There’s a new skincare trend that’s got the Internet buzzing… It’s called a “detoxing face fast” and it basically means you stop putting any products on your skin.

No cleansers, no moisturizer, no makeup — nothing. The only thing you do is wash your face with warm water.

It may sound like a good idea. But I don’t recommend it. Let me explain.

It’s true that most of the skincare products on the market today can cause a lot of damage to your skin. We’ve talked about them before.

But… your skin still needs a layer of protection between it and our toxic environment.

My suggestion is to skip the fast and go on a skincare “diet” instead…

You see, the average woman applies 12 products to her skin. And that’s way too many.

Your skin was designed to self-moisturize with its own sebum, self-exfoliate by shedding skin cells and self-heal.

But what ends up happening is that all of the products that you use end up taking over these built-in functions instead of supporting them. And your skin becomes dependent upon them in what’s known as tachyphylaxis.

Eliminating the overuse of products — especially those with dangerous and damaging ingredients — helps your skin develop a more diverse microbiome. This in turn, will allow your skin to become more reliant and allow it to detox and heal.

Most skincare products simply sit on the surface of your skin. And this damages your skin’s delicate microbiome. This microbiome consists of billions of friendly living microorganisms called the skin flora. They work together like an invisible eco-system to keep your skin healthy, youthful and in perfect balance.

This invisible eco shield also prevents dangerous “bad” bacteria from getting under your skin. But your face still needs protection from the destructive effects of aging.

You see, the sun, pollution, smog, poor nutrition and other toxins in your environment attack your face in the form of “oxidative stress” or “free radicals.” Free radicals damage the skin’s DNA and attack healthy cells. This speeds skin aging.

You need a layer of protection between your delicate microbiome and the outside world.

How to Go on A Skincare “Diet”

I recommend fasting for at least a week since it takes that long to get back in balance. But two weeks to a month is ideal if you can do it…

1. Wash with a probiotic cleanser. Cold water won’t remove sweat and grime. Hot water will irritate and dry out your skin. Tepid temperature will loosen any dirt, while maintaining your natural oils.
2. Apply a CoQ10 toner. CoQ10 keeps older cells functioning like younger cells. This in turn, helps your face look younger and protects it against future damage.
3. Attract more moisture to your skin with hyaluronic acid (HA). HA can hold 1,000 times its own weight in water. Found in every tissue, this gel-like matrix sits just below the surface of your skin. It surrounds the collagen fibers that give your face its shape.When you’re young, levels of HA are high. And all the extra water gives your face that clean, firm shape. But levels drop off with age. And the loss of HA brings the appearance of dry skin and wrinkles, not to mention sagging, drooping skin. HA puts back the water you lose with age.
4. Skip the commercial skincare junk. Look for an all-natural antioxidant moisturizer with all-natural ingredients.

To Your Best Health Ever,

Rachel Koenig

Two thousand years ago, wealthy Roman women used to wait for hours outside the Colosseum as virile gladiators fought each other inside the arena — sometimes in a fight for freedom… and sometimes to the death.

After the battle, the surviving gladiators used a special tool to scrape the sweat, dirt and oil from their skin. This was collected in small vials and sold to the waiting women who took it home and used it as a face cream.

Today, we cringe when we think about putting something so dirty on our faces.

But believe it or not, this ancient ritual may have health benefits, including improving your complexion.

In its natural state, your skin is home to millions of microbes. And if you’re like most Americans, you wash sometimes twice a day to remove these bad bugs.

But this modern obsession with hygiene damages your skin. And removes microbes that protect your skin and promote its health and youthfulness.¹

You see, these good microbes form a protective barrier against invading, harmful bacteria. And they balance your skin’s pH levels, boost your immune system — and can even protect against skin cancer.^2,3

In a moment, I’ll share the simple way you can get your skin’s microbiome back in balance. But first, I want to tell you how we ended up harming our body’s biggest organ and leaving it vulnerable to disease…

Today, we wage war on germs with chemical cleansers.

But it’s not natural. After all, our ancestors walked barefoot through dirt and mud. Bacteria were everywhere — providing a protective skin barrier called ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB).

By feeding on sweat and converting it into nitric oxide, these bacteria act as a natural cleanser that also protects and repairs skin.⁴

There is a unique kind of AOB called Bifidobacterium longum. But most of us don’t have any of this beneficial bacterium anymore because today’s manufactured soaps and body cleansers wash it away.

But you can bring this probiotic back. Doing so will form a protective skin barrier that will:

Feed Your Skin With Active Probiotics

Homemade yogurt is an incredible source of Bifidobacterium longum. All you need is a freeze-dried yogurt culture (or starter), available at grocery stores. Here’s a delicious easy recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1-2 quarts whole, raw milk
• 1 packet freeze-dried yogurt culture

Directions:

1. Heat raw milk to 180° F. Then allow to cool to about 110° F. Add yogurt culture to the milk and stir gently.
2. Incubate the mixture at 105° F approximately 8 hours. The easiest way is putting the yogurt in the oven and turning on the light. The heat from the light should elevate the temperature sufficiently.
3. Place a tight lid on the container and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD, CNS

1. Prescott SL, et al. “The skin microbiome: Impact of modern environments on skin ecology, barrier integrity, and systemic immune programming.” World Allergy Organ J. 2017;10(1):29.
2. Nakatsuji T, et al. “A commensal strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis protects against skin neoplasia.” Sci Adv. 2018;4(2):eaao4502.
3. Gueniche A, et al. “Lactobacillus paracasei CNCM I-2116 (ST11) inhibits substance P-induced skin inflammation and accelerates skin barrier function recovery in vitro.” Eur J Dermatol. 2010;20(6):731-737.
4. Qin M, et al. “Nitric oxide releasing nanoparticles prevent Propionibacterium acnes induced inflammation by both clearing the organism and inhibiting microbial stimulation of the innate immune response.” J Invest Dermatol. 2015;135(11):2723-2731.

A patient I’ve been treating for depression came in to see me last week. She was feeling amazingly good after taking a supplement I recommended for her.

But she wanted to talk about something else entirely… Turns out the omega-3 that treated her depression also rejuvenated and revived her skin.

Before taking the omega-3, her complexion was flaky, red and itchy. It was also dry and cracking, but she was still prone to breakouts. Fine lines had started to appear around her eyes.

My patient was shocked when I told her that the fatty acids in omega-3 supplements help to slow down the biological effects of aging — both inside and out.

By now you know that omega-3s — especially two of the most potent omega-3 fatty acids known as EPA and DHA – are essential for good health. And that they can prevent brain shrinkage, stave off arthritis, prevent heart disease and improve eye health…

But not everyone knows how vital they are for your body’s largest organ, your skin.

Decades of research from around the world show the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids for your skin. Here are five ways this fatty acid helps your complexion:

1. Supports skinʼs UV defenses to protect against sun damage. The lack of healthy omega-3 fatty acids in our diet is one of the primary factors contributing to the rise of skin cancer. A study published in Experimental Dermatology found that supplementing with DHA and EPA reduces your skin’s sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) rays. In the study, researchers gave participants 4 grams of omega-3 every day. After 12 weeks, they were able to increase their resistance to sunburns by 136%.¹
   In a second trial, 20 volunteers took either a DHA/EPA capsule or a placebo for four weeks. Compared to the placebo, there was a significant reduction in UVB-induced skin damage in those who took the omega-3.²

2. Protects you from skin cancer. A study funded by the American Association for International Cancer Research, found that taking a regular dose of omega-3s reduced sunlight-induced suppression of the immune system, known as immunosuppression. In other words, supplementing with omega-3 increases your body’s ability to fight skin cancer and infection.
   And a second study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that adults who consumed one serving of omega-3-rich fish every five days for five years had fewer sun-induced lesions called actinic keratoses (AK). These lesions, which can turn into skin cancer, often develop in older people who have sustained serious sun damage.³
3. Fight wrinkles by keeping skin hydrated. As we age, cells in the outer layer of skin known as the epidermis become thinner. This decreases your skin’s barrier function — and allows moisture to escape. Omega-3s help strengthen this barrier by acting like a seal to keep moisture in and dryness away. In some cases, skin hydration increased 39% after supplementing.⁴ And when skin cell holds onto water, it increases wrinkle prevention and helps eliminate mild wrinkles.⁵
   In a study of post-menopausal women, researchers gave women omega-3s for 14 weeks. By the end of the study, not only was their skin more hydrated, but wrinkle depth around the eyes was reduced by 10% compared to placebo.⁶
4. Eliminate sagging skin by boosting collagen and elastin. Your skin’s whole structural support depends on collagen and elastin. They make your skin smooth and wrinkle-free. Most of us think of saggy skin as a sign of aging. Skin elasticity, the ability of skin to “snap back” when stretched, is seen as a sign of youth. And collagen forms a kind of latticework or scaffolding as the basis of your skin’s structure. When you have healthy collagen, you have taunt, smooth and toned skin.
   One way that omega-3 can help preserve collagen and elastin is through its anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation can have an effect on tissue growth, with chronic inflammation eventually leading to tissue damage. Continued exposure to inflammation can degrade the collagen and elastin in your skin.
5. Clear your skin of blemishes. Omega-3s can help eliminate and prevent acne in three ways. First, EPA is converted in your body to powerful anti-inflammatory and antibacterial substances, calming the inflammatory response. Second, it balances hormones like testosterone that can trigger the overproduction of sebum. And lastly, it keeps the liver from producing insulin-like growth factor, or IGF-1. Research shows that the more IGF-1 you produce, the more likely you are to have breakouts. ⁷

Protect and Repair Your Skin From the Inside Out

To get omega-3 fats in your diet, eat three or four servings a week of wild-caught salmon.

Other good sources are small, cold-water fish like herring, pollock, mackerel, lake trout, anchovies and sardines. Pastured eggs and grass-fed beef also are good choices.

But it’s hard to get what you need from food. To get the skin-saving benefits you need, you have to supplement.

Now, most doctors recommend fish oil. But the world’s fish oil supply has become contaminated with toxins. I recommend you get your omega-3s from krill and calamari oil. They’re much more absorbable than fish oils. Both of these creatures store their oils in a phospholipid form that can get into every cell in your skin.

1. Take this tiny animal oil. Krill are shrimp-like animals that don’t live long enough to absorb large amounts of toxins. Look for krill oil that comes from the crystal clear, frozen waters of the Austral-Antarctic Circumpolar Ocean — possibly the purest place on earth.
2. And combine it with calamari. Calamari, or squid, has one of the highest concentrations of DHA of any food. But make sure your calamari oil comes from squid that live off the coast of South America in the pure waters of the South Pacific (the argentines).

I recommend you get at least one gram of omega-3s every day. But getting three to four grams is even better.

And make sure you get at least 600 mg from DHA and 400 mg from EPA. That way, you protect every organ in your body, including your skin.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD, CNS

1. Pilkington S, et al. “Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: photoprotective macronutrients.” Exp Dermatol. 2011 Jul;20(7):537-543.
2. Orengo I, et al. “Influence of fish oil supplementation on the minimal erythema dose in humans.” Arch Dermatol Res. 1992;284:219-221.
3. Hughes M, et al. “Food intake, dietary patterns, and actinic keratoses of the skin: A longitudinal study.” Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89(4):1246-1255.
4. De Spirt S, et al. “Intervention with flaxseed and borage oil supplement modulates skin condition in women.” Br J Nutr. 2009;101(3):440-445.
5. Jenkins G, et al. “Wrinkle reduction in post‐menopausal women consuming a novel oral supplement: A double‐blind placebo‐controlled randomized study.” Int J Cosmet Sci. 2014;36(1):22–31.
6. De Spirt S, et al. “Intervention with flaxseed and borage oil supplement modulates skin condition in women.” Br J Nutr. 2009;101(3):440-445.
7. Kim H, et al. “Insulin-like growth factor-1 increases the expression of inflammatory biomarkers and sebum production in cultured sebocytes.” Ann Dermatol. 2017;29(1):20-25.