed skin for better healing results. Acne is not only an unpleasant skin infection but can leave nasty scares and dark spots on your skin. Using oils like camellia oil can help with maintain a clear completion.

Vitamins and Omegas found in camellia oil benefit your skin in so many ways.

Here are some of the benefits you will gain when using camellia oil daily.

Antioxidant properties, protecting your skin from damaging free radicals.

The moisturizing benefits help keep your skin hydrated and healthy.

Healing skin, helping to reduce scaring.

Boost collagen production, helping to slow the ageing process down.

Fading age spots resulting in an even skin tone.

It has anti-inflammatory properties, helping to reduce damage of skin cells.

Seals in moisture, keeping the skin healthy and smooth.

Maintains the barrier function of the skin, protecting your skin from external pollution.

Helps maintain skins elasticity.

Beautiful organic camellia oil found in People of your Kind’s Revitalising Serum.

Hazelnut Oil

Helping to boost collagen production and firming on skin, hazelnut oil is a wonderful oil for optimal skin health.

Hazelnut oil is a wonderful oil for healthy firm skin, high in vitamin E and fatty acids; hazelnut oil feeds your skin with essential nutrients. This beautiful oil creates a natural barrier for your skin, which helps lock in and retain moisture. The barrier also protects your skin against external toxins. The vitamin E content in hazelnut oil helps reduce the appearance of scars.

Hazelnut oil keeps your skin hydrated and boosts collagen production by reducing an enzyme that destroys collagen. Collagen provides structure to your skin and supports elasticity resulting in a youthful appearance. Hazelnut oil also contains Tannins, a natural astringent helping to minimise pores, resulting in an even complexion.

Perfect for sensitive skin, hazelnut oil absorbs softly into the skin resulting in a clear even complexion.

Hazelnut oil for a beautiful skin

Rich in vitamin a,c,e, k and essential fatty acids

This beautiful oil is rich in skin-nourishing vitamins and essential fatty acids. Vitamins A, C, E and K help nourish the skin, strengthening skin cells. Healthy skin cells are a key factor in slowing down the ageing process in our skin.

Hazelnut oil contains tannins, a powerful antioxidant, protecting your skin against free radicals. Tannins is also an astringent that helps remove bacteria from the skin surface, reducing the chance of inflammation.

The Nutrients, flavonoids, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties found in hazelnut oil also help to rejuvenate skin cells and used regularly will help support healthy glowing skin.

The vitamin E in hazelnut oil also helps reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation, resulting in a clear, even complexion.

Fill up on immunity

Staying healthy is not only important for the longevity of life, but it also affects the quality of your lifestyle. Staying healthy helps prevent inflammation, which can help in reducing the chance of diseases. How we do this is through diet, exercise, sleep and reduce stress. Building your immune system will help your body fight off free radicals and infections, which causes inflammation in your

body. Build your immune system by adding delicious ingredients to your weekly diet.

Most of us know about the vitamin C benefits in citrus fruit to help build your immune system, but there are also many other foods that you can incorporate into your weekly diet to help your body fight off the nasty bugs. Here are just a few goodies you can add to your dinner plate tonight.

Broccoli- packed with vitamin A, C, E and antioxidants, these little trees strengthen your body’s defenses, helping to fight off viruses. Garlic- not only does garlic help fight off infections, the allicin properties in garlic helps keep your body healthy, reducing the stress on your system so if a virous comes your way, more of your body’s energy can put into fighting the virus.

Spinach- rich in vitamin A, C and antioxidants helping to fight infections. Spinach also contains iron which helps support a healthy immune system. Add these three ingredients to your dinner plate and check in soon for more ideas on good health choices for beauty, health and lifestyle.

Go Natural

Nature is the powerhouse you need when it come to skincare.

Each day we can apply up to 200 chemicals absorbing into our skin through our beauty routines. So let us look at why we need to move to natural skincare products.

Remove the toxins

Your skin is an amazing organ; not only does it protect your internal organs and fights off infections, but it also bends, stretches, heals, glows, plus so much more. One of the wonderful superpowers our skin has is the power to detoxify and cleanse itself from external toxins that are absorbed into our skin daily. If our skin can help remove toxins, why do we need to use natural skin care products?

Although your body can help remove toxins, there is only so much it can remove. With the increase of chemical use in our day to day lives, chemical overload can increase inflammation in our body. We avoid eating chemicals so we should avoid placing them on our skin. Skincare works by applying cream and serums on our skin to be absorbed into the skin resulting in the desired outcome. Reducing our chemical and toxin exposure helps keep our body health and reduces inflammation which can lead to disease.

Chemical to avoid

If you can remove chemicals from your skincare routine altogether, then do so. At least make sure you avoid the below chemicals altogether.

Oxybenzone - may lead to hormone disruptor and may affect the immune system.

Parabens and Triclosan - may lead to hormone disruptor, possible developmental and reproductive toxin.

Petrochemical - may lead to organ toxicity.

Phthalates - may lead to hormone disruptor, possible developmental and reproductive toxin. May increase the risk of developing asthma and allergies.

Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) - compounds are harmful to DNA

Propylene can cause weak cellular structure.

Talc - increased risk of health relating to the uterus and ovaries

The powerful active natural ingredients

Appling natural ingredients to your skin for skin cell health has so many benefits. Active botanicals are one of the most effective ingredients in skincare today.

Vitamin E is a must when it comes to healthy skin cells and anti-ageing. There are many sources of potent vitamin E in natural botanicals, Natures Ingredients — People Of Your Kind .

Vitamin C is also a must, helping with collagen production and antioxidant properties help support a firm skin. Found in hazel nut oil, sunflower seed oil, Camellia oil, Aloe Vera, Gotu Kola and watermelon seed oil.

The standout in skin health is Omega fatty acids. Omega fatty acids help support healthy and flawless skin that helps rejuvenate the skin, reducing inflammation caused by pollution and supporting collagen production. Here are some of the natural Omega fatty acids potent ingredients to add to your skincare routine, hazel nut oil, sunflower seed oil, Evening Primrose oil, Rosehip oil, Camellia oil and seabuckthorn.

Swap out your product

With so many options for a natural skincare routine, it is easy to swap out your chemical-based skincare to these active botanicals. Your skin cells will love your new choices, so try these powerpack ingredients and have the confidence that you have made the best choice for your health.

Zoomed out?

With many of us working and staying at home due to physical distancing requirements, our connections are mostly online through Zoom talks or face-time. It sounds easy, doesn’t it, not needing to leave home, clicking on to a link and going casual from the waist down, or is it? The truth is, it can be very draining, attending scheduled meetings that are filling up your calendar or face-timing family to check in can lead to cognitive overload. If you are feeling exhausted from all the click/links connections and need a little mindfulness, then book it in. Schedule timeout in your calendar, step away from your device, (yes including your phone) and self-indulge. It may be working on the yoga moves you have been enjoying lately, a fast-paced run on the treadmill or knocking off a few pages of that alluring book you do not want to put down. Detoxing from your device for a little time each day will help you stay tuned and connected when you need to, as well as providing mental well-being.

Schedule in some zoom out time

Just as there are zoom connect meetings scheduled into your calendar, book in a little me time also.

With the sudden shift from personal interactive discussions around tables or in the office kitchen to home office clicking the join meeting button and see the digital images pop up on your laptop can be challenging on the mind. When your scheduled me time arrives, step away from all digital devices and head to a place that makes you feel calm and free, nature is a ideal place, in the garden, a walk on the beach, a stroll through the park or kicking back on a relaxing lounge grabbing a novel. If you only have 15minutes, try meditation or a some loved yoga moves to help release the tension and stress.

Hints on how to make your digital meeting less draining.

So we need our digital connections right now, they are important, we need to stay connected. Here are a few tips on how to get the best out of your Zoom meetings and feel less drained.

Tip 1 - Be prepared, have a note pad and questions ready, show up five minutes before the call and just relax, grab a drink, maybe sip on tea. A clear working environment will keep you focused on the zoom meeting and stop your mind running on what else needs to happen.

Tip 2- Keep the meeting well apart. Don’t schedule zoom meetings back to back. Talk to your colleagues about how often and why you need to hold zoom meetings, can a call or email achieve the outcome without holding too many digital meetings.

Tip 3- If you do not need to contribute too much to the meeting then consider turning your camera off, you can still contribute but you remove the pressure of visual appearance.

Avocado Beauty

Nature’s vitamin shot

Achieving glowing skin from your dinner plate.

Having avocado smashed on toast isn’t just a trendy breakfast for the millennial tribe, the healthy benefits for beauty will make you think this treat should be enjoyed more than just once a week when catching up with friends at your local café. Avocados are nature’s multivitamins wrapped up in a deep green pod, rich in vitamin B and E as well as Biotin which will help support fuller, lustrous hair as well as improve nail health. Let’s not stop there, the fatty acids and omega oils in avocado helps support a supple, elastic skin while the Vitamin E helps prevent oxidation damage. Avocados also contains vitamin C which is an important vitamin for Collagen production, supporting skin structure. So, enjoy this beauty treat from nature for not just the delicious taste but because of the wonderful glowing complexion and lustrous hair you will gain from this super food.

Avocado oil, a rich in vitamin A, D and E

Vitamin A, D and E in avocado oil supports deep hydration for the skin. Hydration is extremely important for healthy strong skin and protecting your skin from external toxins. This vitamin cocktail also helps with healing the skin.

Avocado oil also contains essential fatty acids which include omega 3 and 6 helping to strengthen the skins natural barrier.

Here are a few suggestions of how you can add avocado to your weekly meal plans.

Breakfast- Smashed on toasted rye bread, squeeze lime and sprinkling sea salt on top. quick, easy and delicious.

Lunch- Green bowl. Toss together

• a chopped avocado

• a cup of baby spinach leaves

• 1/2 a green chili, seeds removed

• 1/4 cup of toasted pumpkin seeds

• 6 fresh snow peas

• 1/4 cup of parsley

• 1/4 cup of basil leaves

• 1 green shallot

• Juice of 1/2 a lime, 1/4 cup of olive oil and a tbs honey blended for dressing

• cracked pepper and sea salt to taste

Snack- wrap a slice of avocado, carrot and chives with smoke salmon with a touch of sesame mayonnaise.